DNxHRDNxHD

DNxHD and DNxHR are families of professional video codecs developed by Avid Technology for nonlinear editing and post-production workflows. They are designed to deliver high image quality with predictable performance for editing, color correction, and finishing.

DNxHD, introduced in the late 2000s, targets high-definition workflows up to 1080p and uses predefined data-rate profiles that balance image fidelity and file size. It is commonly used as an offline/online master format in Avid-based pipelines and is typically wrapped in MXF containers, although MOV wrappers have also been used.

DNxHR, announced later as a successor for high-resolution work, expands the family to higher resolutions such as 2K and 4K, with a set of profiles designed to cover a range of bitrates and color depths. It supports 8- and 10-bit color and 4:2:2 chroma sampling in common configurations, and is intended for mastering and intermediate workflows in modern post-production.

Both DNxHD and DNxHR are widely supported across major nonlinear editors and finishing tools, including Avid Media Composer, Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve, and Adobe Premiere Pro. They are valued for fast decoding, edit-friendly compression, and predictable performance on professional hardware. However, they are proprietary formats, which means licensing is required for full encoder/decoder support in software and hardware devices.

See also ProRes and CineForm as alternative intermediate codecs in professional workflows.