ProRes in 4K limited to iPhone 13 models with 256GB of storage or more

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2021
Support for Apple's ProRes video compression format is a tentpole feature for iPhone 13 Pro, but its headlining capability -- 4K video recording at 30 frames per second -- is limited to models with storage allotments of 256GB or more.




Apple made a point of highlighting iPhone 13 Pro's ProRes codec handling during Tuesday's unveiling, positioning the technology as a "pro" feature exclusive to its most expensive handsets.

ProRes offers high color fidelity and image quality with relatively low storage overhead, an ideal combination for mobile filmmaking. The codec also benefits from fairly wide adoption in existing post-production workflows and can be exported to programs like Final Cut Pro.

According to Apple's iPhone 13 Pro specifications, ProRes in 4K at 30fps is limited to 256GB, 512GB and 1TB models. The 128GB handset variant can shoot ProRes at 30fps, but at a significantly reduced resolution of 1080p.

Apple does not explain the limitation, but it can be assumed that the 128GB option does not provide the data transfer speeds necessary to keep up with 4K video creation.

ProRes is not slated to debut with iPhone 13 Pro when the device line hits stores next week and will instead roll out in an update due to arrive later this fall. Apple has a track record of staggering the release of its advanced camera technologies, with past years seeing ProRAW, Deep Fusion and Portrait Mode come to iPhone in iOS updates.

In addition to ProRes, iPhone 13 Pro features a number of camera hardware and software improvements like optical image stabilization on the new 3x telephoto lens, a new ultra-wide module with macro functionality, a new Cinematic mode, Night Mode across all cameras and more.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    A minute of 4K ProRes 422HQ is 6GB
    A minute of 4K ProRes 4444HQ is 8GB

    Whichever flavor of ProRes it is, it's gonna suck up storage really quickly. The only other possible reason is the storage in the 128 isn't fast enough to keep up, but that seems unlikely.
    rinosaurtmay
  • Reply 2 of 15
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    I can easily see people (yet again) going for the cheapest version, only to complain that they're running out of storage with those massive video files.  I can understand Apple doing this.

    williamlondonAndy.Hardwaketmaymacplusplus
  • Reply 3 of 15
    killroykillroy Posts: 276member
    A minute of 4K ProRes 422HQ is 6GB
    A minute of 4K ProRes 4444HQ is 8GB

    Whichever flavor of ProRes it is, it's gonna suck up storage really quickly. The only other possible reason is the storage in the 128 isn't fast enough to keep up, but that seems unlikely.
    Are you using 4K-2160 that's 7.94 GB
    or 3072 that's 11.29 GB
    or Academy that's 8.74? GB

    So many 4K setups.
    edited September 2021 Andy.Hardwakedoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,357member
    ProRes doesn't "ship" until later in the year. I hope anybody wanting that feature remembers that when ordering an iPhone. Yeah, even 256GB will get eaten up quickly. Will ProRes get eventually 60fps? Or is that for the 1TB/2TB phones.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 15
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,328member
    macgui said:
    ProRes doesn't "ship" until later in the year. I hope anybody wanting that feature remembers that when ordering an iPhone. Yeah, even 256GB will get eaten up quickly. Will ProRes get eventually 60fps? Or is that for the 1TB/2TB phones.
    I have setup my preorder with 512GB. Now I'm considering opting for the 1TB. Why take a chance.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 15
    omasouomasou Posts: 572member
    fastasleep said:
    A minute of 4K ProRes 422HQ is 6GB
    A minute of 4K ProRes 4444HQ is 8GB

    Whichever flavor of ProRes it is, it's gonna suck up storage really quickly. The only other possible reason is the storage in the 128 isn't fast enough to keep up, but that seems unlikely.
    The folks that use the advanced video features will likely purchase iPhone versions w/more RAM; b/c as you mention they eat RAM like a fat kid eats cake.

    My guess, is the 128 version is for the typical user and has a lower spec, read: slower less expensive RAM.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 15
    tedz98tedz98 Posts: 80member
    Apple should have made 256GB the base storage level for the 13 Pros. It costs them virtually nothing and what good is it to install features in your most capable device if it doesn’t work on all configurations? Bad marketing decision.
    macplusplus
  • Reply 8 of 15
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    tmay said:
    macgui said:
    ProRes doesn't "ship" until later in the year. I hope anybody wanting that feature remembers that when ordering an iPhone. Yeah, even 256GB will get eaten up quickly. Will ProRes get eventually 60fps? Or is that for the 1TB/2TB phones.
    I have setup my preorder with 512GB. Now I'm considering opting for the 1TB. Why take a chance.
    Don't the latest generations of iPhones allow for fast external storage these days?  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 15
    waveparticlewaveparticle Posts: 1,497member
    Maybe should wait for the teardown before ordering. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 15
    neoncatneoncat Posts: 151member
    So how important is ProRes support, then? You look at something like RAW support for still photos, and it's reasonable to assume that even a non-professional consumer might advance their skills to the point that having access to RAW photo data would be useful. Is ProRes similarly useful to a curious amateur? Or is it more exclusively a professional feature?
    edited September 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 15
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    omasou said:
    fastasleep said:
    A minute of 4K ProRes 422HQ is 6GB
    A minute of 4K ProRes 4444HQ is 8GB

    Whichever flavor of ProRes it is, it's gonna suck up storage really quickly. The only other possible reason is the storage in the 128 isn't fast enough to keep up, but that seems unlikely.
    The folks that use the advanced video features will likely purchase iPhone versions w/more RAM; b/c as you mention they eat RAM like a fat kid eats cake.

    My guess, is the 128 version is for the typical user and has a lower spec, read: slower less expensive RAM.
    Storage, not RAM.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 15
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    neoncat said:
    So how important is ProRes support, then? You look at something like RAW support for still photos, and it's reasonable to assume that even a non-professional consumer might advance their skills to the point that having access to RAW photo data would be useful. Is ProRes similarly useful to a curious amateur? Or is it more exclusively a professional feature?
    I’d say it’s mostly aimed at people who intend to do color grading and vfx with their footage and need the highest quality output to do so, whereas working with x264 or x265 footage which is heavily compressed introduces artifacts and needs to be transcoded to work with easily in many NLE use cases, depending on what you’re doing. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 15
    12Strangers12Strangers Posts: 68member
    Apple’s ProRes 422 and 444 are great for offline editing but they are not used for final color grading by any studio picture post facility in LA.

    However, it would be great if it was 422 on the iPhone to save some space but still give you a better file format to import into an NLE for use on documentaries, weddings, home movies and such.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 14 of 15
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    12Strangers said:
    Apple’s ProRes 422 and 444 are great for offline editing but they are not used for final color grading by any studio picture post facility in LA.

    However, it would be great if it was 422 on the iPhone to save some space but still give you a better file format to import into an NLE for use on documentaries, weddings, home movies and such.
    What do you want, ProRes RAW? You know how much storage that'd require?
  • Reply 15 of 15
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,322moderator
    A minute of 4K ProRes 422HQ is 6GB
    A minute of 4K ProRes 4444HQ is 8GB

    Whichever flavor of ProRes it is, it's gonna suck up storage really quickly. The only other possible reason is the storage in the 128 isn't fast enough to keep up, but that seems unlikely.
    According to the text in the libraries, it uses 1GB per minute for 1080p/30 and 4GB/min for 4K/30 so likely ProRes 422 (147Mb/s for 1080p, 629Mb/s for 4k):

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E_1Z5cvVEAMzHfn?format=jpg&name=large
    https://www.dpreview.com/news/0999511934/report-prores-recording-apple-new-iphone-13-6gb-4gb

    A 128GB model can give over an hour of HDR 1080p video, which is fine for short clips and movie makers can offload them ( https://www.diyvideostudio.com/how-to-manage-iphone-storage/ ).

    Quality-wise, 1080p 10-bit video 147Mb/s is really good quality footage. Video content like Youtube, documentaries and adult films make up a huge volume of produced content and this will work great for their workflows. Obviously the highest end movies and commercials will continue to use the highest-end cameras available but film makers like Steven Soderberg put out mainstream movies using an iPhone 8 shooting at 4k. The new models with HDR, better low light performance and higher bitrate will continue to close the gap between consumer level and pro level camera hardware.
    fastasleep
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