Review: Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 14

Page 5: Encode and Export

Let's move on now to the last stage of the post-production process: encode and export. Encoding in Resolve is not that different from encoding in Premiere Pro or Media Encoder. The main difference is that it's all built into the application. There's no external application that will then open and do your render. Everything's done here at the top left of the screen shown in Figure 13 (below), where you create your settings. It has shortcuts for the social media sites you would expect like YouTube and Vimeo, and you can also export files compatible with other editing applications for further work like Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, Avid, and Pro Tools. Below that, you can set your filename, choose the destination, and then begin applying the encoding properties that you want to use for your edit.

Figure 13. Set encoding and export parameters here

The codecs that you need are there, including H.264 and more specialized ones for Grass Valley and Apple ProRes. You can also export DCP through easyDCP, but you do have to buy a separate license from easyDCP that will then be enabled in Resolve. You can do multipass encoding. You can choose automatic bit rate or set it manually. You can choose automatic keyframes or set it manually. You can also set your audio to compressed or uncompressed, depending on your destination.

Once you've chosen all the settings you need, you add the job to your Render Queue (Figure 14, below), which pops up in the top-right quadrant of the screen. This allows you to do multiple encodes with one click of the Render button. One thing you have to remember, if you're used to being a Premiere Pro editor, is you're typically opening Media Encoder and doing all your encoding outside of Premiere Pro. But in DaVinci Resolve, you'll render inside of the application only.

Figure 14. The encoding job added to the DaVinci Render Queue

This means I cannot go to another page and continuing editing any other project. I have to wait until this render is finished.

That's an overview of my experience with Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve from the perspective of a Premiere Pro editor. If you'd like to try version 14, now in beta, for yourself, go to blackmagic.com and download it. If you're interested in the Studio version, which includes some collaboration features, you can purchase it now for $299.