Codec Comparison : h.264 vs DNxHD vs Cineform YUV

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• published: 21 Nov 2015
• views: 1052

This is just a quick comparison of three codecs you can render out from in Da Vinci Resolve. This video clip was shot in a Black Magic Cinema Camera using the Pro Res 422 HQ codec. The same color corrections were applied to them in Resolve; the only difference between is the codecs that were used. This was only a 20 second clip that was originally 427 MBs. The file size differences after rendering were as follows: H.264 = 362 MBs DNxHD 220 1080 p = 425 MBs Cineform YUV 10 bit = 650 MBs For casual viewing, all the clips were passable. Upon closer viewing, the winner seemed to be DNxHD 220. The level of detail, overall color, and its ability to handle motion were all noted as positives. For its file size, the H.264 was very good, but upon closer inspection, especially in the trees, the motion recording is not as smooth. For the size of its file, one might have expected Cineform to have retained the most quality, but among the viewers polled, it did not stand out above the DNxHD codec. The takeaway is if you are just doing an informal or casual project, you can probably get by with just using H.264. It takes up the least amount of space and is passable for the casual viewer. For a more serious project, then DNxHD appears to be a good choice. As far as we can tell, there is no appreciable difference that Cineform has over DNxHD, and given the large file it creates, DNxHD would appear to be the odds on favorite.