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ProRes question…that I don’t think has been asked
I know for the most part all you need is ProRes 422, but I’ve never been able to articulate why NOT to use HQ. I know HQ is for 2K 10-bit sources, but that never answered my question. My question is:
I’ve read that converting 8-bit sources to 10-bit, such as DVCPro HD to 10-bit Uncompressed, will create some artifacts. If that’s the case, why would you get artifacts if you convert DVCPro HD to ProRes HQ, but NOT get artifacts if you convert to regular ProRes? They’re both 10-bit, so what’s ProRes doing (or not doing) that ProResHQ is doing to prevent artifacts?
…I’m just curious.
Thanks!
Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
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9 Replies
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THis not only has been addressed a lot, but it is a FAQ:
https://forums.creativecow.net/faq/applefinalcutpro#75
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
ahh, is there something that notifies everyone when the FAQs section is updated? I know those questions weren’t there when someone else pointed me to that section, but that was a long time ago. Thanks though.
Anyway, is this the answer:
With the HQ version the CPU is actively interpreting all 256 levels of grey on encode but passing that back out re-interpreted with all 1024 levels on output, that is one HUGE Mathematical Processing task.
With the Standard version of ProRes, that data is not re-interpreted on output until the process actually asks the CPU to handle the content in 10bit by adding filters, efx, or color correction. So normal playback of your timeline is unaffected until you do something to it.
…interesting
Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com -
Great.
That means that rendering Prores in FC is easier and faster than rendering Prores HQ.
Not a reason for artifacts.
And what means all that in the process of capturing (RT process)?
And what is the relation of all that with the size of the picture?
Why HQ only for 2K up?
rafael -
“And what is the relation of all that with the size of the picture?
Why HQ only for 2K up?”It has nothing to do with frame size.
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This is what I think.
People keeps saying that Prores HQ should be used only for 2K up, but nobody gives a reason.
I don’t see any relation between codec and picture size.
rafael -
“People keeps saying that Prores HQ should be used only for 2K up, but nobody gives a reason.”
I’ve seen this a lot on this forum and occasionally elsewhere. I think it might stem from people misinterpreting Gary Adcock’s PVC article on ProRes, then passing that misinterpretation on as fact.
In the article Gary suggests only using HQ for “2K” material, which makes it sound like a resolution issue, when if fact what he means is 10-bit material. Some also seem to have taken his claim that SQ “ran better” to mean transcodes to SQ were better, when what he actually meant is that playback ran better.
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As I’ve written to Rafael in the past on this subject, bigger is not always better, sometimes it’s just bigger. And, if that’s the case, it’s simply not an efficient choice.
If it made sense to use bigger files and more bits of information at every opportunity, everyone would be transcoding DV and HDV to 2K or 4K files all the time for every editing purpose. Is their anyone here doing that?
David Roth Weiss
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Whilst the bigger not always being better maxim is true, the point about uprezzing is not analogous. Upscaling is fundamentally changing the image, and in choosing an editing codec that’s exactly what you’re trying to avoid. If it wasn’t for the file size we’d all be editing uncompressed.
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[David Roth Weiss] “If it made sense to use bigger files and more bits of information at every opportunity, everyone would be transcoding DV and HDV to 2K or 4K files all the time for every editing purpose. Is their anyone here doing that?”
David my friend, this makes no sense at all and you are mixing things that have no relation (DV is a codec, 2K is a size).
Until the arrival of Prores, Digital Betacam (SD) have been captured as 10b Uncompress.
Can you tell me what is the problem on capturing DigiBeta with Prores HQ?
What is the relation of the size of the picture with the compression scheme?
I accept Prores as the “good enough” solution, but to say that Prores is better than Prores HQ is to say that more compression is better.
rafael
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