PRO RES 422 HQ or PRO RES 444

[Cfoxv1980]

Hello,

About to use this great software to create a DCP for my feature

What would get better results, using Pro Res 422 HQ or 444 as the source file for conversion?

Any help is appreciated

Thanks in advance

Christopher

[Carsten]

Which software do you use to create the ProRes master?

Both should work. 444 is technically better than 422, but, you will probably hardly see the difference.

[Cfoxv1980]

I used Resolve edited / colored & rendered. 105min feature 2:1 aspect

Would Pro Res be the best export option or is another format better for the dcp conversion ?

[Cfoxv1980]

I used Resolve edited / colored & rendered. 105min feature

Would Pro Res be the best export option or is another format better for the dcp conversion ?

[Carsten]

Resolve in recent versions can create DCP by it's own. If a plain DCP is all you need, just use Resolves DCP export option. If you want to refine the DCP, add metadata, subtitle, languages, etc., just create a DCP export and reuse that DCP in DCP-o-matic - that will prevent another intermediate lossy compression step.

In general, any higher ProRes level should be fine for a DCP. ProRes and DCP share some compression technology.

[Cfoxv1980]

Thanks for the reply. So do you think a dcp made straight out of resolve would be higher quality and less chance of degraded the image rather then exporting a pro res 422 hq & converting in DCP-O ?

Another reason I looked into DCP-O was my film was shot & edited in 23.97 and heard resolve exporting to 24 could cause some sync drag but DCP-O fixes any possible issues

I really don’t need chapters or metadata, just a dcp for screening for a theater and it’s festival run

[Carsten]

Hmm, it's true that a 23,97->24fps conversion in DCP-o-matic is done more transparently than in Resolve. I'm not sure how Resolve would do that conversion when creating the DCP from an actual 23,97fps timeline. I know for sure what DCP-o-matic does.

If you feel unsafe about this, create a ProRes 444 23,97fps master. DCP-o-matic should deal with this the correct way.

[Cfoxv1980]

Exactly! I kinda don’t trust resolve and have heard & edited projects that have used DCP-O for the final dcp and have been to screenings of those films so just seems like a no brainer to me.

Would you say pro res is the best format to use in this case

[Carsten]

On a Mac, certainly. Some people suggest uncompressed image series - but, they grow huge for features, and they usually have their own problems (that usually result in more severe issues than invisible compression artefacts in video files)


- Carsten