Codec Reference
Containers
AVI, MOV, MXF, MP4, MPG, BMP, TGA, GIF, PNG, JPG, TIF
Video codecs
Table legend: SW — software (CPU), HW — hardware (GPU), + — supports TimeShift
| Codec |
AVI |
MOV/MP4 |
MXF |
TimeShift |
CPU/GPU |
| H.264 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW/HW |
| H.265 (HEVC) 4:2:1 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW/HW |
| H.264 4:4:4 I-Frame |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW/HW |
| HEVC 4:4:4 8-bit I-Frame |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW/HW |
| HEVC 4:4:4 10-bit I-Frame |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW/HW |
| MPEG-2 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW |
| MPEG-2 I-Frame 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DVCAM 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DVCPro 4:1:1 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DVCPro50 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DVCPro HD 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| MPEG IMX 30 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| MPEG IMX 40 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| MPEG IMX 50 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DNxHD 120 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DNxHD 185 4:2:3 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DNxHR SQ (4:2:2 8-bit) |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DNxHR HQ (4:2:2 8-bit) |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DNxHR HQX (4:2:2 10-bit) |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| DNxHR 444 (4:4:4 10-bit) |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes HD HQ 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes HD LT 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes HD Proxy 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes HD NQ 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes SD HQ 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes UHD HQ 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes UHD LT 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes UHD Proxy 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| Apple ProRes UHD NQ 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| XDCAM HD 17 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW |
| XDCAM HD 25 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW |
| XDCAM HD 35 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW |
| XDCAM EX 35 4:2:0 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW |
| XDCAM HD 50 4:2:2 |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
— |
SW |
| AVC Intra 50 4:2:0/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| AVC Intra 100 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| AVC Intra 200 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| XAVC Intra 300 4K 4:2:2/10-bit |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
+ |
SW |
| NewTek SpeedHQ 4:2:2 |
— |
✓ |
— |
— |
SW |
| AV1 |
— |
✓ |
— |
— |
SW/HW |
Audio codecs (playback)
| Codec |
Description |
| PCM |
Uncompressed audio (WAV, AVI, MXF) |
| AAC |
Widely used lossy codec (MP4, MOV) |
| MPEG-1/2 Layer II |
DVB broadcast audio standard |
| AC-3 (Dolby Digital) |
5.1 surround, DVB, Blu-Ray |
| MP3 |
MPEG-1 Layer III |
Audio codecs (IP output encoding)
| Codec |
Usage |
| AAC |
OTT, HLS, RTMP, internet broadcasting |
| MPEG-1 Layer II |
DVB/IPTV UDP streams |
| MPEG-2 Layer II |
DVB/IPTV UDP streams |
| AC-3 (ATSC A/52A) |
American DVB standard |
Up to 8 stereo pairs per output. Sample rate: 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz.
Subtitles
| Format |
Description |
| SRT |
SubRip — the most common text format |
| STL |
EBU STL — professional European standard |
| TBS |
Internal subtitle format |
| Format |
Transport |
| OP-42 / OP-47 |
Teletext in SDI and IP TS |
| EIA-608 |
American standard (analog) |
| EIA-708 |
American standard (digital) |
| DVB |
Subtitles in DVB TS |
| TTML |
XML-based, used in HLS and DASH |
Supported I/O cards
| Manufacturer |
Series / Model |
| StreamLabs |
MH4LM (ASI/SDI input) |
| NVIDIA |
GeForce GTX/RTX, Quadro, Tesla |
| Mellanox |
Network cards for SMPTE ST 2110 |
| Blackmagic Design |
DeckLink (all models) |
| DekTec |
DTA SDI cards |
| AJA |
Kona, Io series |
| Format |
Resolution |
Frame rate |
| SD PAL |
720×576 |
25i, 50p |
| SD NTSC |
720×480 |
29.97i, 59.94p |
| HD 720p |
1280×720 |
25p, 50p, 29.97p, 59.94p |
| HD 1080i |
1920×1080 |
25i, 29.97i |
| HD 1080p |
1920×1080 |
25p, 29.97p, 50p, 59.94p |
| UHD 4K |
3840×2160 |
25p, 29.97p, 50p, 59.94p |