The SStP SR Codec Explained

The most recent upgrade for the F5 and F55 includes the SR file codec, created for the F65. Here, our Technical Manager Colin Coomber explains that codec in a little more detail.

The SR file codec is a tapeless file based version of Sony’s HDCAM SR tapes, which were the highest tape quality available back in tape days.

There are three different codec options available in F5 and F55 cameras:

SStP SR SQ 444 (440Mbs)

This is an uncompressed codec fully sampling all RGB channels.

SStP SR SQ 422 (440Mbs)

This is similar to the above but samples less as well as sampling YCrCb instead of RGB.

SStP SR Lite 422 (220Mbs)

This is a lightweight version of the above with only half the Mbps therefore allowing double the recording time on a card.

Essentially you could compare these to the ALEXA’s ProRes options:

SStP SR SQ 444 (440Mbs)    –   ProRes 444 (264Mbs)

SStP SR SQ 422 (440Mbs)    –   ProRes 422 HQ (176Mbs)

SStP SR Lite 422 (220Mbs)    –   ProRes 422 (117Mbs)

Need to know more about the differences between the F5 and F55? Check out our table here.

For further information, contact Shift 4 on 020 8809 8680 or email [email protected]

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013