TOOL 06 / 07 · DELIVERY · H.264 · H.265 · ProRes · DNxHR · AV1

Codec explorer

Five codecs you will meet everywhere from the camera to YouTube. For each one: how it compresses, what it is good for, how much colour it can carry and what its licensing terms are.

H.264 AVC · MPEG-4 Part 10

ITU-T H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10, first approved 30 May 2003

Long-GOP: a key frame (I) with predicted P and B frames in between that store only the differences. Smaller files, heavier decoding when editing.

Compression: Usually long-GOP (I, P and B frames). The standard also includes all-intra profiles for professional recording (High 10 Intra, High 4:2:2 Intra and others).
Typical use: Distribution and web uploads, recording in many cameras and phones, streaming.
Bit depth and colour: High profile: 8 bits, 4:2:0. The High 10, High 4:2:2 and High 4:4:4 Predictive profiles extend bit depth and chroma sampling.
Containers: MP4, MOV, MKV, MPEG-TS
Licensing: The patent pool is administered by Via Licensing Alliance (Via LA). Licensing obligations depend on the product and the method of distribution.
Hardware: The widest decoding support of all the codecs here; hardware encoding and decoding are common in computers, phones and TVs.

Sources: ITU-T H.264 — Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services (edition history, profiles); Via LA: AVC/H.264 Patent Portfolio License

Apple ProRes Proxy · LT · 422 · HQ · 4444 · 4444 XQ

Apple’s proprietary codec (ProRes RAW is a separate technology)

Every frame is a key frame (I): it is decoded on its own, so cutting on any frame is cheap.

Compression: According to Apple, all ProRes codecs are ‘frame-independent (intra-frame)’: every frame is encoded and decoded on its own. They are variable bitrate (VBR) with a target number of bits per frame; the maximum is about 10% above the target.
Typical use: Editing, exchange between facilities, mastering, recording in professional cameras and recorders.
Bit depth and colour: Apple: the family supports editing of 10-bit 4:2:2 and 4:4:4:4 material. 4444 and 4444 XQ: up to 12 bits per image channel and an alpha channel of up to 16 bits (lossless).
Containers: MOV; MXF as well from Final Cut Pro 10.3
Licensing: Apple licenses ProRes to selected companies and keeps a list of authorised products. According to Apple, unauthorised implementations (it names FFmpeg and its derivatives) can cause decoding errors and incompatibility.
Hardware: Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max chips (and newer) have hardware-accelerated ProRes; otherwise encoders and decoders are software-based and use multi-core processors.

Apple ProRes: levels / profiles
Level	Bit depth	Chroma	Note
422 Proxy	—	4:2:2	offline editing
422 LT	—	4:2:2	≈ 70% of the 422 data rate
422	—	4:2:2	≈ 66% of the HQ data rate
422 HQ	10 bit	4:2:2
4444	up to 12 bit + 16-bit alpha	4:4:4:4
4444 XQ	up to 12 bit + 16-bit alpha	4:4:4:4

Sources: Apple ProRes White Paper, April 2022

Avid DNxHR LB · SQ · HQ · HQX · 444 — now ‘Avid DNx’

An implementation of SMPTE ST 2019-1 (VC-3). Since the 2025 revision Avid has called the codec simply ‘Avid DNx’, with five levels.

Every frame is a key frame (I): it is decoded on its own, so cutting on any frame is cheap.

Compression: Frame-by-frame compression with a fixed number of bytes per frame for a given level and resolution — so the data rate can be calculated exactly.
Typical use: Editing and exchange (especially Avid Media Composer and shared storage), mastering, broadcast workflows.
Bit depth and colour: Avid’s classic DNxHR table: LB, SQ, HQ 8 bit 4:2:2; HQX 12 bit 4:2:2; 444 12 bit RGB/4:4:4. The newer ‘Avid DNx’ supports 8 to 16 bits and optional alpha at every level.
Containers: MXF (native in Avid), MOV
Licensing: The codec is based on the SMPTE VC-3 standard and supplied by Avid. Terms for your own implementations are a matter for Avid.
Hardware: Mainly software encoding and decoding; its low processing load is one of the reasons it is used for editing.

Avid DNxHR: levels / profiles
Level	Bit depth	Chroma	Note
LB	8 bit	4:2:2	proxy, 22:1 compression
SQ	8 bit	4:2:2	7:1
HQ	8 bit	4:2:2	4.5:1
HQX	12 bit	4:2:2	5.5:1
444	12 bit	RGB / 4:4:4	4.5:1

Sources: Avid: NEXIS Bandwidth for DNxHR Material (profile table, bit depth); Avid: Avid DNx naming scheme and data rates (updated 21 April 2026)

AV1 AOMedia Video 1

AOMedia — AV1 Bitstream & Decoding Process Specification

Long-GOP: a key frame (I) with predicted P and B frames in between that store only the differences. Smaller files, heavier decoding when editing.

Compression: A distribution codec with inter-frame prediction, designed for high efficiency in streaming. It is not usually edited natively — it is transcoded to an intra codec.
Typical use: Streaming and web distribution, especially at high resolutions and in HDR.
Bit depth and colour: Main profile: 8/10 bit, 4:2:0 (and monochrome). High: adds 4:4:4. Professional: adds 12 bit and 4:2:2.
Containers: MP4 (AOMedia ISOBMFF binding), WebM, MKV
Licensing: AOMedia Patent License 1.0: a royalty-free patent licence from contributors for AV1 implementations, in exchange for the same commitment from licensees.
Hardware: Newer GPUs, SoCs and televisions have hardware decoding; older devices decode AV1 only in software or not at all. Encoding is computationally demanding.

AV1: levels / profiles
Level	Bit depth	Chroma
Main	8 / 10 bit	4:2:0
High	8 / 10 bit	4:2:0, 4:4:4
Professional	8 / 10 / 12 bit	4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4

Sources: AOMedia: AV1 Bitstream & Decoding Process Specification, Annex A (profiles); AOMedia Patent License 1.0

Quick comparison
Codec	Type	Main use	Free of patent royalties?
H.264	long-GOP (intra profiles too)	distribution, web, cameras	No — patent pool (Via LA)
H.265	long-GOP (intra profiles too)	HDR, 4K distribution, cameras	No — several pools and patent holders
ProRes	intra	editing, mastering	Proprietary, licensed by Apple
DNxHR	intra	editing, mastering, Avid	Proprietary implementation of the SMPTE VC-3 standard
AV1	long-GOP	streaming	Yes — AOMedia Patent License 1.0

How to use the tool

Switch between codecs with the tabs (left and right arrow keys on the keyboard).
The strip of frames shows the type of compression: a solid ‘I’ = every frame stands alone, ‘P’ and ‘B’ = predicted long-GOP frames.
Under each codec are the sources the details come from.

Every control also works from the keyboard: Tab moves between groups, the arrow keys change the choice within a group. If reduced motion is switched on in your system, animations don’t start by themselves.

What it tells you

Distribution vs. editing codecs

H.264, H.265 and AV1 are designed for small files at good quality — typically long-GOP and demanding to decode while editing. ProRes and DNxHR are high-bitrate intra codecs that are easy to edit and withstand more generations of re-encoding.

Licensing in brief

H.264 and H.265 are covered by patent pools (Via LA for AVC; for HEVC, Access Advance, which in December 2025 also took over Via LA’s HEVC/VVC programme). AV1 offers the royalty-free AOMedia Patent License 1.0. ProRes is licensed by Apple. What this means for your product depends on the type of use — this is not legal advice.