DNxHD/DNxHR

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DNxHD/DNxHR

Avid DNxHD (“Digital Nonlinear Extensible High Definition”) is a lossy post-production codec that is intended for use for editing as well as a presentation format.

There are a number of pre-defined resolutions, frame-rates and bit-rates that are supported, see AVID Resolutions for a list, and these are commonly requested by Editorial. However, we recommend using the DNxHR version of the codec, since it allows quite a bit more flexibility for larger image sizes than HD, more flexible frame rates and bit-rates of up to 3730Mbit/s (See DNxHR-Codec-Bandwidth-Specifications ).

Supported pixel formats: yuv422p yuv422p10le yuv444p10le gbrp10le

Example encoding:

ffmpeg -r 24 -start_number 1 -i inputfile.%04d.png -frames:v 200 -c:v dnxhd \
    -pix_fmt yuv422p10le -profile:v dnxhr_hqx \
    -vf "scale=in_range=full:in_color_matrix=bt709:out_range=tv:out_color_matrix=bt709" \
    -color_range tv -colorspace bt709 -color_primaries bt709 -color_trc bt709 -y  outputfile.mov

ffmpeg DNxHR Profiles

Profile name	Profile description	Profile #	Pix Fmt	Bit Depth	Compression Ratio
dnxhr_lb	Low Bandwidth	1	YUV 4:2:2 (yuv422p)	8	22:1
dnxhr_sq	Standard Quality	2	YUV 4:2:2 (yuv422p)	8	7:1
dnxhr_hq	High Quality	3	YUV 4:2:2 (yuv422p)	8	4.5:1
dnxhr_hqx	High Quality	4	YUV 4:2:2 (yuv422p, yuv422p10)	12 (*)	5.5: 1
dnxhr_444	DNxHR 4:4:4	5	YUV 4:4:4 or RGB (yuv444p10, gbrp10)	12 (*)	4.5:1

There really are not any significant flags to be used, since the quality is adjusted automatically to fit the compression ratio. Similarly the bit-rate flag has no impact on this. For more Bit-rate control, see the DNxHD settings below.

(*) The 12-bit depth is what the codec can support, but does not appear to be supported by ffmpeg, since the encoding only allows 10-bit image data to be encoded.

NOTE, we have sometimes seen incompatibility issues with DNxHD Quicktimes not being read by Black Magic devices (e.g. the HyperDeck Studio), so there may be cases where you will need to use Resolve or Adobe Media Encoder to create compatible media.

ffmpeg RGB support

ffmpeg -y -r 24 -i inputfile.%04d.png -vframes 100 \
     -c:v dnxhd -profile:v dnxhr_444 \
     -color_primaries bt709 -color_range tv -color_trc bt709 -colorspace rgb \
     -pix_fmt gbrp10le outputfile.mov

AVID friendly MXF

This is currently under development, use at your own risk.

There are two types of MXF files, Op-atom and OP1a. Op-atom is designed for a single piece of media, whether its audio or video, so a clip with both would be split into two sections. OP1a is a streaming format, where the audio and video streams are interleaved (see MXF).

OP1a MXF

This is appropriate for deliveries where this only a video component, not a mixed format.

ffmpeg -y -r 24 -start_number 2500 -i inputfile.%04d.png  -vframes 100 \
    -pix_fmt yuv422p \
    -vf "scale=in_range=full:in_color_matrix=bt709:out_range=tv:out_color_matrix=bt709" \
    -c:v dnxhd -profile:v dnxhr_sq \
      -metadata project="MY PROJECT" \
      -metadata material_package_name="MY CLIP"  -timecode 01:00:20:00 \
    -color_range tv -colorspace bt709 -color_primaries bt709 -color_trc bt709  \
    outputfile.mxf

These can be imported directly into the AVID, although it will need to do some unpacking. For the fastest import you probably want to use OpAtom (see below). If you want to import with a reel-name, using the AAF wrapper (see below) is the recommended approach.

Op-Atom MXF

AVID prefer deliveries in MXF using the Avid Op-Atom format. Generating the Op-Atom format used to be a separate application, but its now integrated into ffmpeg. This worked for a single piece of media (i.e. just video, or audio, not both).

ffmpeg -y -r 24 -i inputfile.%04d.png -vframes 100 -pix_fmt yuv422p \
    -pix_fmt yuv422p \
    -vf "scale=in_range=full:in_color_matrix=bt709:out_range=tv:out_color_matrix=bt709" 
    -c:v dnxhd -profile:v dnxhr_sq \
      -metadata project="MY PROJECT" \
      -metadata material_package_name="MY CLIP"  -timecode 01:00:20:00 \
      -f mxf_opatom \
      -color_range tv -colorspace bt709 -color_primaries bt709 -color_trc bt709 \
       outputfile.mxf

Typically you will want “MY CLIP” to match the outputfile, but its not necessary. Also note, that if you want a reel-name to also be on the clip that you will need to wrap the MXF file in an AAF (See below) to get the extra metadata imported.

See https://johnwarburton.net/blog/?p=50731

Also see Avid Media Composer Workflow for other workflows such as AAF creation.

DNxHD Profiles

For example below is an example of DNxHD at 175Mbps at yuv422p10 at resolution 1920x1080.

ffmpeg -y -r 24 -i inputfile.%04d.png -vframes 100 \
    -vf "in_range=full:in_color_matrix=bt709:out_range=tv:out_color_matrix=bt709" \
    -pix_fmt yuv422p10 -c:v dnxhd -b:v 175M \
     -vf "scale=in_color_matrix=bt709:out_color_matrix=bt709" \
     -color_primaries bt709 -color_range tv -color_trc bt709 -colorspace bt709 \
      outputfile.mov

Other combinations of resolution, bitrate and format are:

Resolution	Bit Rate	Pix Format	Frame Rates
1920x1080p	175M	yuv422p10	23.98, 24
1920x1080p	185M	yuv422p10	25
1920x1080p	365M	yuv422p10	50
1920x1080p	440M	yuv422p10	59.94, 60
1920x1080p	115M	yuv422p	23.97, 24
1920x1080p	120M	yuv422p	25
1920x1080p	145M	yuv422p	29.97, 50
1920x1080p	240M	yuv422p	50
1920x1080p	290M	yuv422p	59.94, 60
1920x1080p	175M	yuv422p	23.97, 24
1920x1080p	185M	yuv422p	25
1920x1080p	220M	yuv422p	29.97
1920x1080p	365M	yuv422p	50
1920x1080p	440M	yuv422p	59.94, 60
1920x1080i	185M	yuv422p10	25
1920x1080i	220M	yuv422p10	29.97
1920x1080i	120M	yuv422p	25
1920x1080i	145M	yuv422p	29.97
1920x1080i	185M	yuv422p	25
1920x1080i	220M	yuv422p	29.97
1440x1080i	120M	yuv422p	25
1440x1080i	145M	yuv422p	29.97
1280x720p	90M	yuv422p10	23.97, 24, 25
1280x720p	180M	yuv422p10	50, 59.94, 60
1280x720p	220M	yuv422p10	59.94, 60
1280x720p	90M	yuv422p	23.97, 24, 25
1280x720p	110M	yuv422p	29.97
1280x720p	180M	yuv422p	50
1280x720p	220M	yuv422p	59.94, 60
1280x720p	60M	yuv422p	23.97, 24, 25
1280x720p	75M	yuv422p	29.97
1280x720p	120M	yuv422p	50
1280x720p	145M	yuv422p	59.94, 60
1920x1080p	36M	yuv422p	23.97, 24, 25
1920x1080p	45M	yuv422p	29.97
1920x1080p	75M	yuv422p	50
1920x1080p	90M	yuv422p	59.94, 60
1920x1080p	350M	yuv444p10, gbrp10	23.97, 24
1920x1080p	390M	yuv444p10, gbrp10	25
1920x1080p	440M	yuv444p10, gbrp10	29.97
1920x1080p	730M	yuv444p10, gbrp10	50
1920x1080p	880M	yuv444p10, gbrp10	59.94, 60
960x720p	42M	yuv422p
960x720p	60M	yuv422p
960x720p	75M	yuv422p
960x720p	115M	yuv422p
1440x1080p	63M	yuv422p
1440x1080p	84M	yuv422p
1440x1080p	100M	yuv422p
1440x1080p	110M	yuv422p
1440x1080i	80M	yuv422p
1440x1080i	90M	yuv422p
1440x1080i	100M	yuv422p
1440x1080i	110M	yuv422p