Apple introduces their new ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 HQ codecs

The first visually lossless full raster 10-bit 4:2:2 high definition format with bit rates below that required for standard definition!

Enter Apple ProRes 422, a new format designed for pristine HD quality, economical hardware configurations, yet high-performance, multistream Final Cut Pro real-time editing—for both high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) formats.

Apple ProRes 422 features:

Stunning HD Quality

• Quality indistinguishable from the most pristine sources. Maintains superb quality
even after multiple encoding/decoding generations.
• Full-width 1920-by-1080 and 1280-by-720 resolution. Offers the highest visual
detail possible in any HD format.
• 4:2:2 chroma sampling. Provides precise compositing and blending at sharp
saturated-color boundaries.
• 10-bit sample depth. Preserves subtle gradients of 10-bit sources (sunsets, graphics,
and the like) with no visible banding artifacts.
• I frame–only encoding. Ensures consistent quality in every frame and no artifacts
from complex motion.

Remarkably Low Data Rates

• Variable bit-rate (VBR) encoding. “Smart” encoding analyzes the image and allocates
more bits to complex frames. Efficiency is increased because excess bits are not wasted
on simple frames.
• Two target HD bit rates. Normal quality is targeted at 145 Mbps, and high quality
(HQ) is targeted at 220 Mbps. Except in the case of unusually complex material, actual
bit rates are typically 5 to 10 percent lower than these targets.
• Low bit rates increase equipment affordability. You can edit more streams with
more real-time effects on slower drives, or have more users accessing the same
media over Xsan. And performance increases as you increase the speed of your
storage infrastructure.
– ProRes 422 produces video indistinguishable from uncompressed HD that needs
less storage space than uncompressed SD video. If you have been waiting to jump
into high-quality HD editing because of the costs of storage and archiving, this is
an opportunity for new business without the added cost of new equipment.
– Even MacBook Pro laptops can use ProRes 422 to play back full-quality HD in
real time. Attach a 23-inch or 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display—or even a high-resolution
projector—and play back high-quality HD in the field during the shoot
or at a client’s screening room.

Designed for Speed

• Excellent full-size and blazing 1/2-by-1/2-size decoding speed. For more effects and
more streams in everyday editing, ProRes 422 is perfectly suited for the Dynamic RT
capability in Final Cut Pro.
• Impressive encoding speed. Capture ProRes 422 in real time from any HD-SDI source.

To take a look at ProRes and ProRes HQ footage, or purchase Final Cut Studio 2 or upgrade from an earlier version, contact us:

Audio Intervisual Design
1155 N. La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90038
(323) 845-1155
sales@aidinc.com
www.aidinc.com

To read more detailed information about ProRes, click here to download the White Paper pdf.