DaVinci Resolve is one of the best desktop video editing and color correction solutions. Learn how to optimize DaVinci Resolve for your video workflow.
Resolve has been a household name for high end professional color correction since the mid 1980’s. This is long before the technology moved from dedicated hardware costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to common (and cheap by comparison) desktop computers. In 2009 da Vinci Systems was bought by Blackmagic Design and development began into the feature rich software we know today.
I’m a CSI (Colorist Society International) member colorist, a member of the Digital Cinema Society, and post production technology expert. I’m also a DaVinci Resolve trainer. I do this for a living, and advise and consult on Resolve systems and related post production infrastructure such as shared storage systems, control, and calibrated monitoring.
I’m building this resource to help give anyone interested in professional post production a head start regardless of budget or starting skill level.
Learn DaVinci Resolve
Learning to use (and master) a professional video color correction toolset is one of the best investments you can make in yourself. There are a large number of paid and free resources available online to learn. While you’re not going to become a professional colorist overnight, it’s a rewarding journey that will also improve every other aspect of your video skillset.
DaVinci Resolve is however a resource hungry application, and requires some thought and planning when it comes to what hardware you’ll run it on. A fast enough computer is only the beginning. You also need fast media storage, and a strategy to handle backups and archive of your important data.
One of the biggest roadblocks to getting started with Resolve is knowing how to set up your hardware and software environment. Whether you’re running Resolve entirely self contained on a laptop, or building a home video editing and color grading suite, my goal is to help answer those questions.
Is DaVinci Resolve Really Free?
Yes and No. DaVinci Resolve is available in two versions called DaVinci Resolve, and DaVinci Resolve Studio. If you’re looking to learn, or your projects are up to UHD 2160p resolution, the free version is all you need to get started.
DaVinci Resolve is available to download for free from Blackmagic Design with very few limitations, no trial period, and no watermarking. However, if you’re running Resolve on Windows, and are using AVC / H.264 / H.265 media you may suffer from limited playback performance with the free version. The free version of DaVinci Resolve on Windows doesn’t support GPU hardware H.264 / H.265 acceleration. Hardware acceleration is supported in the free version for Mac.
DaVinci Resolve Studio allows you to work in resolutions above 3840 x 2160 UHD, includes the full set of tools and effects, hardware H.264 / H.265 acceleration and costs only $299.
DaVinci Resolve (and Resolve Studio) includes Fusion, an extremely powerful compositing toolset that is integrated directly into the Resolve eco-system. Fusion Studio is also available as standalone software also for $299.
DaVinci Resolve gives you access to the highest quality professional color correction, grading and compositing tools essentially for free.
DaVinci Resolve Hardware and Software Resources
Here you can find all my DaVinci Resolve technical articles and resources. Please bookmark this page, and come back to check for updates.