ProRes vs H.264 vs HEVC: which video codec should you export in?

What is a video codec?

A codec is the method a file uses to squeeze pictures into fewer bits and expand them again for playback. The name is short for coder-decoder. A raw 1080p frame is several megabytes, and a second of video holds 24 to 60 of them, so every practical video file is compressed. Codecs differ in how hard they squeeze, what they throw away, and how much work a computer must do to play them back.

Do not confuse the codec with the container. MP4 and MOV are containers, boxes that hold video, sound and subtitles together. H.264 can sit in either; ProRes usually lives in MOV.

What is the difference between ProRes, H.264 and HEVC?

How they treat time. Apple's ProRes white paper describes every ProRes codec as frame-independent, or intra-frame: each frame is encoded and decoded on its own, which Apple says gives the greatest editing performance and flexibility. Jump to any frame and the computer decodes just that frame.

H.264 and HEVC are long-GOP codecs. GOP means group of pictures: a complete frame now and then, with the frames between stored only as the changes from the frames around them. A static shot of someone talking changes little from frame to frame, so it shrinks enormously. The cost comes when you edit: to show one frame, the computer may have to rebuild several others first, and every re-encode loses a little more detail.

ProRes vs H.264 vs HEVC: how do they compare?

On size, quality, editing and compatibility:

	ProRes 422	H.264	HEVC (H.265)
How frames are stored	Every frame whole	Mostly as changes	Mostly as changes
Data rate at 1080p, 30 fps	About 147 Mbit/s (Apple)	8 Mbit/s for YouTube	About half H.264's for the same look
One minute at 1080p	About 1.1 GB	About 60 MB	About 30 MB
Editing	Smooth, light to decode	Heavier, slower to scrub	Heaviest of the three
Re-encoding	Holds up over many generations	Loses detail each time	Loses detail each time
Plays on	Macs, editing software, professional decks	Practically everything	Apple devices and most modern ones
Best for	Editing, masters, hand-offs	Uploading and sharing	Smaller files where it is supported

ProRes comes in a family, each with Apple's target rate for 1920 × 1080 at 29.97 frames a second:

ProRes flavour	Target data rate	Use
4444 XQ	About 500 Mbit/s	The highest-quality masters, up to 12 bits a channel
4444	About 330 Mbit/s	Graphics and composites, with an alpha channel
422 HQ	About 220 Mbit/s	High-end masters, 10-bit
422	About 147 Mbit/s	Everyday editing and masters
422 LT	About 102 Mbit/s	Editing where storage is tight
422 Proxy	About 45 Mbit/s	Offline editing

Only the 4444 flavours carry an alpha channel, the see-through background a title needs to sit over other footage.

Is ProRes better than H.264?

For editing and mastering, yes. ProRes keeps more detail, decodes faster, and survives being re-encoded many times, which is why cameras, editors and colourists trade in it. For delivery, no: its files are around 18 times larger than an 8 Mbit/s H.264 file, and platforms such as YouTube compress every upload again anyway. Edit and master in ProRes; deliver in H.264 or HEVC.

Should you export in H.264 or HEVC?

HEVC for size, H.264 for reach. When the ITU approved HEVC as H.265, it said the new standard needs only half the bit rate of H.264, and Apple describes HEVC as giving better compression at the same visual quality. HEVC also handles 10-bit and HDR video comfortably.

H.264 wins where you cannot control the player. Apple's own export menus label the choice plainly: HEVC is "Smaller File Size", H.264 "Greater Compatibility". Send H.264 to a stranger, a client or an older television; use HEVC for Apple devices, phones and your own archive of watch copies. How to compress a video shows the data rates to aim for.

The back of a camera on a tripod, its flip-out screen showing a woman recording at her kitchen table, the room itself soft behind it. — Cameras record in long-GOP codecs to save card space; editors often convert to ProRes for smooth editing.Photo by Mikael Blomkvist on Pexels

Which codec should you use for YouTube?

H.264 in an MP4 file. It is what YouTube's recommended upload settings ask for, at 8 Mbit/s for 1080p at 24 to 30 frames a second. YouTube also accepts ProRes and HEVC, but a ProRes upload is enormous for no visible gain, because YouTube re-encodes everything. The best export settings for YouTube has the full table.

How do you choose a codec in Sharpy?

You choose it, once. Sharpy never guesses the quality of the finished video: until you answer, the agent lists that decision first among what the piece still needs.

Open File ▸ Decide the Finished Piece…, or ask the agent, which uses edit_delivery.
Name the codec: ProRes, H.264 or HEVC.
For H.264 or HEVC, give the rate in megabits a second, say "standard" for the rate Sharpy writes at that size (its number is shown), or pick a destination such as widescreen or master.
Read the codec lines in the export panel. Each shows the data rate it would write, so you know the size before you render.

Each codec gets its own exact size. A 2.39:1 frame 1920 wide is 803.3 pixels tall, so Sharpy makes it 804 for H.264 and 803 for ProRes, and tells you. Set to "9:16 at 960 on the long edge, H.264", it wrote 540 × 960 at 3.1 Mbit/s.

ProRes comes with rules of its own. It goes only in a .mov file, and any other ending is refused. A ProRes master's sound is 24-bit PCM, uncompressed: its level read back at −50.064 dB against the mix's −50.061, where AAC had come back at −51.167. Choose ProRes 4444 for a title or lower third to lay over another editor's picture, because it keeps the see-through background. Sharpy also delivers HDR10 and HLG, reading each source's colour tag correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Is ProRes 422 lossless?

No, but Apple describes ProRes 422 HQ as visually lossless through many generations of encoding. It throws away detail you cannot see, at a far higher data rate than H.264.

Is H.265 the same as HEVC?

Yes. HEVC, High Efficiency Video Coding, is the same standard the ITU publishes as H.265.

Why are ProRes files so big?

Because every frame is stored whole. That costs space and buys smooth editing and clean re-encoding.

Which codec is best for editing?

ProRes, or another intra-frame codec. Long-GOP files such as H.264 and HEVC edit, but they are heavier to scrub and lose detail when re-encoded.

Does HEVC look better than H.264?

At the same data rate, yes; at the rate each needs for the same look, they match and HEVC is about half the size.

Sources

Checked on 18 October 2026.