HEVC 4:2:0 or H.264 4:2:2 for 10 bit HDR recording?

Teagan wrote on 6/19/2021, 5:17 PM

Hi there, I'm just wondering if recording in HEVC 4:2:0 is better or worse than AVC/h.264 4:2:2 for color grading for HDR delivery and also SDR delivery.

I think I already know the answer, 4:2:2 of course, but with the same bitrate, in HEVC, is it actually higher quality in 4:2:0 or should I stick to h.264 4:2:2 while in V-Log for the best results in post production? Isn't HEVC 2x as much quality at h.264 at the same bit rate?

I've been using HEVC forever and I think I need to switch, but the HEVC codec seems to have my eye for some reason. Any advantages to HEVC 4:2:0 over AVC 4:2:2?

Comments

Musicvid wrote on 6/19/2021, 10:50 PM

The question is, "Do you plan to produce video for delivery, or are you a hobbyist who will view it only by yourself?

10 bit AVC (Hi10p Profile) has been a dead duck for five years, and is largely undeliverable. It was replaced with the adoption of h265/HEVC, a production format.

Teagan wrote on 6/20/2021, 7:39 AM

It's for delivery on DVD, Blu ray and USB drives. SDR and HDR10.

I have heard that 4:2:2 gives more room in color grading, but is that the same as just changing the curves and exposure (like in the thread about pushing it up to 1000 nits)? That is all I will be doing to it.

RogerS wrote on 6/20/2021, 9:10 AM

Are these capture formats both 10-bit? That's the bigger difference.

My understanding is 4:2:2 gives more color information that can be helpful for greenscreen or compositing, but may not be so significant generally. My cameras are only 8-bit 4:2:0 so I haven't faced this issue on my own projects (though have seen how log falls apart in 8-bit!)

Teagan wrote on 6/20/2021, 9:14 AM

Are these capture formats both 10-bit? That's the bigger difference.

My understanding is 4:2:2 gives more color information that can be helpful for greenscreen or compositing, but may not be so significant generally. My cameras are only 8-bit 4:2:0 so I haven't faced this issue on my own projects (though have seen how log falls apart in 8-bit!)

Yes this is all 10 bit.

RogerS wrote on 6/20/2021, 10:11 AM

That's good.

In regards to quality/bitrate it depends at what bitrate. Once you pass sufficiency for the level of detail and motion in the scene you don't need more. Were you using the GH5? (I forget). You should be fine with either format in that case.

Teagan wrote on 6/20/2021, 10:25 AM

That's good.

In regards to quality/bitrate it depends at what bitrate. Once you pass sufficiency for the level of detail and motion in the scene you don't need more. Were you using the GH5? (I forget). You should be fine with either format in that case.


I use the Panasonic AG-CX350, which is basically a GH5, I think a lot of things are the same.

So I can either choose from h.264 4:2:2 150Mb/s or h.265 4:2:0 150Mb/s. There's also a h.264 4:2:0 100Mb/s option. This is all in 10 bit - I never shoot in 8 bit for any reason.

I have always been using the HEVC 4:2:0 150mb/s option and, when in 60p, the HEVC 4:2:0 200Mb/s option.