Play and convert R3D videos on computer

R3D is the native video format used by RED cameras. They are compressed using the REDCODE codec. Many media players may not be able to play these R3D videos. Luckily RED has released the official tool we can download and use for free. It is called REDCINE-X. We can download it from its official website. With this software installed on your computer, you will be able to play the R3D videos on your PC or Mac or convert them to other file formats of your choice, like MOV, Apple ProRes, AVI, etc. Check out details below.

Download R3D player & converter

Visit this link, then choose REDCINE-X Pro from the product list. Select your OS, either Mac or Windows, then hit the DOWNLOAD button to download the installer on to your computer.

Play R3D videos on computer

Install the R3D software on your computer. After that you should be able to double click on a R3D file in File Explorer or Finder to open it with the RED PLAYER. If not, run the RED Player on your computer, click File > Open clip to find the .r3d file and open it if you are on Windows PC. You should also be able to play a R3D video on Mac in the same way.

R3D video RED Player for Windows

Convert R3D videos to MOV, AVI, Apple ProRes, etc.

The installer should install both the RED PLAYER and REDCINE-X PRO on your computer. Use the former to play R3D videos on computer, the later to transcode the R3D videos from the REDCODE to other video codec.

REDCINE-X PRO for Windows

If you are on Windows, right click on the .r3d file in File Explorer, choose Edit from the context menu to open the R3D file in the Viewer of REDCINE-X PRO. Click File > Export to open the Export dialog like this.

Convert r3d videos to quicktime, mov, avi, using REDCINE-X PRO on Windows

In the Export box, choose the source R3D video. If it is currently opened in the Viewer, choose Clip in Viewer; if you also added it to the timeline at the bottom section, you can choose Timeline all clips, Timeline selected clips or Timeline separate clips.

In the Format tab, we need to choose the target file format we want, such as Apple ProRes, AVI, Avid, QuickTime, etc.  Once a file format was selected, hit the Setup button after it to customize the video and audio parameters. Optionally, you can select or customize video Width and Height from the Output Resolution section. Output location is set to be the same folder as the source video clip. You can also change it before conversion from the Output Location section. Finally click the Export button at the bottom to convert the R3D video to other file format you have selected.

1 thought on “Play and convert R3D videos on computer”

  1. Hi, I am trying to convert R3D file to mp4. In the first step I would like to convert my file to AVI. I followed your instruction and I always finish with Errors. If I use other type of files to covert, it works. What can I do wrong?
    Thanks for help.

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