Use HEVC and Apple ProRes movies with Pages, Numbers and Keynote

You can add standard dynamic range (SDR) and high dynamic range (HDR) movies in HEVC and Apple ProRes format to your documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

Add HEVC or ProRes movies to documents, spreadsheets and presentations

You can add HEVC or ProRes movies to your documents, spreadsheets and presentations just like you’d add any other movie file. Before you add them, however, adjust the app’s settings to make sure you’re getting the resolution you want for the images.

Retain the resolution of your HEVC or ProRes movies

To retain the resolution of your HEVC or ProRes movies in your document, spreadsheet or presentation, turn off the setting that optimises movies for older devices before adding them to your document:

  • With a document open in Pages, Numbers or Keynote on iPhone or iPad, tap the More buttonNo alt supplied for Image, tap Settings, then turn off “Optimise Movies for Older Devices”.

  • In Pages, Numbers or Keynote on Mac, choose [app name] > Settings (or Preferences) from the menu bar, click General, then deselect “Optimise movies for older devices”.

When to turn on the setting that optimises movies for older devices

  • You plan to publish your book directly to Apple Books from Pages.

  • You plan to share a document that has HEVC or Apple ProRes movies with people who may have older Apple devices.

Add HDR movies to presentations

You can add HDR movies to your presentation. When you play your presentation in show mode, Keynote displays HDR movies in standard dynamic range.

Create an EPUB with HEVC or Apple ProRes movies

When you create an EPUB of your Pages document that has HEVC or Apple ProRes movies, movies will either be converted or remain in the original format depending on your device and the settings that you’ve chosen.

On iPhone or iPad, you can choose to convert the movie:

  1. With your document open in Pages, tap the More buttonNo alt supplied for Image.

  2. Tap Export, then choose EPUB.

  3. Tap Advanced.

  4. To convert any movies in your document to H.264 in the EPUB, turn on “Optimise Media for Publishing”. If you leave this setting off, movies in your EPUB may not play on other devices.

On Mac, Pages will automatically convert HEVC or Apple ProRes movies to H.264 videos in the EPUB.

In Pages for iCloud, make sure you select “Optimise for Older Devices” before adding HEVC or Apple ProRes movies to your document.

Publish a Pages document with HEVC or Apple ProRes movies

On Mac, you can publish your document with HEVC or Apple ProRes movies directly to Apple Books from Pages. Use these steps to prepare your document before publishing:

  1. With a document open in Pages, choose File > Reduce File Size.

  2. Select “Most compatible (H.264)”.

  3. Set other file size options in the window.

  4. To create a copy of the document with a reduced file size, click “Reduce a Copy”. Or click “Reduce This File” to overwrite the existing document.

On iPhone or iPad, you can’t convert HEVC or Apple ProRes movies after adding them to your document. Open the document in Pages for Mac, reduce the file size, then publish from your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

In Pages for iCloud, Pages will automatically replace HEVC or Apple ProRes movies with the first frame image of the video in the published book. If the video has audio, the audio track is also included.

Export a Keynote presentation as a movie file

When you export your presentation as a movie file, you can choose from a variety of different compression types for the movie file, including HEVC and Apple ProRes. Choose the compression type that best suits your needs.

  • H.264: provides broad compatibility with other devices and operating systems.

  • HEVC: provides better compression than H.264 and uses less storage space on your devices and in iCloud Photos, while preserving the same visual quality.

  • Apple ProRes 422: use when the exported movie file will be edited with software such as Final Cut Pro.

  • Apple ProRes 422 LT: this compressed version of ProRes 422 provides high-quality video, but with smaller file sizes than ProRes 422.

  • Apple ProRes 422 Proxy: this is the most compressed version of ProRes 422 and provides low data rates with full-resolution video.

  • Apple ProRes 4444: provides the highest quality video that is perceptually indistinguishable from the original source material and is suitable for 4:4:4:4 image sources (including alpha channels).

  • Apple ProRes 422 HQ: preserves visual quality at the same high level as Apple ProRes 4444, but for 4:2:2 image sources.

System requirements

HEVC format compatibility:

  • For SDR movies in HEVC format, use a Mac with Pages 8.2, Numbers 6.2 or Keynote 9.2 or later, or an iPhone or iPad with Pages 5.2, Numbers 5.2 or Keynote 5.2 or later.

  • For HDR movies in HEVC format, use a Mac, iPhone or iPad with Pages 10.2, Numbers 10.2 or Keynote 10.2 or later.

Apple ProRes format compatibility:

  • For SDR movies in Apple ProRes format, use a Mac with any version of Pages, Numbers or Keynote, or an iPhone or iPad with Pages 13.1, Numbers 13.1 or Keynote 13.1 or later.

  • For HDR movies in Apple ProRes format, use a Mac with Pages 10.2, Numbers 10.2 or Keynote 10.2 or later, or an iPhone or iPad with Pages 13.1, Numbers 13.1 or Keynote 13.1 or later.

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