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883Final Cut Pro User Guide
Apple ProRes Apple codecs that provide an unparalleled combination of multistream,
real-time editing performance, impressive image quality, and reduced storage rates.
Apple ProRes codecs take full advantage of multicore processing and feature fast,
reduced-resolution decoding modes. All Apple ProRes codecs support any frame size
(including SD, HD, 2K, 4K, and 6K) at full resolution. The data rates vary based on codec
type, image content, frame size, and frame rate. See also frame rate, resolution.
Apple ProRes 4444 XQ The highest-quality version of Apple ProRes for 4:4:4:4 image
sources (including alpha channels), with a very high data rate to preserve the detail in
high-dynamic-range imagery generated by the highest-quality digital image sensors.
Apple ProRes 4444 XQ preserves dynamic ranges several times greater than the dynamic
range of Rec. 709 imagery—even against the rigors of extreme visual effects processing,
in which tone-scale blacks or highlights are stretched significantly. Like standard Apple
ProRes 4444, this codec supports up to 12 bits per image channel and up to 16 bits for
the alpha channel. Apple ProRes 4444 XQ features a target data rate of approximately
500 Mbps for 4:4:4 sources at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps.
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'CbCr 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.