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ProRes files.

ProRes is a popular and widely used video format, originally developed by Apple in 2007 for high-quality performance editing in Final Cut Pro.

Discover the history of ProRes files, the advantages and disadvantages, as well as how they’re compatible with Adobe Creative Cloud.

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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

History of the ProRes file

How to use ProRes files

Pros and cons of ProRes files

How to open a ProRes file

How to create and edit a ProRes file

FAQs.

Learn more about similar file types to ProRes

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What is a ProRes file?

Apple ProRes is a codec video file type. This means data within the file is compressed, to save storage space, then decompressed for playback or editing. It’s known as ‘intra-frame’ (sometimes referred to as i-Frame), as each frame is saved and the data within them is compressed to reduce the overall data rate.

This results in smooth, high-quality content that won’t throttle the CPU of your device. The ProRes codec comes in a variety of versions and the wider ProRes family includes:

4444 XQ
4444
422 HQ
422 PROXY
422 LT
422

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History of the ProRes file.

The Apple ProRes codec family was created in 2007 by Apple Inc. Apple ProRes enabled first-rate real-time editing performance, image quality preservation, and lower storage rates for high bit-depth videos. The creative industries rapidly adopted ProRes as a high-quality and flexible codec that retains all original details from the camera file.

In 2018, Apple created ProRes RAW. This has the same principles of the ProRes codec, designed for raw videos and applied to a camera pixels raw image data. In other words, ProRes RAW has the high ProRes performance, combined with the flexibility that comes from raw data.

How to use ProRes files.

Here are some of the main areas where you may use ProRes:

Editing professional video projects.

ProRes has become the industry standard software for professional post-production. You can edit ProRes files to use for commercials, TV broadcasts, and documentaries.

Capturing video.

Camera manufacturers soon cottoned on to the advantages of using ProRes in an acquisition format. Now, you can record directly to ProRes with an outboard recorder. This makes for a smoother editing process.

Projects on your iPhone.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro and Apple iPhone Pro Max have Apple ProRes built in, so you can get creative and record videos in ProRes with just the touch of a button.

Discover more codec files.

Pros and cons of ProRes files.

Pros.

High-quality video editing and processing experience. ProRes allows real-time, high-quality editing. As this codec is 10-bit, you can process four times the color data of an 8-bit codec, making the color correction process easier.
Preserves quality. One of the main advantages of ProRes is its ability to preserve image quality — even after compression. This is measured through peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) which measures how closely the compressed image matches the original.
Industry standard. Despite being released to work with Final Cut Pro, ProRes files have become industry standard, and are not limited to one program. You can use ProRes with software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Media Encoder.

Cons.

It can take up more storage. Although i-frame coding has its advantages, it does occupy more storage space on your device, as frames are compressed individually.
Compatibility. Older versions of Apple devices may not be compatible with ProRes. This means you’ll need to consider what device you’re using before choosing ProRes for your project.

Find out which codec file types are supported by Adobe Premiere Pro

How to open a ProRes file.

Opening a ProRes file on Mac

Use a Lightning Cable and Image Capture on your Mac to import your ProRes file.
Use iCloud Photos to access the original ProRes file.

Opening a ProRes file on Windows

Make sure that you have the newest version of iCloud installed onto your PC.
Open the app and sign in, using your Apple ID and password.
Now you will be able to upload the ProRes files onto your Windows PC.

How to create and edit a ProRes file.

You can easily edit a ProRes file using a compatible video editor, such as Adobe Premiere Pro.

To create and edit a Pro Res file on Adobe Premiere Pro, follow these steps:

Start a new Adobe Premiere Pro project.
Select “Settings” and make sure the editing mode is on “Custom.” Here you can enter the frame rate and pixel dimensions of the clip you are going to edit. Save this preset so that it is available in the “Sequence” panel.
Open your video file and start editing.
Once you have finished editing, go to the menu bar, and select “File”, then “Export” and then “Media.” This will open the “Export Settings” box.
Click the “Format” drop-down list and choose “QuickTime.”
In the “Preset” box, scroll down and choose your preferred Pro Res format.
Make any adjustments in “Basic Video Settings.” Make sure that the output preset values match your original input preset values.
Select “Export.”

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ProRes vs H.264. What’s the difference?

ProRes was created for post-production, whereas H.264 is mainly used for video delivery thanks to its smaller file size. If you’re tight for storage space, H.264 is the one to choose as its GOP (Group of pictures) compression takes up less space than ProRes’ Intra-Frame.

Should I use ProRes or MP4?

ProRes is high quality, so it’s used by professionals. If you are just starting your journey into video editing, MP4 will be suitable for you and take up less storage space on your device.

ProRes vs DNxHD. Which is better?

Both ProRes and DNxHD video files are visually lossless, so you cannot tell the difference between the original video and the one encoded to either of these file types. They are both also widely supported codecs, but DNxHD is easier to create on a PC.

Are ProRes files compatible with Windows?

Yes, ProRes files are compatible with a Windows PC. You can view both Apple ProRes and ProRAW on Windows, meaning that you can take advantage of the quality of these codecs if you don’t have an Apple computer.