Recommended Master (/ intermediate) Codec from Premiere Pro?

[Daniel_Peterson]

I'm trying to nail down what codec to use as my master format...Cineform? DNX H something?

What's your recommendation and why?

(PS. I use png and openEXR sequences for animations but am unsure for a master video with audio)

[davidarbor · Accepted solution]

Cineform is a great solution. If you're on a Mac then ProRes is also viable, as Premiere can READ ProRes on both Mac and Windows, but it can't write ProRes on Windows.

If you're familiar with ProRes then Cineform quality 3 is roughly the same as ProRes 422, quality 4 is about ProRes 422(HQ) and quality 5 is like ProRes 4444.

Cineform exports quickly, utilizes all of your cores, and is cross-platform.

The other option is DNxHR, but Cineform is my choice.

[Jim_Simon]

I'm also a fan of Cineform, largely because it's a CQ (Constant Quality) codec.  That means Cineform will use as many bits as are needed to hit the desired quality level.  If it needs 30, you won't be stuck at 20, thus reducing quality.  If it needs 10, you won't be stuck with 20, thus padding the file size unnecessarily.