DNxHR LB
Avid DNxHR (Digital Nonlinear Extensible, High Resolution) is the resolution-independent successor to DNxHD, standardized by SMPTE as RDD 36. It supports any frame size from SD up to 8K and comes in five quality tiers: LB (Low Bandwidth), SQ (Standard Quality), HQ (High Quality), HQX (12-bit) and 444 (full RGB). LB sits at the bottom of that ladder on purpose. It encodes 8-bit 4:2:2 intra-frame video, meaning every frame is compressed on its own with no interframe prediction, so scrubbing, J-K-L shuttling and reverse playback stay responsive even on a modest laptop.
Data rate is what sets LB apart. At 1080p 23.976 fps it targets roughly 36 Mbps, climbs to about 115 Mbps at UHD 2160p, and scales further with frame rate. A ProRes 422 HQ master of the same clip can run five to ten times larger, which is exactly why LB is the tier editors reach for when the only goal is a fast, trustworthy offline cut rather than a finishing or grading pass. Because it is intra-frame, a one-hour timeline of LB proxies stays small enough to live on an internal SSD without the disk-full warnings that long-GOP camera originals trigger.
Avid Media Composer treats DNxHR as a first-class native codec rather than a plugin format. Transcoding camera rushes to LB is done through the Consolidate/Transcode command, and the resulting files are written as .mxf in the OP-Atom flavor into the Avid MediaFiles/MXF/ folder, where Media Composer indexes them automatically as managed media. That folder structure is the detail most new Avid users miss: drop an MXF outside Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1/ and the media browser will not see it. DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro can also decode and encode DNxHR, but they package it in the OP1a MXF flavor, so an LB file made for Resolve is not drop-in interchangeable with Avid's bin structure.
A common mistake is confusing LB with a visually lossless intermediate. It is deliberately lossy and 8-bit, so it is wrong for color work. For that you step up to HQX or 444. LB's job is speed on the timeline, and it does that job better than almost any other broadcast-accepted proxy codec.
DNxHR LB only helps once the proxy exists, so if your camera originals still stutter, see how to choose between ProRes, DNxHR and H.264 proxies, or let the Sanbila Premiere Pro panel build your proxies in the cloud and attach them for you.
DNxHR tiers (approx., 1080p, ~24 fps)
| Tier | Bit depth | Bitrate 1080p | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNxHR LB | 8-bit 4:2:2 | about 36 Mbps | Offline proxy |
| DNxHR SQ | 8-bit 4:2:2 | about 115 Mbps | Standard edit |
| DNxHR HQ | 8-bit 4:2:2 | about 175 Mbps | High quality |
| DNxHR HQX | 12-bit 4:2:2 | about 175 Mbps | HDR, grading |
| DNxHR 444 | 12-bit 4:4:4 | about 350 Mbps | VFX, mastering |
Examples
- •A 6K Blackmagic BRAW clip becoming a 1080p DNxHR LB proxy at 36 Mbps for Avid
- •An 8K RED R3D shot transcoded to DNxHR LB 720p inside the Avid MediaFiles structure
- •A 4K H.264 broadcast file becoming a DNxHR LB MXF proxy ready for an Avid newsroom workflow
In Sanbila
Sanbila offers two DNxHR LB presets (720p and 1080p) generated in the cloud. The optional Avid MediaFiles/MXF/ folder structure can be created automatically so Media Composer detects the proxies instantly as managed media.
Frequently asked questions
Is DNxHR LB good enough for color grading?+
No. LB is an 8-bit 4:2:2, deliberately lossy offline codec built for fast timeline playback, not finishing. For grading you either relink to the camera originals or transcode to a higher tier such as DNxHR HQX (12-bit) or 444. In a Sanbila workflow you cut on the LB proxy and Smart Relink switches the timeline clips to the streamed originals before you grade and export.
Why do my DNxHR LB files not show up in Avid Media Composer?+
Avid only auto-detects MXF media that lives inside an Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1/ folder. If the proxies sit anywhere else, the media browser ignores them. Sanbila can create that exact folder structure when it builds the Virtual Folder, so Media Composer indexes the LB proxies as managed media the moment you open the project.
What bitrate is DNxHR LB at 1080p and 4K?+
At 1080p 23.976 fps DNxHR LB targets about 36 Mbps. At UHD 2160p it rises to roughly 115 Mbps, and higher frame rates push it up proportionally. Those rates are a fraction of ProRes 422 HQ, which is why LB stays small enough for an offline edit on a laptop SSD.