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Apple Intermediate Codec file is larger than Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ) file…
Hi.
I normally import XDCAM footage, but connected a sony handicam to my computer. IMovies opened automatically, so I imported direct.
I later realized that importing via FCP (Log and transfer), should give better quality imports, so I opened FCP and imported the clips there.
The Imovie imported clips are Apple Intermediate Codec, while the FCP imported clips are Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ).
In some cases, the Apple Intermediate file is larger than the Apple Pro Res (HQ) file.
For instance:
QuickTime Movie – Apple Intermediate Codec, 513.1 MB
QuickTime Movie – Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ), 402.2 MBI don’t understand this….
What does this indicate about the file – which is the better quality? It should be the Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ), shouldn’t it? But how would this be possible if the Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ) file is smaller than the Apple Intermediate Codec file?Hope someone doesn’t mind helping with this confusion.
Thanks in advance,
Julienne. -
7 Replies
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That is odd. Because AIC is a more highly compressed format…worse quality. And typically takes up 50% less space than ProRes HQ. Using my AJA Datarate Calculator, 1 hour of PRO RES HQ is 118GB, and at AIC, 53GB.
But I have no idea what iMovie does to the footage.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[julienne rathore] “What does this indicate about the file – which is the better quality? It should be the Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ), shouldn’t it? But how would this be possible if the Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ) file is smaller than the Apple Intermediate Codec file?”
Is possible.
AIC is basically a very little efficient oversized DV (8b/420), while Prores is a modern high quality 10b/422 codec.
Few years ago QT could not manage properly MPEG-2 stuff and AIC was the workaround to edit HDV stuff.
No reason to use it if you can avoid it.
rafael -
Thanks for quick feedback!
Yes, I did take the length of the shots into consideration when making the comparison – in all cases.
I rarely (in this case) get a Pro Res file which is twice the size of the AIC file. Some are much bigger, most slightly and then some smaller. There are quite a few that are smaller – perhaps 10% of the imported files.
Perhaps it is as suggested something to do with IMovies…
Both are shown as QuickTime Movie files (.mov) in the finder and show AIC or Pro Res in the QuickTime movie properties.
julienne.
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Hi again 🙂
I have imported again – same results..
Would you advise to use the ProRes .mov clip regardless of it being smaller than the AIC .mov clip?
Thanks,
Julienne. -
[julienne rathore] “Would you advise to use the ProRes .mov clip regardless of it being smaller than the AIC .mov clip?”
Not just using Prores, also stop using AIC.
rafael -
As Rafael previously mentioned, AIC is an inferior codec. Forget about the file size… Contrary to popular belief, size isn’t everything.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comDon’t miss my new Creative Cow Podcast: Bringing “The Whale” to the Big Screen:
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Thanks guys 🙂 Much appreciated!
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