Salvos fired at NAB: Apple ProRes RAW vs Blackmagic RAW – Atmos vs Blackmagic Debate

[Michael Gissing]

I found it interesting that Apple & Atomos went public with ProResRAW a year before they had developed SDKs and with an exclusive deal. Blackmagic went public when their format was ready to go and had the SDKs out the next day for all to use.

Even with ProResRAW’s year head start, it strikes me that BRAW is more advanced technically and is likely to get the same bunch of post software companies onside. So it might boil down to Apple vs BM on this. Will X support it? Will BM support ProResRAW? It would be stupid if they both dug their heels in. I don’t see this as Atomos vs BM however. Atomos looks like a bit player. The real decisions will be made by camera manufacturers and post software vendors and Blackmagic has much more influence in both those areas.

[Eric Santiago]

We are winners on this once both are in the wild.

Gotta love options 🙂

[Erik Lindahl]

Well even if BMD had their SDK out the same day they released their RAW-format, no major NLE supports it, do they?

[Ricardo Marty]

I think that Apple is also at war with BMD. Probably codec envy. Braw is a serious prores raw competitor. So I think that this why there is no Prores raw in BMD and no Braw in FXPX or in atomos.

I think that BMD should make a new Braw capable Video assistant so that other cameras can use the Braw codec, Then things might change.

Ric Marty

[Michael Gissing]

[Eric Lindahl] “Well even if BMD had their SDK out the same day they released their RAW-format, no major NLE supports it, do they?”

I think it is fair to say Resolve is a major NLE so it’s just like ProResRAW when it was launched and only one NLE supported it – FCPX. That was the case for ProResRAW for a year. BRAW has not been out for that long so it will be interesting to see if other NLEs take it up within a one year time frame.

Blackmagic have made it available from day one unlike ProResRAW so it will be possible to have a faster uptake. Add to that the number of BM cameras in the field that now have BRAW and it will be harder for NLEs to ignore. When ProResRAW launched it was a codec with one recording device and no cameras. It still isn’t inside cameras but available via an external recorder. So in terms of the capacity for BRAW to be adopted by other NLEs, it has been released in such a way that it is easier for other NLEs to adopt. A week ago ProResRAW was only in one NLE and one external recorder.

So to be fair we need to see how quickly the two formats gain acceptance. So far ProResRAW has moved very slowly and it has been subject to an exclusive deal. My point was that when you compare the two, the tech development and the openness of each format has been approached very differently. From my perspective BRAW is more developed, more open and has the potential to be more widely adopted. So give it at least a year before we can make any comparison to ProResRAWs adoption.