<p>The reason for mastering out to an uncompressed / minimally lossy format is so that you have a master copy, which you can then use to make other copies, without generation loss, or having to re-render.</p>

<p><strong>You don't have to use Animation</strong>. There, I've said it. While it's mathematically lossless, it's only 8-bit, so swings ± roundabouts. While I used to only ever render Aniamtion ever, these days I prefer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNxHR_codec" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DNxHR</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CineForm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cineform</a> with 10-bit colour, the file size is better and you have four times as much colour information. If you're on a mac <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_ProRes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ProRes 4444</a> is a good option.</p>

<p>But the first step is <strong>check with the broadcaster</strong> to see what their tech specs are. The broadcaster where I work mostly take ProRes, so I make proRes submasters from my master copy using ffmpeg. No seriously, check, because they will reject stuff that doesn't pass their quality control.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-03T03:11:09.080Z
2018-04-03T09:26:34.560Z
2018-04-03T09:26:34.560Z
stib
<p>I see a lot of tips for getting h264 renders onto web streaming sites in 4K but not much on TV. Should I just go with Animation/lossless for my “master”? seems crazy for a 22 minute program but HDD is cheap now so it’s doable. The content consists of detailed animation including 3d rendered scenes source material. </p>

<p><em>Would 4k on h264 5.2 be adequate? Any artifacts going h264 -> broadcast?</em></p>

<after-effects><broadcasting><4k><television>
Best render settings for broadcast/4k TV
FlavorScape
# Best render settings for broadcast/4k TV

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-02)

I see a lot of tips for getting h264 renders onto web streaming sites in 4K but not much on TV. Should I just go with Animation/lossless for my “master”? seems crazy for a 22 minute program but HDD is cheap now so it’s doable. The content consists of detailed animation including 3d rendered scenes source material.

*Would 4k on h264 5.2 be adequate? Any artifacts going h264 -> broadcast?*

**Tags:** after-effects, broadcasting, 4k, television


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-04-03. Score: 3

The reason for mastering out to an uncompressed / minimally lossy format is so that you have a master copy, which you can then use to make other copies, without generation loss, or having to re-render.

**You don't have to use Animation**. There, I've said it. While it's mathematically lossless, it's only 8-bit, so swings ± roundabouts. While I used to only ever render Aniamtion ever, these days I prefer [DNxHR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNxHR_codec) or [Cineform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CineForm) with 10-bit colour, the file size is better and you have four times as much colour information. If you're on a mac [ProRes 4444](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_ProRes) is a good option.

But the first step is **check with the broadcaster** to see what their tech specs are. The broadcaster where I work mostly take ProRes, so I make proRes submasters from my master copy using ffmpeg. No seriously, check, because they will reject stuff that doesn't pass their quality control.


---

