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📢 Newsroom Update
Final Cut Pro 11 begins a new chapter for video editing on Mac. Learn more >
Final Cut Pro 11 begins a new chapter for video editing on Mac. Learn more >
I am editing a project on Final Cut Pro X and was curious what format my video files should be for editing. I know ProRes 422 is a codec that pros use to edit and it has a much bigger file size, but I don't get the difference and which format I should be using to edit my project. Can someone please explain to me which format I should be editing on for my project! Thanks!
MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), Mac OS X (10.7.3)
H.264 is an aquistion (camera) and distribution (web streaming) codec. It's highly compressed, which means that the files are small, and Final Cut has to do extra work each time you play your timeline, make an edit, etc.
ProRes 422 is an editing codec. It uses much less compression, which means that the files are big, but Final Cut can play it more easily.
Best practice is to edit in ProRes 422, especially if you have lots of layers and effects. That means you spend a little extra time optimizing your files to ProRes 422 before you start, but you save time in the long run.
H.264 is an aquistion (camera) and distribution (web streaming) codec. It's highly compressed, which means that the files are small, and Final Cut has to do extra work each time you play your timeline, make an edit, etc.
ProRes 422 is an editing codec. It uses much less compression, which means that the files are big, but Final Cut can play it more easily.
Best practice is to edit in ProRes 422, especially if you have lots of layers and effects. That means you spend a little extra time optimizing your files to ProRes 422 before you start, but you save time in the long run.
Will my project still maintain HD quality that I filmed with? Even when I export will it still be the quality I shot with?
Yes, ProRes is virtually lossless, and is specifically designed for this purpose.
ProRes 422 HQ is the best. H.264 is highly compressed and not designed for editing.
Apple ProRes 422 vs. H.264 Editing w/ FCP X
