FS7: Rendering out 4K feature to Prores

mainstreetprod

mainstreetprod

Veteran
I'm in the process of rendering final Prores files for my feature for theater projection at the premiere in November (and later downscaling for streaming and DVD). The movie was shot in 4K XAVC-I. Question: When rendering to Prores, is there any point in using HQ or 444 (I read once that the 4K footage is actually equivalent to 444, only becomes 422 when downscaled). If I render out to 444, it looks the same to me but the file size is 3 times larger (over 600gb). Wouldn't standard Prores 422 be same as or better than XAVC-I in data rate?

Which would you use?
 
4K doesn't necessarily mean 444. Dowscaling to HD could probably get you 444 from 422, but not the other way around. It depends on the codec/camera used. Looks like the FS7 has different modes, but none that are 444. According to the specs it has a 10 bit 422 or 8-bit 420 for the XAVC-I. Either way you want minimally go with standard Prores 422 if storage is an issue, but you should probably go with ProRes 422 HQ for a little high bit rate, either is better than the XAVC-I. It's not going to help any to render prores 444.

more info.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1082825-REG/sony_pxw_fs7_compact_4k_xdcam_with.html
http://www.redsharknews.com/technol...-to-like-sony-s-pro-video-format,-xavc?page=1
 
What is the specifications of the theater, is it 4k? A 600 GB ProRes 444 file might be tough to play and overkill for a theater viewing. I usually go with ProRes 422 for most theater viewings OR burn a Blu-ray at 1080p.
 
If I remember the white paper correctly, ProResHQ and ProRes4444 share identical compression. The only difference is the additional colour sampling, which doesn't really offer anything extra when you shot 4k 4:2:2 in the first place. Dropping down to regular ProRes will increase the compression a bit, not a big deal on a final, graded picture, but I'd recommend ProResHQ.
 
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