Answer
4:2:0 vs 4:2:2 chroma subsampling.
Keep 4:2:2 for the grade. Stream 4:2:0.
Both keep every brightness sample. 4:2:2 keeps twice as many color samples as 4:2:0. That extra color helps while the image is still being worked on: grading, keying, compositing. For the file a client streams in a browser, the codec profiles and the upload specs point the other way, to 4:2:0.
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By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026
The short answer
Brightness is the same in both;
the difference is only color.
Chroma subsampling stores color at a lower resolution than brightness. 4:2:2 halves the color samples across each row. 4:2:0 halves them across the row and again down the rows. So 4:2:2 carries twice the color samples of 4:2:0, and both carry every brightness sample.
MDN explains the notation against a block of 4 by 2 pixels, eight pixels in all. The first number is the brightness (luma) samples per row, and it is essentially always 4, meaning every pixel keeps its own brightness. The second number is how many color (chroma) samples describe the first row. The third is how many describe the second row. In 4:2:0 the second row gets no color samples of its own and reuses the first row’s. In 4:2:2 each row has two. In 4:4:4 every pixel has its own color.
Counts follow MDN's 4 by 2 block model. The share is arithmetic from those counts: 4 of 8 and 2 of 8 color positions.
Where each one belongs
4:2:2 is a working format,
4:2:0 is a delivery format.
The extra color samples earn their keep when the image will be processed again. A key pulled on a green screen, a secondary grade on a saturated jacket, a composite: each of these reads color at the pixel level, and more samples give it more to work with. A finished file that is decoded once and shown on a screen has no next step, so the case for extra color is weaker there.
The codec profiles written for delivery reflect that. In MDN’s HEVC table, the two base profiles, Main and Main 10, are 4:2:0 only. 4:2:2 needs its own profile, Main 4:2:2 10 or Main 4:2:2 12. AV1 follows the same pattern: its Main and High profiles do not include 4:2:2 at all, and 4:2:2 appears only in the Professional profile. For H.264, MDN notes that most profiles use 8-bit color and 4:2:0, and 4:2:2 comes with the advanced forms of High 10, such as High 4:2:2.
Upload specs point the same way. YouTube’s recommended upload settings for H.264 list “Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0”. None of this says a 4:2:2 file is worse. It says the delivery side of the industry was specified around 4:2:0, and a 4:2:2 file asks a decoder for a profile outside that path.
What we are not claiming
A workflow that holds up
One file for the finishing team,
one file for the client's browser.
You do not have to choose. Keep the 4:2:2 master for whoever works on the image next, and export a 4:2:0 file for whoever only watches it.
Keep the 4:2:2 master
Finish and archive in the 4:2:2 format your pipeline uses, ProRes 422 or a 4:2:2 HEVC file. This is the file for colorists, VFX and anyone recutting.
Export a Main10 4:2:0 file
From the same timeline, export HEVC in the Main10 profile, which MDN lists at 4:2:0. It keeps 10-bit gradients and sits on the profile path delivery was built around. This is the spec our own export presets use.
Stream the 4:2:0 export
Put the Main10 4:2:0 file on the review or delivery link. It is served as uploaded, so the client decodes the file you exported and nothing else.
Offer the master as a download
Upload the master as its own film and turn its original download switch on, or deliver it the way the contract asks. A ProRes master will not stream in a browser, which is fine: it is there to be downloaded.
Why the choice is yours here
Nothing re-encodes the file,
the chroma you export is the chroma they get.
Served as uploaded
Browser playback uses your uploaded export without another platform re-encode. Codec, device and connection requirements still apply. A 4:2:0 export streams as 4:2:0, and a 4:2:2 export stays 4:2:2. We do not convert either way.
No automatic fallback
Because nothing re-encodes, no 4:2:0 copy is made for a viewer whose device cannot decode a 4:2:2 file. That is why the review link should carry the 4:2:0 export.
When a transcoding host fits better
If you want to upload one 4:2:2 file and have the platform produce viewer versions for you, a host that transcodes uploads does exactly that, and it is the simpler tool for a public audience on unknown devices.
When this fits
When a small number of named viewers should see the file you graded, and you are willing to export the viewing file yourself, the absence of a re-encode is the point.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is 4:2:2 better quality than 4:2:0?
It carries more color information: in MDN's 4 by 2 pixel model, 4 color samples per block of 8 pixels against 2 for 4:2:0. Brightness is identical in both. Whether a viewer can see the difference on a finished, graded image watched once is a separate question, and the difference matters most when the image is going to be pushed again, as in a key or a secondary grade.
Does 10-bit mean 4:2:2?
No. Bit depth and chroma subsampling are separate settings. MDN's HEVC table lists Main 10 at 8 to 10 bits with 4:2:0 only, so a standard 10-bit HEVC export is 10-bit 4:2:0. A 10-bit 4:2:2 HEVC file needs the Main 4:2:2 10 profile.
Will a 10-bit 4:2:2 HEVC file play in my client's browser?
We do not know, and nobody we can cite publishes the answer. MDN documents HEVC support per browser and platform but not per profile, so there is no public table saying which browsers decode Main 4:2:2 10. It depends on the viewer's hardware and software decoder. Test on the client's own machine, or send a Main10 4:2:0 export instead.
Can I upload a 4:2:2 file to uncompressed.io?
Yes. There is no codec allowlist. The uploader tries to decode the file in your browser first and warns you if it cannot, and you can still upload the original anyway. The file is then stored and served as uploaded, so a 4:2:2 file stays 4:2:2. That also means nothing here makes a 4:2:0 copy for viewers whose device cannot decode it.
What about ProRes 422?
Browsers cannot decode ProRes, ProRes 422 included. A ProRes file can be stored here as uploaded and offered as the original download, but it does not stream in a browser. Keep it as the master and stream an HEVC or H.264 export.
Stream the 4:2:0 cut, hand over the 4:2:2 master
Every file is served as uploaded, with no re-encode on our side, so the chroma you export is the chroma your client gets. Put a Main10 4:2:0 export on the review link and offer the master as the original download.
Sources
- 1.MDN Web Docs, Digital video concepts: chroma subsampling and how the three numbers describe a 4 by 2 block of 8 pixels (fetched 18 September 2026)
- 2.MDN Web Docs, Web video codec guide: HEVC profiles (Main 10 at 4:2:0, Main 4:2:2 10 and 12), AV1 profiles (4:2:2 in Professional only) and AVC profiles (High 4:2:2) (fetched 18 September 2026)
- 3.YouTube Help, Recommended upload encoding settings: H.264, High Profile, Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0 (fetched 18 September 2026)