Is making H264 from a ProRes file superior?
As SOP, I create an H264 and a ProRes file from each video I produce for my clients: the H264 for client use and uploading to their website or channel, and the ProRes for my own files and archiving. (Of course I keep an H264 too.) For the sake of time one day, I created an H264 directly from the ProRes file as opposed to rendering the H264 out of FCP as quicktime export. It not only created a smaller file - it was MUCH faster too. I usually set the bit rate at 5500 or so - and it will take an hour or so to create that H264 file from a 10-minute video. Creating the same H264 from the ProRes file happened in about 1/4 that time. So it made me wonder... if I can't tell any difference in image quality from an H264 made this way, as opposed to one generated out of FCP via quicktime export, is there a difference that anyone has perceived - or knows about?
THANKS.
R Bass