Apple has finally released the first version of its flagship codec ProRes RAW, to be supported on the Windows system. This beta version (1.0) enables playback of ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ video files on compatible applications on Windows systems. 

Apple ProRes RAW

The ProRes RAW is an advanced RAW version of the ubiquitous Apple ProRes codec family that introduced in 2007. Apple ProRes RAW, which was announced in 2019, is based on the same principles and underlying technology as existing ProRes codecs but is applied to a camera sensor’s pristine raw image data rather than conventional image pixels. ProRes RAW supposed to bring the same decent ratio performance vs quality, that ProRes has brought to conventional video, but in a format ideal for high-dynamic-range (HDR) content creation in NLEs. It’s important to mention that, according to the ProRes RAW White Paper, the codec is optimal for utilization on FCPX combined with Apple Afterburner that is a dedicated accelerator to sharpen the capabilities of the ProRes RAW in professional NLEs.

ProRes RAW highlights

Here are some interesting facts/highlights about this new Apple’s flagship codec: 

1. ProRes RAW is available at two compression levels: Apple ProRes RAW and Apple ProRes RAW HQ.
2. ProRes RAW data rates generally fall between those of ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 HQ.
3. ProRes RAW HQ data rates generally fall between those of ProRes 422 HQ and ProRes 4444.
4. ProRes RAW is optimized for utilization on FCPX combined with its GPU-optimized demosaicing algorithm.
5. Apple’s Afterburner can accelerate editing with ProRes RAW to 23 streams of 4K 30fps or 6 streams of 8K 30fps.

Check out the slide below which demonstrates the Apple ProRes RAW capabilities according to Apple’s White Papers: 

Apple ProRes RAW for Windows 1.0 (Beta)

Yesterday, Apple announced the plugin that allows play-backing the ProRes RAW codec in Windows operating system as well (Windows 10 64-bit). This is the first version of the plugin (1.0) and is still in beta mode. As stated by Apple: “This software enables playback of ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ video files incompatible applications on Windows systems”.

The compatible Applications are:

1. Adobe After Effects (Beta)
2. Adobe Media Encoder (Beta)
3. Adobe Premiere Pro (Beta)
4. Adobe Premiere Rush (Beta)

This software enables playback of ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ video files incompatible applications on Windows systems

Apple

This means a lot since it allows editors the privilege of editing directly ProRes RAW files on Windows operating systems. However, since this version is still on beta mode, expect some issues regarding compatibility especially on Premiere. Nevertheless, the next versions will most probably fix that.

Click here to download the plugin.