4.5

182Compressor User Guide
• Apple ProRes 4444: An extremely high-quality version of Apple ProRes for 4:4:4:4
image sources (including alpha channels). This codec features full-resolution,
mastering-quality 4:4:4:4 RGBA color and visual fidelity that is perceptually
indistinguishable from the original material. Apple ProRes 4444 is a high-quality
solution for storing and exchanging motion graphics and composites, with excellent
multigeneration performance and a mathematically lossless alpha channel up to 16 bits.
This codec features a remarkably low data rate compared to uncompressed 4:4:4 HD,
with a target data rate of approximately 330 Mbps for 4:4:4 sources at 1920 x 1080
and 29.97 fps. It also offers direct encoding of, and decoding to, both RGB and Y’C
B
C
R
pixel formats.
• Apple ProRes 422 HQ: A higher-data-rate version of Apple ProRes 422 that preserves
visual quality at the same high level as Apple ProRes 4444, but for 4:2:2 image
sources. With widespread adoption across the video post-production industry,
Apple ProRes 422 HQ offers visually lossless preservation of the highest-quality
professional HD video that a single-link HD-SDI signal can carry. This codec supports
full-width, 4:2:2 video sources at 10-bit pixel depths, while remaining visually lossless
through many generations of decoding and reencoding. The target data rate of
Apple ProRes 422 HQ is approximately 220 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps.
• Apple ProRes 422: A high-quality compressed codec offering nearly all the benefits of
Apple ProRes 422 HQ, but at 66 percent of the data rate for even better multistream,
real-time editing performance. The target data rate of Apple ProRes 422 is
approximately 147 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps.
• Apple ProRes 422 LT: A more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes 422, with
roughly 70 percent of the data rate and 30 percent smaller file sizes. This codec is
perfect for environments where storage capacity and data rate are at a premium. The
target data rate of Apple ProRes 422 LT is approximately 102 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 and
29.97 fps.
• Apple ProRes 422 Proxy: An even more highly compressed codec than
Apple ProRes 422 LT, intended for use in offline workflows that require low data
rates but full-resolution video. The target data rate of Apple ProRes 422 Proxy is
approximately 45 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps.
• Apple ProRes RAW: The Apple ProRes RAW and Apple ProRes RAW HQ codecs preserve
all of the camera sensor’s pristine raw data to deliver extraordinarily high-quality
images. ProRes RAW brings to raw video the same great performance, quality, and ease
of use that ProRes has brought to conventional video, in a format ideal for HDR content
creation. Being able to use the raw image sensor data directly in Final Cut Pro during
post-production gives you more control over the processing of the image, including
demosaicing, linear-to-log conversions, and custom LUTs.
Note:
Apple ProRes 4444 and Apple ProRes 4444 XQ are ideal for the exchange of motion
graphics media because they are virtually lossless, and are the only Apple ProRes codecs
that support alpha channels.
AVCHD A high-definition (HD) video format that uses Advanced Video Coding (AVC)
compression (also known as MPEG-4 part 10 or H.264). Many Blu-ray players can play red
laser discs with AVCHD format content, making this a common way to distribute short HD
video projects using a standard red laser disc.