Apple ProRes is one of the most popular codecs in professional post‑production. It allows working with full‑frame, 10 and 12 bit color depth, 4:2:2 and 4:4:4:4 chroma subsampling, high‑definition HD, 2K, 4K, 6K, 8K, and larger video sources with multistream performance.

All ProRes codecs support any frame size at full resolution, and data rates that vary based on codec type, image content, frame size, and frame rate.

As a variable bit rate (VBR) codec technology, ProRes uses fewer bits on simple frames that would not benefit from encoding at a higher data rate.
Although ProRes is a VBR codec, the variability is usually small. The actual data rate is usually close to the target data rate.
(This depends on the software and implmentation of the codec. Bitrates given here are close to the upper threshold and normally with regular footage you get smaller files.
The Atomos Ninja V can sometimes record ProRes files around 20% smaller than the official TARGET data rates indicate.)
For a given ProRes format, there is also a maximum number of bits per frame that is never exceeded. This maximum is approximately 10 percent more than the target number of bits per frame.

All ProRes codecs are frame independent (or “intra‑frame”) codecs, meaning that each frame is encoded and decoded independently of any other frame. This technique provides the greatest editing performance and flexibility.

Profiles

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Apple ProRes includes the following formats:

The highest‑quality version of ProRes for 4:4:4:4 image sources (including alpha channels), with a very high data rate to preserve the detail in high‑dynamic‑range imagery generated by today’s highest‑quality digital image sensors.
Like standard Apple ProRes 4444, this codec supports up to 12 bits per image channel and up to 16 bits for the alpha channel.

An extremely high‑quality version of ProRes for 4:4:4:4 image sources (including alpha channels). This codec features full‑resolution, mastering‑quality 4:4:4:4 RGBA color and visual fidelity that is perceptually indistinguishable from the original material. Apple ProRes 4444 is a high‑quality solution for storing and exchanging motion graphics and composites, with excellent multigeneration performance and a mathematically lossless alpha channel up to 16 bits. This codec features a remarkably low data rate compared to uncompressed 4:4:4 HD and it also offers direct encoding of, and decoding to, both RGB and Y’CB CR pixel formats.

A higher‑data‑rate version of Apple ProRes 422 that preserves visual quality at the same high level as Apple ProRes 4444,
but for 4:2:2 image sources. With widespread adoption across the video post‑production industry, Apple ProRes 422 HQ offers visually lossless preservation of the highest‑quality professional HD video that a single link HD‑SDI signal can carry. This codec supports full‑width, 4:2:2 video sources at 10‑bit pixel depths, while remaining visually lossless through many generations of decoding and re‑encoding.

A high‑quality compressed codec offering nearly all the benefits of Apple ProRes 422 HQ, but at 66 percent of the data rate for even better multistream, real‑time editing performance.

A more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes 422, with roughly 70 percent of the data rate and 30 percent smaller file sizes. This codec is perfect for environments where storage capacity and data rate are at a premium.

An even more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes 422 LT, intended for use in offline workflows that require low data rates but full‑resolution video.

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Note: ProRes 4444 XQ and ProRes 4444 are ideal for the exchange of motion graphics media because they are virtually lossless, and are the only ProRes codecs that support alpha channels.