High Quality h264 vs Prores

[Misha Mazor]

Hi all,
I need to send an onlined 2 hour HD film overseas (100GB). Shipping is not an option due to time constraints. I am considering encoding it in high quality h264, uploading and having them convert back to Prores on their end for tape out.

Is this a huge “NO NO” in postproduction land, or is the quality loss negligible with super high quality h264?

Thanks,
Misha

[Shane Ross]

I’ve delivered high quality H.264 as show masters for a couple networks. But then they aired the H.264’s directly. I’d test to see what two conversions will look like…but that workflow sounds reasonable…ish.

Shane
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[Misha Mazor]

Thanks, sounds reassuring. Anyone else have experience with h264 deliverables?

Misha

[Joseph Owens]

H264. Streaming, yes. Broadcast, no.

Uploading 100GB would probably take longer than FedEx shipping. Best I’ve been able to achieve is about 1GB/hour. Hm. 4+ days. FedEx next day is usually about $75, $80…

jPo

“I always pass on free advice — its never of any use to me” Oscar Wilde.

[Misha Mazor]

I should add that I’m trying to ship to Russia (6 day shipping is the fastest option available via FedEx, DHL, USPS, or UPS).

And they broadcast SD, so I figure h264 is a good option for me in this case.

Misha

[Michael Gissing]

An SD ProRes LT file would be much smaller and could be used directly to output to tape in SD at the Russian end. Next step down would be XDcam also in SD as it can also be used without reconverting back to ProRes at the other end.