is a family of professional video codecs developed by Apple in 2007 that provides an unparalleled combination of real-time editing performance and high image quality. Unlike standard formats like H.264 (MP4) that prioritize small file sizes for sharing, ProRes is designed specifically for post-production , offering "visually lossless" quality that preserves deep color data and fine detail. How ProRes Works: The "Intra-Frame" Secret
This eliminates the need for the computer to "look ahead" or "look behind" to render a frame. Consequently, ProRes files are incredibly "light" on the CPU during playback. The processor does not have to perform complex temporal decoding; it simply reads the frame data. This allows for smooth, multi-stream playback on hardware that would otherwise struggle with consumer codecs. what is prores
In the era of streaming and 8K video, newer codecs like H.265 (HEVC) and AV1 offer significantly better compression ratios. A file in H.265 might be 10% the size of a ProRes file of the same resolution. While ProRes remains the king of editing , it is not suitable for distribution to the end consumer due to file size. is a family of professional video codecs developed
ProRes codecs are based on a combination of discrete cosine transform (DCT), quantization, and entropy coding. The encoding process involves the following steps: Consequently, ProRes files are incredibly "light" on the