メタ:
- id: en/exr-4k8k-h265h264-dougasaisei
- slug: en/exr-4k8k-h265h264-dougasaisei
- url: /blog/en/exr-4k8k-h265h264-dougasaisei/
- title: Playing high-resolution 4K and 8K footage in UE5 with EXR sequences
- date: 2024-01-13 16:33
- tags: UE5, Video, HDR, Troubleshooting

> **Note:** This article was published **more than a year ago**. UE5's Media and ImgMedia pipelines and its handling of MP4, MOV, H.264, and H.265 change between versions.
> - Window and menu names, including the EXR processing option, reflect the editor interface at the time. Check current official documentation.
> - EXR sequences can be useful above 4K, but the intermediate export presets in Premiere and After Effects also vary by application version.
> - 8K playback depends on disk I/O and GPU memory. Identical settings can perform differently on another system.

It can be difficult to choose a format for video playback in Unreal Engine 5.

A container such as MOV may be unsupported, or resolutions above 4K may fail to play properly.

With sufficiently fast, high-capacity storage, I recommend considering EXR.

A numbered image sequence can play as video.

I was able to play an 8K sequence.

According to Wikipedia, OpenEXR is an image format for high-dynamic-range imagery, released as an open standard.

It is widely used in film, especially visual effects, digital intermediates, and 3D rendering.

It supports a wider range of colors and luminance than conventional digital image formats.

It contains extensive image information, much like RAW or DNG.


## Play an OpenEXR image sequence as video in Unreal Engine 5

Premiere Pro and After Effects can export video as EXR. I prepared the files in advance and created a test folder.
![](/blog-assets/media/c26cabae2e861bd97bd3b6de97f69f0fd98b0dc36962c8f1c32e91e6cec20b29/2024-01-08-16-40-07-038-scaled.webp)
The numbered EXR sequence is ready.
![](/blog-assets/media/8489a13571710e7769c5b1d9b3eae675111874b6c902d6aa87213acbf8d32548/2024-01-08-16-40-15-133-scaled.webp)
Under Window > ImgMedia, select the EXR processing option shown in the screenshot, labeled as a single-EXR operation in Japanese.
![](/blog-assets/media/03746d21e755d3f27f31c1e1ecdf4b5aeffe5e6be13b4d99b9a1c3fcd3d5f6da/2024-01-08-16-40-23-684-scaled.webp)
Choose the folder containing the EXRs as the import source.
![](/blog-assets/media/576e70f01844b998c0f3a6d43c6b3ec461a6a4d2e6fe69ddeb03a94d7140ef8a/2024-01-08-16-40-34-716-scaled.webp)
Selecting only the first file is enough; the sequence is detected automatically.
![](/blog-assets/media/49d28436c7d5daae4c451621e150e4638260a8259a9593b2ae05aaaf39e82a6b/2024-01-08-16-41-00-946-scaled.webp)
Set the output destination.
![](/blog-assets/media/edc919ca2251f5b66417bb8ec7b0eebe6a03b392b5c2225a1462085ccd87f8e4/2024-01-08-16-41-19-288-scaled.webp)
Choose the test folder created earlier inside the UE5 project.
![](/blog-assets/media/3f6862cbb72d118fc62f2945a0c8627424a6cbf95d4b0b2d6b46006c175f034e/2024-01-08-16-41-39-426-scaled.webp)
Process the images.
![](/blog-assets/media/6590d8f0dfb9ecae13f8bf8f7694320af24e4d17f8dde9087ad9302ac6424e82/2024-01-08-16-42-00-589-scaled.webp)
Importing takes some time.
![](/blog-assets/media/bb21962fde5eb5df8463b74799a51b4240398f8665807051ccaacca5aa536013/2024-01-08-16-42-11-111-scaled.webp)
Next, right-click the Content Browser's asset area and choose Media > Image Media Source.
![](/blog-assets/media/1f459c6f5b5771cba298fd86f51c176ea027df7401c5eeb160f1423a8608ab54/2024-01-08-16-44-52-238-scaled.webp)
Double-click the new Image Media Source.
![](/blog-assets/media/431c9b5dd6d5396d2bb9b78e313fcaabfb7e5b692fe256b1c67bfdd9f39cba2b/2024-01-08-16-45-29-940-scaled.webp)
Choose the first file of the imported sequence.
![](/blog-assets/media/56b5e0d768f29c4e4c0daa14e4a460f6524fdea2c2650f5f02b0afcd1024d4bd/2024-01-08-16-46-06-160-scaled.webp)
Save it.
![](/blog-assets/media/2ee5b4e57c0d5e5677b7b0732b7e94a1d1403f6a7dc5f51fc5822c4787798081/2024-01-08-16-46-32-908-scaled.webp)
Drag the Image Media Source into the scene.
![](/blog-assets/media/086fdc853e0ddba5f99aaae9b158ef48ba1d72b29cf834574f275627a37f35ec/2024-01-08-16-47-04-448-scaled.webp)
A test playback treats it as video.
![](/blog-assets/media/1af59d37811bd3f978c7b0f455bf9b6aa4581cd4f703077b4fc371d2addccdab/2024-01-08-16-47-27-259-scaled.webp)
EXR carries extensive information, like RAW or DNG. Files are larger than H.264- or H.265-compressed footage, so playback requires fast storage. With something like a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive, EXR sequence playback works very well without that video-compression degradation.