ProRes or DNxHR: which to use on Windows
Same quality. The difference is where the file is going.
Updated: October 2026 · 7 min read
If you edit on Windows and nobody asked you for anything: DNxHR HQ, because Resolve and Avid export it natively and it weighs the same. If you deliver to a Mac, to Final Cut or to a client who said "ProRes": ProRes 422 HQ. In quality they are equivalent; the difference is who can write them and what the receiver expects.
What they have in common, which is almost everything
H.264 and HEVC store a full frame every so often and, in between, only the differences. To show you frame 87, the editor has to rebuild it from the last full frame, and it does that on every cut, every scrub and every reverse playback. ProRes and DNxHR store every frame whole: any point on the timeline opens with nothing to compute. That is why a laptop that chokes on H.264 edits ProRes without breaking a sweat, and why those files are so big.
Both come in levels that go from proxy to 4:4:4, both store uncompressed PCM audio, and both have a 4:2:2 master level that is the one you'll be asked for 90% of the time.
The levels, side by side
| Use | ProRes | DNxHR | ≈ Mbps at 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light proxy | 422 Proxy (10-bit) | LB (8-bit) | 36 to 45 |
| Light editing | 422 LT (10-bit) | SQ (8-bit) | 102 to 145 |
| Master and delivery | 422 HQ (10-bit) | HQ (8-bit) · HQX (12-bit) | 175 to 220 |
| Graphics, alpha, VFX | 4444 · 4444 XQ (12-bit + alpha) | 444 (12-bit) | 330 to 500 |
Sources: Apple ProRes White Paper · Avid · Supported Video Formats Reference · Wikipedia · DNxHR. Read in October 2026.
Where they do differ
| ProRes | DNxHR | |
|---|---|---|
| Who created it | Apple (2007) | Avid (2014, successor to DNxHD) |
| Exporting it on Windows | Only programs with an Apple license: Premiere, After Effects, Avid, Vegas, Lightworks, Edius | Anything: Resolve, Premiere, Avid, FFmpeg… |
| Bits at the master level | 10-bit (422 HQ) | 8-bit in HQ; 10 in HQX |
| What a Mac or Final Cut expects | It is its native format | Opens it, but will ask for ProRes |
| What Resolve on Windows expects | Opens it; doesn't export it | It is its intermediate |
| Transparency (alpha) | 4444 and 4444 XQ | 444 (no alpha in most implementations) |
The rule to decide in ten seconds
Choose like this
- You were asked for it: deliver exactly that. A delivery spec is not up for negotiation.
- It goes to a Mac or to Final Cut: ProRes 422 HQ.
- It stays in Resolve or Avid on Windows: DNxHR HQ (HQX if your footage is 10-bit).
- It is for Premiere on Windows: either one; Premiere exports both.
- It is for YouTube: neither. Upload the H.264 or H.265 your editor exports; YouTube is going to recompress it anyway.
How to get either one on Windows
In Premiere and Avid, from the exporter itself. In Resolve, DNxHR from Deliver and ProRes by converting the master. And for loose files, or for footage that is in a link:
- 1Install AppGrabbit. 109 MB, Windows 10 and 11, no account. Windows will say it protected your PC because the installer is not code-signed: More info › Run anyway.
- 2Open the Convert tab. Drag your files onto "Drop files here or click to choose them". It takes MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, WebM and the usual audio and image files, with no size limit.
- 3Click the editor shortcut. "Editing the video?": ProRes 422 HQ, DNxHR HQ or WAV for editing. If you prefer another format, pick it from the "Convert to" list on each file.
- 4Check the output folder. "Saved to" shows the folder; change it if you want the files to land next to your project.
- 5Convert. Progress shows up under "In progress". Each file costs 1 credit; with Pro there is no cap.
Exactly what AppGrabbit outputs
- ProRes 422 HQ in .mov: 10-bit 4:2:2 video (prores_ks profile 3, with the vendor tag Final Cut recognizes) and 24-bit PCM audio at 48 kHz.
- DNxHR HQ in .mov: 8-bit 4:2:2 video and the same 24-bit PCM audio at 48 kHz.
- WAV for editing: the audio uncompressed, for Audition, Audacity or the mix.
- What it does not output: the other variants (Proxy, LT, 4444, HQX, 444). If your delivery calls for them, use the FFmpeg command or Shutter Encoder; both are below.
- Where it runs: on your PC, with the FFmpeg that ships inside the installer. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
ProRes 422 HQ or DNxHR HQ, whichever you're asked for
Windows 10 and 11 · 109 MB · 1 credit per file, 5 free a month
Frequently asked questions
At similar rates, nobody can tell them apart. ProRes 422 HQ and DNxHR HQX are 10-bit 4:2:2 and run around 220 Mbps at 1080p; DNxHR HQ is 8-bit at the same rate. If your footage is 10-bit (log, HDR), in DNxHR step up to HQX; if not, HQ is plenty.
Almost the same at the master level. The big differences are between levels (Proxy versus HQ), not between families.
Both are read by every editor on Windows and Mac. Writing them is different: ProRes is exported only by the programs Apple licenses (Premiere, Avid, Vegas…); DNxHR is exported by anything, Resolve included.
YouTube and Vimeo accept both and recompress them the same; upload whichever you already have. TV stations and production companies have a delivery spec: read theirs, and if it says ProRes 422 HQ, it is ProRes 422 HQ.
Yes, no problem. What matters is that every clip is an intermediate and not an H.264 from a phone.
ProRes 422 HQ and DNxHR HQ, from a file or from a link, on your PC. 1 credit per converted file, 5 free a month. Pro, USD 8.99 a month, no cap and no yearly plan; 7-day pass for USD 3.99.