A convenient preview can become the wrong source
An editing proxy helps a production work with a more convenient version of an owned asset. It is not automatically the approved source for final delivery. A final-looking filename can still point to the proxy or an export made from it.
Keep source and proxy identities explicit in the production manifest. Record their relationship and the intended relink or online step for the actual editor. Avoid placing indistinguishable files in a folder where selection depends on remembering which final name was newer.
Before the final export, verify the source used by the project and inspect its reported characteristics. FFprobe can support a metadata inventory, but an editor's actual project association also needs checking in that workflow.
Use a visual reference that reveals the mistake
Choose fine text, texture or another passage likely to differ between source and proxy. Review a short final candidate after the intended master association is restored. A static large title may not expose an accidental low-detail source.
In an imagined training project, small interface text remains soft because the final export used the preview asset. Raising the final encoder bitrate cannot restore detail absent from that selected source. Correct the association before changing the delivery preset.
Check the completed output's identity, picture, duration and required tracks. Keep the project note and accepted master reference with it. A successful export and the word final in a filename are not evidence that the correct source was used.
Questions answered
Can a high-bitrate export recover detail absent from a proxy source?
No. Verify the source association before re-encoding.
Is matching the filename enough to identify the master?
Use the manifest and actual asset relationship, not the name alone.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.