News Release

April 8, 2015
Canon Inc.

Canon develops own video format targeting 4K professional video camcorders

TOKYO, April 8, 2015—Canon Inc. announced today the development of XF-AVC, a new proprietary video format for the efficient recording of high-image-quality 4K, 2K and HD video footage. Mainly targeting professional-use 4K video camcorders, XF-AVC will deliver enhanced workflows across various stages of the production process, from shooting to editing.

In recent years, the widespread use of digital data in cinema and video has become commonplace throughout the entire production workflow. Accordingly, amid growing demand for high-image-quality video, there have been increasing opportunities to record in 4K resolution video, which employs more than four times the number of pixels used in HD content. In light of this trend, Canon developed its XF-AVC video format to support greater workflow efficiency and convenience during the production process for high-image-quality video.

The new Canon XF-AVC is a standard that defines each recording method for the visual and audio data components that make up individual video files. Because XF-AVC employs the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video compression format, which realizes a high data-compression rate without sacrificing image quality, it supports the efficient recording on memory cards of high-image-quality 4K, 2K and HD video content captured on video camcorders. As a result, not only can external storage and other equipment required during shooting be kept compact, because it enables the recording of high-image-quality video data, the format also facilitates color grading and other high-precision editing processes.

Canon will employ XF-AVC primarily in the Company's 4K-compatible professional-use video camcorders, such as the XC10 (to go on sale in mid June 2015) and EOS C300 Mark II (to go on sale in early September 2015). Additionally, by collaborating with various industry manufacturers in connection with the new video format, Canon will deliver improved ease and convenience during cinema and video production workflows for high-image-quality video.

XF-AVC: Primary specifications1

Resolution Bitrate Color sample Intra Frame2
/ Long GOP3		 File format Compression format
4K 4096 x 2160 10 bit
8 bit		 4:2:2 Intra Frame MXF MPEG-4
AVC/H.264
3840 x 2160
2K/HD 2048 x 1080 12 bit
10 bit
8 bit		 4:4:44
4:2:2
4:2:0		 Intra Frame5
/ Long GOP
1920 x 1080
1280 x 720 8 bit 4:2:2

Companies and products supporting XF-AVC6 (Names listed in alphabetical order.)

Adobe Systems Incorporated

ASSIMILATE

Autodesk, Inc.

Avid Technology, Inc.

Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd.

Codex

Colorfront

FilmLight Ltd.

Final Cut Pro X

Grass Valley

IN2CORE

Pomfort GmbH

Quantel Ltd.

SGO

  • 1Compatible video formats differ depending on product.
  • 2Compression method that compresses video on an individual frame basis.
  • 3Compression format that refers to preceding and subsequent frames and only compresses areas detected as having differences. Compared with Intra Frame compression, Long GOP enables smaller file sizes, making it well suited for extended recording times.
  • 44:4:4 color sample can only be selected with 12-bit bitrate.
  • 52K/HD Intra Frame compression method can only be selected with 4:4:4 color sample.
  • 6As of April 8, 2015. Timing of product support for XF-AVC differs depending on the company.

Notes:

  • ・Avid and the Avid logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
  • ・Final Cut Pro X is a video editing application from Apple Inc.