User Manual

Table Of Contents
Internal Image Processing and Clip Data Levels
It’s useful to know that, internally to DaVinci Resolve, all image data is processed as full range,
uncompressed, 32-bit floating point data. What this means is that each clip in the Media Pool,
whatever its original bit-depth or data range, is scaled into full-range 32-bit data. How each clip
is scaled depends on its Levels setting in the Clip Attributes window, available from the Media
Pool contextual menu.
Selecting Auto, Video, or Full levels
By converting all clips to uncompressed, full-range, 32-bit floating point data, Resolve
guarantees the highest quality image processing that’s possible. As always, the quality of your
output is dependent on the quality of the source media you’re using, but you can be sure that
Resolve is preserving all the data that was present in the original media.
Assigning Clip Levels in the Media Pool
When you first import media into the Media Pool, either manually in the Media page or
automatically by importing an AAF or XML project in the Edit page, Resolve automatically
assigns the “Auto” Levels setting. When a clip is set to Auto, the Levels setting used is
determined based on the codec of the source media.
DaVinci Resolve generally does a good job of figuring out the appropriate Levels setting of
each clip on its own. However, in certain circumstances, such as when you’re working with
media that was originated in one format but transcoded into another, you may find that you
need to manually choose the appropriate settings so that the levels of each clip are interpreted
correctly. This can be done using each clip’s Levels setting in the Clip Attributes window,
available from the Media Pool contextual menu in either the Media or Edit pages.
To change a clip’s Data Level setting:
1 Open the Media or Edit page.
2 Select one or more clips, then right-click one of them and choose Clip Attributes.
3 Click the Levels ratio button corresponding to the data level setting you want to assign,
then click OK.
TIP: If you need to change the Levels setting of a range of clips that share a unique
property such as reel name, resolution, frame rate, or file path, you can view the Media
Pool by column, and sort by the particular column that will best isolate the range of
media to which you need to make a data level assignment.
Once you change a clip’s Levels setting, that clip will automatically be reconverted based on
the new assignment. If it appears to be correct, then you’re ready to work. If it doesn’t, then you
may want to reconsider the Levels assignment you’ve made, and you should check with the
person who provided the media to find out how it was generated, captured, and exported.
So long as the Levels settings used by your clips are accurate, you should be ready to work.
However, problems can still occur based on what external video hardware you’re using with
your workstation, and how you need to deliver the finished media to your client. For this reason,
Chapter – 7 Data Levels, Color Management, and ACES 219