Apple ProRes
The Apple ProRes family of codecs provides a variety of versatile, adjustable compression
formats to serve nearly any post-production workflow. There are five different Apple ProRes
codecs: from Apple ProRes 4444, which includes an alpha channel, to Apple ProRes 422
(Proxy), an offline format used by Final Cut Server for proxy movies.
• Apple ProRes 4444: The highest-bandwidth version of Apple ProRes, suitable for
high-definition or digital cinema mastering, lightly compressed, with a variable bit rate
(VBR) depending on frame size and frame rate. (An example is 330 mbps at
1920 x 1080 60i or 1280 x 720 60p.) Encodes video at up to 10 bits per channel with
4:4:4 chroma subsampling. Supports a lossless compressed alpha channel.
• Apple ProRes 422 (HQ): A higher-bandwidth version of Apple ProRes 422, suitable for
capturing and mastering high-definition video. Supports a variable bit rate (VBR) of
145 to 220 mbps. Supports any frame size.
• Apple ProRes 422: A medium-bandwidth, high-quality compressed codec, suitable for
mastering standard-definition video. Encodes video at 10 bits per channel with 4:2:2
chroma subsampling. Supports a variable bit rate (VBR) of 35 to 50 mbps. Supports any
frame size.
• Apple ProRes (LT): A more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes 422, averaging
100 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 60i and 1280 x 720 60p. Designed to allow low-bandwidth
editing at full-raster frame sizes, eliminating awkward frame-size conversions when
conforming offline-to-online media for finishing and mastering.
• Apple ProRes (Proxy): An even more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes 422
(LT), averaging 36 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 24p, or 18 Mbps at 1280 x 720 24p. Designed
to allow extremely low-bandwidth editing at full-raster frame sizes, eliminating awkward
frame-size conversions when conforming offline-to-online media for finishing and
mastering.
Apple ProRes 4444 is the default export codec for Motion. It’s ideal for the exchange of
motion graphics media because it is virtually lossless, and includes alpha channel support
to preserve transparency for later compositing. Apple ProRes 4444 is the only Apple ProRes
codec that supports alpha channels.