User Manual

Table Of Contents
To use clip caching on any page, do one of the following:
Choose Playback > Render Cache > Smart to set DaVinci Resolve to automatically
cache computationally intensive effects and timeline clips in formats judged too
processor-intensive to play in real time.
Choose Playback > Render Cache > User to set DaVinci Resolve to cache clips and
effects that you manually choose to cache, as well as automatically caching processor-
intensive effects (transitions, composites, and Fusion Effects) you specify in the Master
Settings of the Project Settings.
Choose Playback > Render Cache > Off to disable all render caching.
In the Color and Edit pages, press Option-R to cycle among Off, Smart, and User.
Press CACHE MODE on the T-bar panel of the DaVinci control panel to toggle among
the available options.
Choosing the Appropriate Cache Media Format for Your Project
You have the option of choosing the Format of the cached media you create, using
controls in the Master Settings panel of the Project Settings. Be aware that the format
you choose via the “Render Cache Format” menu will determine whether out-of-
bounds image data (also known as “overshoots”) and Alpha Channels are preserved
when the clip is cached.
Preventing Clipping: You should use 16-bit float, ProRes 4444, ProRes 4444 XQ, or
DNxHR 444 if you plan on grading using cached media. This is particularly true for
HDR grading.
Preserving Alpha Channels: Also be aware that the format you choose will
determine whether Alpha Channels will be preserved, if they’re present in the clips
being cached. Currently, the Uncompressed 10-bit, Uncompressed 16-bit Float,
ProRes 4444, ProRes 4444 XQ, and DNxHR 444 formats preserve alpha channels.
How Cached Media Is Organized
The cache mechanism in DaVinci Resolve actually comprises three independently managed
media caches that interact with one another. This is done to keep you working quickly by
ensuring that changes you make to your timeline don’t require a grade to be re-cached, and
that changes you make to a grade don’t require the timeline to be re-cached. The three levels
of caching are:
First, Fusion Output Caching
Formerly called the “Source Cache” in previous versions of DaVinci Resolve. When enabled by
turning on the Smart Cache, by individually turning on Render Cache Fusion Output for a
particular clip, or by enabling the automatic caching of clips with Fusion Effects applied in the
Project Settings, this caches the portion of each source media file that appears in the Timeline
in its pre-graded state for clips that have the following characteristics:
Clips in media formats DaVinci Resolve considers to be processor-intensive to decode,
such as H.264, HEVC, and various raw camera formats
Clips with Speed or Retime effects
Clips with Fusion Effects that have been added in the Fusion page
Titles and Generators that are processor intensive
Chapter – 6 Improving Performance, Proxies, andthe RenderCache 208