Format Conversion & Encoding

Format conversion and encoding sits between the locked master and each downstream deliverable. For a common New York production the list runs long. It starts with a ProRes 4444 XQ archive master and an IMF JPEG 2000 package for streamer ingest. Next comes a MXF OP1a wrapped to HBO Hudson Yards or NBCUniversal broadcast spec. Then a H.264 or H.265 mezzanine goes to the agency review portal. Last comes a Dolby Vision PQ HDR pass beside its SDR Rec.709 trim, plus a web-fix screener with watermark burn-in for the festival circuit.

Our team lines up encoding through the Tribeca and Soho finishing houses. These include PostWorks New York, Technicolor PostWorks NY, Light Iron NY, Goldcrest Soho, FotoKem NY, and Picture Shop NY. We also use dedicated encoding farms when batch transcode volume runs into hundreds of hours of NYC episodic catalogue or library reissue work.

Encoding settings are tuned per target. Bitrate ladders for Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, and Amazon Studios are built against each platform's published specs. ATSC A/85 audio loudness is locked for US broadcast handoff. A colorist at the starting finishing house oversees HDR to SDR tone-mapping rather than leaving it to an automated batch pipeline, so the SDR trim keeps the creative intent set in the HDR grade.

Container choice — MXF, MOV, MP4, or MKV — is matched to the receiving side's ingest portal. Each encoded variant is then checked against the source before it leaves the facility. We confirm video sync, audio channel order, captioning alignment, and full metadata. The result is one delivery package. The IMF master, the broadcast MXF, the streamer mezzanine, and the festival screener all carry the same picture and audio quality as the first conformed master.