Sony Camera Codecs Explained: XAVC, HEVC, H.264 & Choosing the Best Settings

[00:00] In today's video, we're going to break

[00:01] down the codecs of Sony cameras so you

[00:03] don't have any misconceptions about

[00:05] those. But first of all, you need to

[00:06] understand what a codec is. A [music]

[00:08] codec is basically a container, a way of

[00:11] pressing down, compressing the footage,

[00:13] uncompressed, pretty big files to more

[00:15] compressed and more manageable file

[00:17] sizes. And as you can tell guys, in Sony

[00:19] cameras, we have several different

[00:21] codecs. Here is the Sony FX30 as an

[00:23] example, but most of the Sony cameras

[00:25] have more or less similar codecs. And to

[00:27] change the codec, you need to go to the

[00:28] shooting menu, image quality and

[00:30] recording and file format. Then hit like

[00:32] this and you'll see different codecs. Or

[00:34] there is another option. If you go to

[00:36] the home menu, you'll have the codecs

[00:38] right here. And the first thing you'll

[00:40] see is the XAVC. XAVC is basically a

[00:43] naming for Sony codecs and it doesn't

[00:45] mean anything specific. And the first

[00:47] one we have here is the XAVC HS4K. It

[00:50] means that you'll have a 4K image, but

[00:52] also we have the letters HS and it means

[00:54] that it will be an HEVC or the high

[00:57] efficiency video codec, also known as

[00:59] the H.265. We have the older H.264,

[01:03] which is not as efficient, and we have

[01:04] an H.265, which is more efficient. It

[01:08] means that the H.265 can compress the

[01:10] file sizes more. For example, you'll

[01:12] have two times smaller file sizes while

[01:14] still retaining the image quality. But

[01:16] guys, there is a catch because the H.265

[01:18] 265 is more heavy for your computer to

[01:20] uncompress. So, we have more compression

[01:23] in camera, but the computer has to

[01:25] uncompress this footage and some

[01:26] computers may struggle with this. But if

[01:29] you have the M1, M2, M2 Max, etc.,

[01:32] you'll be more than fine because Apple

[01:34] is including the decoders and encoders

[01:36] for the HEVC or H.265 and a lot of

[01:39] Windows computers as well. Then, if you

[01:41] go to movie settings, you'll see

[01:43] different formats. For example, in

[01:45] XAVCHS, we only have 50 frames per

[01:48] second and 100 frames per second.

[01:50] [music] And that's a bug of Sony cameras

[01:52] because in XAVCHs, H.265, we're not able

[01:55] to record in 25 frames per second or in

[01:59] 30 frames per second as well, only 24,

[02:01] 60, and 120. Or if you are in the PAL

[02:04] region, only 50 and 100 frames per

[02:06] second. But then we have another option,

[02:08] which is the record setting. And in

[02:09] here, we have different numbers. And

[02:11] what do they mean? Basically, we have

[02:13] here the megabits per second. 45, 75,

[02:17] 100, 150, and 200 megabits per second.

[02:20] Don't mess those with megabytes.

[02:22] Megabytes are actually eight times more.

[02:24] As you can tell here, it's written 100 m

[02:27] capital, but the B is a small one. We

[02:29] have the megabits. If it was megabytes,

[02:31] we would have the B as a capital letter

[02:33] as well. It means that the bit rate of

[02:35] 100 megabits per second is actually

[02:38] [music] 12.5 megabytes per second. we

[02:41] have to divide 100 megabits to eight to

[02:44] get the megabytes. So this is called the

[02:46] bit rate and the higher the bit rate the

[02:48] more data we have and also the heavier

[02:50] will be the file sizes. Sometimes it is

[02:53] crucial to have smaller file sizes and

[02:55] for this I'd suggest getting something

[02:56] like 45 megabits per second but

[02:58] sometimes for heavy color grading and

[03:00] color correction it is crucial to have

[03:02] higher bit rates and for this I would

[03:04] suggest picking something like 200

[03:06] megabits per second. Up next we have the

[03:08] color subsampling. We have the 422 and

[03:10] 420. And it means that we have several

[03:13] amounts of color information for each

[03:15] pixel. And as you can tell from the

[03:17] charts, the 422 has more color

[03:19] information than the 420, which is more

[03:22] important for green screen work. For

[03:23] example, if you have an option of

[03:25] picking the 4:22 instead of 420, just do

[03:28] this. And finally, we have the bit

[03:29] depth. 8 bit or 10 bit. 10 bit has about

[03:32] 1 billion colors, whereas 8bit only has

[03:35] about 16 million colors. So always if

[03:38] you have an option to pick the 10 bit,

[03:40] pick the 10 bit because it's much better

[03:42] for color grading in post. [music] And

[03:43] for each codec, you'll have different

[03:45] movie settings. For example, right now

[03:47] we were in HS codec, but now let's go to

[03:49] XAVCs, which is the H.264. It has less

[03:52] compression, but it has bigger file

[03:54] sizes. So if we pick the H.264, XAVC

[03:58] S4K, and go into the movie settings,

[04:00] right now we have the 25, the 50, and

[04:02] 100 frames per second. And as you can

[04:04] tell, we have different record settings,

[04:06] different bit rate, different color

[04:08] subsampling, 420 or 420, and different

[04:11] bit depth, 8 bit or 10 bit. And also, if

[04:13] you go from 25 frames per second to 100

[04:16] frames per second, you'll also see the

[04:18] different record settings and different

[04:19] bit rates. The next codec we have here

[04:21] is the XAVC HD. It means that you'll

[04:25] only be able to record in HD, 1080p,

[04:28] basically at 25, 50, or 100 frames per

[04:31] second. [music] And here you have

[04:33] different bit rate values, color

[04:35] subsampling and bit depth [music] values

[04:37] as well. The next codec is called the

[04:39] XAVC SI and it means that this codec has

[04:42] an all intra compression. All intra

[04:44] means that each frame is being

[04:46] compressed individually but also the

[04:48] previous codecs such as the S and the HS

[04:51] they had the long GOP compression. It

[04:53] means that you only compress the first

[04:55] shot then after about eight shots you

[04:57] get another compression and then it goes

[04:59] like so from the first to the eighth.

[05:01] then from the eighth to the 16th,

[05:03] [music] etc. It means that the all intra

[05:05] codec such as the XAVC SI is slightly

[05:08] better for really dynamic scenes. For

[05:10] example, if you shoot in Fountain,

[05:12] you'll have less compression artifacts

[05:13] with the drops that are coming from the

[05:16] fountain basically. And also, right now

[05:17] guys, I'm using the SD card which has a

[05:19] V60 label and through all the codecs

[05:22] that I've mentioned above, it was plenty

[05:24] of speed with the SD card. But if I want

[05:26] to use the SI, so all intra compression

[05:29] with higher bit rates, it will show me

[05:31] this sign. You have to use a V90 SD card

[05:34] or the CF express type A card. And right

[05:37] now I have inserted the CF Express Type

[05:39] A card with really high bit rate speeds

[05:42] for recording and also for offloading

[05:44] the footage. And as you can tell guys,

[05:46] in the movie settings we have 25 frames

[05:48] per second and 250 megabits per second.

[05:51] It's a super high bit rate. And if we go

[05:53] to 50 frames per second, we'll have 500

[05:56] megabits per second. So the file sizes

[05:58] will be pretty dramatic. And also guys,

[06:00] I have to mention that you don't have

[06:02] 100 frames per second in all intra mode.

[06:04] So with this codec XAVCI, but you can

[06:07] actually enable it with a slow and quick

[06:09] motion if you set the FPS for the

[06:12] recording and for the frame rate. The

[06:14] next codec we have here is the XAVC SI.

[06:16] So once again, an all intra codec with

[06:18] higher bit rates, but for the 1080p HD.

[06:21] And as you can tell from here, we have

[06:23] the 93 mgabits per second speed for 25

[06:26] fps and also for 50 fps, we get 185

[06:29] megabits per second bit rate at 4210

[06:32] bit. And the final codec that is

[06:34] available only on Sony FX30 and Sony FX3

[06:37] for the cinema cameras is the XAVC SI.

[06:40] Once again, all intra but in DCI 4K

[06:43] format. This format is usually used in

[06:46] cinema in movies and it has the aspect

[06:48] ratio of 17x9 not a 16x9. And in this

[06:52] mode I'm able to record at 24 frames per

[06:54] second. So a true 24 like cinema 24p as

[06:58] you can tell from here and also in 25

[07:00] and 50 frames per second. And you only

[07:02] need this mode if you plan on using it

[07:04] for the film and if your client requires

[07:07] you to shoot in this 17x9 aspect ratio.

[07:10] Now you know about the codecs

[07:11] themselves, about the bit rate, bit

[07:13] depth, color subsampling, and

[07:15] differences between those, but which

[07:17] ones are my favorite, and which ones do

[07:18] I recommend? Usually, if I need to shoot

[07:20] at 50 or 100 frames per second, I'll

[07:23] just go to XAVC HS because it still has

[07:26] really nice image quality, but really

[07:28] manageable file sizes. As you can tell,

[07:30] for 50 frames per second, I can easily

[07:32] use 100 megabits per second and I'll

[07:35] have about 8 and 1/2 hours of recording

[07:37] to my 256 gigs card. But if I were to

[07:41] go, for example, to the XAVC S4K, which

[07:44] is H.264 codec, I'll have the bit rate

[07:48] to about 280 megabits per second. And

[07:50] here I have only 3 hours and 15 minutes

[07:53] of record time, which is more than two

[07:55] times less. But the image quality

[07:57] difference isn't that noticeable at all.

[07:59] But if I need to record in 25 fps, I'll

[08:02] go to xavc 4K H.264 codec and I'll go to

[08:06] 25 frames per second and I would pick

[08:09] 140 megabits per second 42 10 bit just

[08:12] to be in 10 bit codec and in 4:2 color

[08:15] subsampling. And with this mode, I'll

[08:17] have about 6 hours and 40 minutes to my

[08:19] 256 SD card. And I almost never shoot in

[08:23] HD because the 4K quality is really nice

[08:25] on Sony cameras and I simply don't need

[08:27] to shoot in HD. I would have the bigger

[08:30] resolution with the 4K definitely. And

[08:32] with the SI codec, I also don't use it

[08:35] often because if I pick this codec and

[08:37] shoot in 50 frames per second, I only

[08:39] have 57 minutes of record time to my 256

[08:43] CF Express Type A card, which is really

[08:45] not a lot. It's eight times less than

[08:48] shooting in uh XDC HS.265. And the

[08:51] difference in image quality is literally

[08:53] indistinguishable. At least in my

[08:55] opinion, especially when you upload your

[08:57] video to YouTube or Instagram, for

[08:59] example, you won't notice any difference

[09:01] because YouTube or Instagram will apply

[09:03] their compression and you'll see no

[09:05] difference whatsoever. And since I don't

[09:07] shoot movies and don't shoot for cinema,

[09:09] I don't use the DCI 4K mode as well. And

[09:11] for the codecs I've shown you, I do use

[09:13] the V60 card. This one is 256 gigs and

[09:17] it's for 25 megabytes per second speeds.

[09:20] And as you can tell right here, I have

[09:22] 50 frames per second in XAVCs codec and

[09:25] the bit rate is 200 megabits per second.

[09:28] So it's plenty of headroom for me. So

[09:30] the V60 would be a sweet spot between

[09:32] the price of the SD card and the

[09:34] recording capabilities. And the transfer

[09:36] speeds with the V60 cards are still

[09:38] pretty much manageable and it's not that

[09:40] much slower than for example a V90 card

[09:43] which is much more expensive. But still

[09:44] guys, occasionally I do want to shoot in

[09:46] XAVC SI mode for my clients

[09:49] specifically. And you can purchase one

[09:51] CF Express Type A card for this type of

[09:53] shot in XAVC SI codec or for the DCI 4K

[09:56] and then you'll have a second slot with

[09:58] the V6 DSD card as a backup. In my

[10:01] opinion, there is absolutely zero need

[10:02] to buy a V90 cards because they are much

[10:05] more expensive and you don't get major

[10:07] differences in those codecs that I

[10:09] regularly use and you won't see a big

[10:11] difference in the transfer speeds as

[10:13] well. There is also a V30 type of card

[10:15] for the SD cards and you'll be still

[10:17] able to record a lot of different

[10:18] formats. [music]

[10:19] For example, XABC HS 10 bit 100 megabits

[10:23] per [music] second easily and they're

[10:25] even cheaper than the V60. But in my

[10:27] opinion, the V60 is a sweet spot. But no

[10:29] matter which cards you're using, micro

[10:31] SD, SD, CF Express Type A, or CF Express

[10:34] Type B, I would always recommend using

[10:37] our Freewell Pro Card Reader Plus to

[10:39] offload the footage in a fast and

[10:41] convenient way. Not only does it support

[10:43] all the memory cards that I've mentioned

[10:44] above, it also has a USBC port with 10

[10:47] Gbits per second speeds. And the file

[10:49] transfer speeds are crazy fast, but also

[10:51] you can use it with our Pro SSD link

[10:53] little hub which can be connected like

[10:55] so. And you can actually offload the

[10:57] footage straight in the field just by

[10:59] simply using your iPhone and connecting

[11:01] it together. And what's even cooler is

[11:03] that the Pro SSD link hub can be used

[11:05] with your SSDs M.2s at up to 8 TB of

[11:09] footage. You can use it as an SSD disc

[11:11] or as a hub for your iPhone, for

[11:13] example, like here. And you have a

[11:14] magnetic connection like so. And a

[11:16] little adjustable cable in the kit. And

[11:18] then you can use it also to store your

[11:21] footage from the camera by using the

[11:23] card reader. With our Freewell Pro card

[11:25] reader plus and also with the Pro SSD

[11:27] link, the possibilities are literally

[11:29] endless. I hope you did enjoy this

[11:31] video, guys, and now you know everything

[11:32] about the Sony cameras and codecs in

[11:34] those. And we'll see you in the next

[11:35] video. Take care.