Preferred codec between mac and windows?

[superamazing]

Are there any lossless codecs that can be edited in both Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro?

Do you have any codec preferences for this?

There is a strange lack of information on this topic--and the only codec (beyond the typical lossy codecs like DV, MJPEG and others) that seems to work for shuttling information between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro is Pro Res. But Pro Res has problems too--I've heard the windows implementation is iffy, and it's lossy as well!

Your insights are appreciated!

 

[chilipie]

ProRes is great - why do you want a lossless codec?

 

[brianluce]

check out DnX from Avid.

 

[superamazing]

@Chilipie actually, the more research I do, the better Pro Res is beginning to look. The only problem is, I may have to import/export my footage as many as three or four times in the coming months.

I was under the impression that this many import/export cycles would degrade the footage, but as I've done more research, I'm beginning to think that it may work.

Still, I'd like to be confident that I'm not losing any quality as I switch between computers, add things in, and make more and more changes.

 

[chilipie]

@Chilipie actually, the more research I do, the better Pro Res is beginning to look. The only problem is, I may have to import/export my footage as many as three or four times in the coming months.

I was under the impression that this many import/export cycles would degrade the footage, but as I've done more research, I'm beginning to think that it may work.

Still, I'd like to be confident that I'm not losing any quality as I switch between computers, add things in, and make more and more changes.

I'd recommend reading through the ProRes White Paper - it's a very useful reference to have when calculating required storage space et cetera. If you look on page 15, there's a graph showing the peak signal to noise ratio for multigenerational footage, which may help you decide.

 

[superamazing]

Thanks for that link, man! It's great. I spent a whole week searching for a resource like that--I have no idea why information on codecs is so hard to find.

Anyway, ProRes is certainly a leading option, but I've also been looking at Animation. I understand that the Animation codec is frequently used for workflows between AE and FCP.