Apple unveiled a new picture format dubbed Apple ProRAW for professionals who want to do more with their images with the debut of the iPhone 12 Pro last year. Additionally, the business introduced Apple ProRescodec for cutting-edge video processing on computers this year with the introduction of the iPhone 13 Pro. While Windows computers previously lacked the necessary proprietary codecs to view these photos and videos, MacBooks support both codecs. And now, Apple has added support for the ProRAW and ProRes codecs on Windows with the most recent iCloud for Windows release. It is now possible to watch Apple ProRAW and ProRes media files on computers running Windows 10 or 11. Here’s how you approach it.
View Apple ProRAW and ProRes Media Files on Windows 11 and 10 (2021)
In this article, we’ve covered in depth how to watch Apple ProRAW and ProRes media files on Windows 10, 11, 7, and 8. Also included is a brief explanation of what Apple ProRAW and ProRes are.
What is Apple ProRAW?
With the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple launched ProRAW to bring professional-caliber photography to the iPhone. On your iPhone, you can take pictures in Apple ProRAW as well as other formats like HEIF and JPEG.
Similar to the common RAW format used by DSLRs, Apple ProRAW saves image data in 12-bit DNG files. The ProRAW format is essentially not all that different from the regular RAW format. The distinction here is that computational picture processing tools from Apple, including Smart HDR, Deep Fusion, and Night mode, are also stored.
You will therefore have considerably more editing options to customise the image to your tastes. Exposure, colour, dynamic range, and white balance adjustments will be simple to make. Remember that the DNG file size will be 10 times larger than JPEG or HEIF if you are shooting in Apple ProRAW.
What is Apple ProRes?
Apple ProRes is the video equivalent of Apple ProRAW for still photos. It’s a proprietary video codec created by Apple that supports video resolutions up to 8K and enables you to encode videos with a tonne of information while using less storage. You should record videos in Apple ProRes if you wish to edit them afterward. Naturally, the file size will be far larger than that of your typical MPEG or HEVC media formats.
That’s why using Apple ProRes at 4K 30FPS requires an iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max with at least 256GB of storage. The best thing about Apple ProRes is that it can decode videos at the same speed as it can encode them, which is a major problem with other video codecs. In conclusion, Apple ProRes will provide you far more flexibility when editing videos in post-production if you want to film professional-looking videos on your iPhone.
Open Apple ProRAW and ProRes Media Files on Windows 10/ 11
1. To begin with, launch the Microsoft Store and perform an iCloud search. The iCloud app (Free) can also be downloaded directly from this URL.
2. Be careful to update the iCloud app from the Microsoft Store if you already use it. Users of Windows 7 and 8 can also directly download the offline setup file from this page.
3. After that, launch the iCloud app and log in using your Apple ID. On your Windows 11/ 10 PC, this step will automatically instal the codecs needed to display Apple ProRAW and ProRes photos and videos.
4. As an illustration, I can view an Apple ProRAW image on my computer running Windows 11 without the need for any image or video extensions. Thus, viewing Apple ProRAW and ProRes media files on Windows 10, 11, as well as earlier versions like Windows 7 and 8, is now simple.
5. Install Microsoft’s RAW Image extension if you’re still unable to access Apple ProRAW and ProRes media files. That ought to make things right.
Access Original Apple ProRAW and ProRes Files on Windows PC
So that’s how Windows machines can see DNG and MOV files encoded using Apple ProRAW and ProRes codecs. In my quick testing, both Windows 11 and 10 came pre-installed with the necessary extension to allow the native Microsoft Photos programme to open ProRAW images. However, once we installed the most recent iCloud app, ProRes videos stopped malfunctioning and began to play using the QuickTime player. That’s all we have to say, though. Follow our linked guide if you wish to open HEIC, HEIF, and HEVC files on Windows 10. Also, let us know in the comments section below if you have any queries.