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> Animating Characters and Objects > Sequencer Editor > Working with Sequencer > Rendering and Exporting in Sequencer > Movie Render Queue Overview > Movie Render Queue Output Formats

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Learn to use this Beta feature, but use caution when shipping with it.

Features available in Beta state give you the opportunity to learn how they work, plan your pipeline, and create test content. You should use caution when using these features in production , as we are still working to get to shipping-quality performance, stability, and platform support. We support backward compatibility for assets, and the APIs for these features are stable.

Movie Render Queue Output Formats

Reference for output formats currently supported by Movie Render Queue

Choose your operating system:

Windows

macOS

Linux

Supported Output Formats

The following output formats are available:


Format	Description
.bmp Sequence (8 bit)	Outputs the movie as a sequence of .bmp images. Pixel values are clamped in the [0-1] range, meaning that no HDR values are preserved. Applies sRGB encoding curve.
.exr Sequence (16 bit)	HDR values are preserved but if the Tone Curve is enabled, linear values are rescaled to approximately the [0-1] range with only the brightest highlights going above one. Disabling the Tone Curve writes linear values in the [0-100] or more range depending on the intensity of lights and other bright objects. No sRGB encoding curve is applied to .exr targets.
.jpg Sequence (8 bit)	Outputs the movie as a sequence of .jpg images. Applies sRGB encoding curve.
.png Sequence (8 bit)	Outputs the movie as a sequence of .png images. Transparency is supported with the correct project settings. Applies sRGB encoding curve.
.wav Audio	Outputs a .wav audio file alongside any other output formats you have selected. Refer to WAV Audio for more information.
Final Cut Pro XML	Outputs files alongside a Final Cut Pro XML. Refer to Final Cut Pro XML(#finalcutproxml).
Apple ProRes (10-12 bit)	Outputs a movie file using Apple ProRes. Refer to Apple ProRes Video Codecs for more information.
Avid DNx (8 bit)	Outputs a movie file using Avid DNx. Refer to Avid DNx Video Codecs for more information.

The sRGB information only applies when using the default color options. See the [OCIO documentation]() for more details.

Some of these formats have additional information and options, which are listed below.

EXR Sequences

Unreal supports .exr image sequences as an output format for Movie Render Queue. These are compatible with a variety of visual effects packages, including Nuke, Tweak RV, IfranView, and Adobe Premiere with the ProEXR plugin.

Currently, EXR output supports the following compression settings:


EXR Compression Setting	Description
None	Applies no compression to the render output for the .exr sequence.
PIZ	A lossless compression format that provides good quality for grainy images.
ZIP	A lossless compression format that provides good quality for images with low amounts of noise.

Unreal also supports the use of multi-layered .exr output. If you enable multiple different render pass settings, each of them will be embedded into your .exr sequence, and they will all be separately accessible in your external visual effects editing program.

Not all software supports multi-layered .exr files. In these cases, they will only show the default RGBA channels when you load the .exr. If you are using a program that does not support multi-layered .exrs, you can uncheck the Multilayer setting to write out each layer as an individual .exr file.

Apple ProRes Video Codecs

Apple ProRes is Apple's high-quality, lossy video compression format for post-production and visual effects, which supports up to 8k video.

To enable this setting, open Plugins > Built-In > Media Players and enable the Apple ProRes Media plugin.

Click image to enlarge.

After you restart the editor, Apple ProRes will be available in the Settings menu. When you select this output format, it will output a video file using one of several codecs, each providing a different level of compression and quality.

Click the Codec dropdown to select your desired codec for the final video file. The following codecs are available:


Codec	Pixel Depth	Estimated Bit Rate at 1080 x 1920 and 30 FPS	Description
Apple ProRes 422 Proxy	10 bit	45 mbps	Highest compression. Intended for use in offline workflows that require low data rates but full-resolution video.
Apple ProRes 422 LT	10 bit	100 mbps	A more compressed version of Apple ProRes 422, estimated at roughly 30% smaller file size. Intended for environments with limited storage and data rate.
Apple ProRes 422	10 bit	150 mbps	High quality compression for full-width 4:2:2 video sources. Intended for multistream, real-time editing.
Apple ProRes 422 HQ	10 bit	220 mbps	A higher bit-rate version of Apple ProRes 422. Offers the same level of quality as ProRes 4444, but for 4:2:2 video sources.
Apple ProRes 4444	12 bit	330 mbps	High-quality compression format for 4:4:4:4 image sources. Provides an extremely high-quality image and supports alpha channels. Can support both RGB and YCbCr formats. Output files are very large.
Apple ProRes 4444 XQ	12 bit	500 mbps	Highest-quality storage with support for alpha channels. 12 bits of precision for RGB channels and 16 bits for alpha. Output files are extremely large.

For more information about each of these codecs, see Apple's documentation on Apple ProRes .

The Drop Frame Timecode setting will set the timecode track to use the drop-frame format. This is only applicable if your sequence has a framerate of 29.97.

If you enable Override Maximum Encoding Threads , you can set the Max Number of Encoding Threads to a manual number. This sets the maximum number of CPU threads that you want to allow the codec to use in the encoding process for the video file. Using more threads will make encoding faster, but will result in a higher CPU usage.

Apple ProRes does not export any audio. Use the WAV Audio format setting to output a separate .wav file alongside your video so that you can combine them in post-production.

Not all video player software supports all Apple ProRes codecs. If your video cannot be played in your software, try using a different codec to see if it resolves the issue.

Avid DNx Video Codecs

Avid DNxHR and DNxMXF are Avid's high-definition lossy video codecs for post-production, which support up to 8k video. To enable them, open Plugins > Built-In > Media Players and enable the Avid DNxHR/DNxMXF Media Plugin .

Click image to enlarge.

After you restart the editor, Avid DNx will be available as an output setting. When you select this setting, it will output your movie as a video file using Avid's DNxHR codec.

Enabling Use Compression will output a lossy, compressed file, while disabling it will output a lossless, uncompressed file. You can change the Number of Encoding Threads to control how many CPU threads you want the codec to use for encoding. Using a higher number of threads will decrease the amount of time required to encode the file, but will result in a higher CPU usage.

Refer to Avid's documentation on the DNx video codecs for more information regarding this codec and its specifications.

Avid DNx does not export any audio. Use the WAV Audio format setting to output a separate .wav file alongside your video so that you can combine them in post-production. At this time, Avid DNx only supports 8-bit precision regardless of codec.

Final Cut Pro XML

The Final Cut Pro XML format will output an image sequence along with an XML file that can be read by Final Cut Pro and other video editors that support this format.

Final Cut XML is only supported as an output format for Unreal Editor. It is not available for use in shipping builds, as it depends on too much editor-only functionality.

Use the File Name Format field to specify a format string for the name of your output files.

The Data Source dropdown menu specifies the method for building the Final Cut Pro XML file, which in turn decides what data is embedded in the file and how it will be formatted. Each is intended for a different use-case.


Data Source	Description
Output Metadata	Builds the XML file from files output to disk, including the metadata embedded in each image. Intended for use in external post-processing. This will support time dilation which produces more frames than the original sequence shows.
Sequence Data	Builds the XML file directly from sequence data. Intended for use in re-importing.

WAV Audio

You can export .wav audio of your sequences without needing an additional rendering pass. This enables you to output a movie's audio and combine it with your image sequences in post-production.

Use the File Name Format field to specify a format string for the name of your output files.

The WAV Audio output format is experimental and may not be production ready. Because the movie renderer runs the engine between shots for warmup frames, audio that is not controlled by Sequencer will have gaps between shots. Additionally, there may be minor audio distortion on audio clips in Sequencer between shots.

Custom Output Formats

You can create your own format by implementing the UMoviePipelineOutputBase class, which gives you a callback for each output frame containing all render passes rendered in that frame (such as burn-ins, UI widgets, and the final image). By implementing the class in your project's code, it will automatically show up in the Settings menu for use. You will need to link against the MovieRenderPipelineCore module.

If you want to ensure this output format is added to every new job created with the UI, you can adjust the Default Job Setting Classes specified in the Movie Render Pipeline Project settings.