REDCODE was developed to enable the first 4K video captures and has since been widely used in movies. It uses a proprietary RAW file format that stores each color channel separately, allowing greater post-production control over white balance, exposure, and grading without being destructive to the original file. The wavelet compression technique employed by REDCODE achieves both smaller file sizes and higher image quality by encoding image features at different scales separately.

1. REDCODEis a key advance that made the first4K video captures a reality. Ithas
since been used for a growing array of movies, and is fully supported by all
major post-production software.
REDCODERAW is a proprietary file formatthat efficiently encodes
measurements froma camera’s digital sensor in a way that maximizes post-
production capabilities. It achieves this in part by storing each of the sensor’s
colour channels separately, prior to conversion into a full colour image. Similar
to the advantages that RAW files broughtto stills photography, this improves
control over white balance, exposureand grading in post-production.
Furthermore, sincesuch settings are appended to the file as metadata only,
grading is completely non-destructive.
Compression is often thought of in terms of achieving smaller file sizes, butjust
as importantly, compression can also enable higher image quality within the
constraints of one’s recording medium. This was the primary motivation
behind the original development of REDCODE.
REDCODEachieves this by using an efficient, variable bitrate “wavelet”
technique.
This efficiency is achieved in partbecause wavelet compression encodes image
features at different scales separately. A wavelet file therefore contains a low-
resolution base image, plus progressively higher resolution components —all
the way up to the final full-resolution image.
As a result, low-resolution previews can be generated without having to
process the entire high-resolution file. For example, a quarter resolution
preview could be generated fromjustthe above base image plus the leftmost
component.
Wavelet compression is also better suited to motion capture since it preserves
smoother frame-to-frametonality — primarily because it avoids the distracting
“macro blocking” effects of other common approaches.