What is Apple ProRes?
Apple ProRes is a family of high-quality intraframe video codecs designed for acquisition, editing, post-production and interchange rather than low-bitrate consumer delivery.
The ProRes family
| Variant | Typical colour structure | Representative 1080p29.97 target rate |
|---|---|---|
| ProRes 422 Proxy | 10-bit 4:2:2 | ~45 Mbps |
| ProRes 422 LT | 10-bit 4:2:2 | ~102 Mbps |
| ProRes 422 | 10-bit 4:2:2 | ~147 Mbps |
| ProRes 422 HQ | 10-bit 4:2:2 | ~220 Mbps |
| ProRes 4444 | Up to 12-bit 4:4:4; alpha up to 16-bit | ~330 Mbps for 4:4:4 sources |
| ProRes 4444 XQ | Up to 12-bit 4:4:4; alpha up to 16-bit | ~500 Mbps for 4:4:4 sources |
These are representative target data rates at 1920×1080/29.97; actual data rate scales with frame size, frame rate and variant.
Why ProRes files are large
ProRes is intraframe: each frame is coded independently rather than relying heavily on long groups of predicted frames. That makes seeking and repeated editing easier at the cost of much higher data rates than distribution codecs such as H.264, HEVC or AV1.
ProRes vs ProRes RAW
ProRes RAW is a different family aimed at preserving camera sensor RAW information. It should not be treated as merely another ProRes 422 bitrate tier.
Common confusion
A .mov extension does not mean ProRes. MOV can contain H.264, HEVC, PCM audio and many other media types. Inspect the actual video codec.