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XAVC HD = Prores 422 (Lt)?!
Hi all,
About to start a project shot on on F55 using XAVC HD and am trying to decide on work flow as I’ll be using an older system with no access to raided drives. Meaning drive read/write speeds of 120Mbps.
I can use either Avid or FCP 7, but would rather Avid, just personal preference.
As I understand it, XAVC HD is 100Mbps 10 bit 4:2:2 and whilst Avid supports it through AMA, i’ve never been a huge fan of AMA as it always seems to drop frames when on standard drives at this resolution. So I’ve been looking at converting it, and it looks to me that Prores 422 (Lt) is the best option, as is also 10bit 4:2:2 with a data rate of 104Mbps.
So my questions are:
1) Am I correct that prores 422 (Lt) is the most efficient way to go? (I understand the Avid equivalent would be DNxHD 220 for 10bit 4:2:2, but this has a much higher data rate).
2) Why would I bother re-linking to the original media for the grade (on a higher capacity system) if these two formats are basically identical?Best,
GK
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1 Reply
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[Jay Moss] “whilst Avid supports it through AMA, i’ve never been a huge fan of AMA as it always seems to drop frames when on standard drives at this resolution.”
You are using AMA wrong. Editing “NATIVE” via AMA on Avid is only recommended for short projects with minimal footage. It is always best to TRANSCODE to an Avid codec when editing. AMA is Avid’s way to link to tapeless media, and track it. So you AMA, then transcode.
[Jay Moss] “1) Am I correct that prores 422 (Lt) is the most efficient way to go?”
No. Best to use Avid codecs. ProRes is an Apple one. I only recommend using ProRes when the camera masters are ProRes. Best to Transcode to DNxHD 145 or 115 or 175 or 220…depending on the frame size and rate you shot.
[Jay Moss] ” (I understand the Avid equivalent would be DNxHD 220 for 10bit 4:2:2, but this has a much higher data rate).”
No. ProRes HQ and DNxHD 220 are equivalent. ProRes LT is more akin to DNxHD 115 or 75.
[Jay Moss] “2) Why would I bother re-linking to the original media for the grade (on a higher capacity system) if these two formats are basically identical?”
They aren’t. The equivalent is 220x. If you have the drive space to supoort all the footage at 220x, then you don’t need to worry about relinking for grading. But if you don’t have the space, and need to do a lower res for “offline editing,” then you’ll need to relink and transcode to a higher data rate when locked.
Shane
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