Apple releases beta of ProRes RAW for Windows 10

Apple is making it easier for video editors to work with footage encoded in ProRes RAW within their preferred workflow, by releasing beta software for Windows allowing Adobe video editing tools to use ProRes RAW files on PCs.

Published on Apple's support pages on Monday, Apple ProRes RAW for Windows 1.0 Beta is software that "enables playback of ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ video files in compatible applications on Windows systems." The software is free to download, weighs in at 737 kilobytes, and requires the use of a 64-bit version of Windows 10.

ProRes RAW is Apple's codec family that is praised for its image quality and editing performance, especially for real-time multistream editing. The RAW version builds upon the codec's compression technology by still providing access to raw image data from the camera sensor, giving editors more flexibility and choice while retaining image quality.

The new software allows ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW files to be played back on a Windows desktop within specific applications. In the release text, Apple says that the release works with Adobe After Effects, Media Encoder, Premiere, and Premiere Rush, Adobe tools used for editing and encoding video.

The release is likely to be welcomed by video editors, as it allows them to process ProRes RAW footage within the Adobe editing suite on their choice of Windows PC, rather than relying on a Mac or converting the video to a more compatible format beforehand.