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Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2

By Lewis McGregor

Published: January 16, 2018 Last Updated: January 12, 2018

Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 have brought a number of improvements and additions. Let’s take a look at a few that will stand out.

Since the release of Resolve 14, we’ve been all-hands-on-deck to cover the newest and most exciting features in the latest version of the software. We’ve covered an ample number of features (which you can find here), but while we’ve been writing about all the new features of 14, the Resolve engineers have used more black magic to create a handful of new additions with 14.1 and 14.2. At the bottom of the article, you can find the full list of updated or added features, but let’s look at a few specific features that have caught our attention.

Scopes on the Edit Page

One feature I dearly missed when making the jump from Premiere Pro was the ability to look at an RGP parade on the edit page. While jumping from the edit page to the color page to check the scopes is just a few clicks away, Resolve now makes things easier by allowing you to open the scopes on the edit page. You do this by selecting Workspace > Video Scopes > On.

Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 — Scopes

Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Shift+W to bring up the scopes.

Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 — Alt Scopes

My only grievance is that I would prefer if you could conform the scopes to open in the source monitor rather than open as a floating panel.

Title Rendering

The title generator in Resolve 14 just isn’t that great for creative use. It’s clunky, slow, and cumbersome — you can read about my dismay with the generator here. However, for standard lower thirds, it’s okay. While 14.1 and 14.2 haven’t made the generator easier to use, the rendering quality of the text has. Some users expressed concerns that text at a certain size or a particular font didn’t look sharp, or had excessive luminance upon delivery. The developers have since addressed this.

Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 — Title Rendering

Smart Cache

Resolve’s cache settings have always been great, but now they’ve become even better — or smarter. In 14.1, you can set up the render cache to ignore or include transitions and overlays, or to exclude an entire track altogether.

To make the smart cache operational, first navigate to the menu bar and select Playback > Render Cache > User.

Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 — Smart Cache

Next, move to the right-hand side of the UI and select the project settings. With the project settings panel open, scroll down to Optimized Media and Render Cache. Then check Automatically cache transitions in User Mode and Automatically cache composites in User Mode, and hit save.

Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 — Caching

Now when you return to the timeline, right-click on the track settings area, and you can select Exclude from track from caching.

Check Out the Latest Developments in Resolve 14.1 and 14.2 — Exclude Track Caching

These are the newest features that I think editors new to Resolve will be happy about. However, there is an abundance of new features and performance improvements. (Full list direct from Blackmagic.)

In 14.1

Added support for a new Project Server application to manage a local PostgreSQL server on macOS and Windows.
Added support for presets for User Preferences.
Added ability to simultaneously generate cache files for multiple cache points on a clip.
Added ability to enable/disable caching of transitions in User Mode in Project Settings.
Added ability to enable/disable caching of composites in User Mode in Project Settings.
Added ability to retain the cache when moving clips with speed changes applied.
Added support for excluding individual tracks from sequence cache in User mode.
Added support for applying individual color attributes when dragging nodes from the Display Node Graph window.
Added support for a zoom slider in the Display Node Graph window.
Added support for accessing both the clip and the timeline node graph for a Still in the Display Node Graph window.
Addressed an issue where right-clicking on a wiped still and selecting apply grade would not work.
Added an option in the panel settings to switch between classic DaVinci and vectorscope trackball alignment.
Added support for displaying video scopes on the Edit page.
Improved title text rendering quality.
Improved playback and rendering performance on the Radeon Pro WX 9100 GPU.
Added support for RED IPP2 color processing.
Added support for decompression and debayer options for Red Rocket cards.
Added initial Linked Group support for audio tracks.
Added the ability to drag and drop .drp project files into the Project Manager.
Added support for a project setting to switch track metering between source and post-fader.
Added the ability to update the track color of multiple selected tracks on the Fairlight page.
Surround sound audio channels are now included in the downmix to stereo buses and monitors.
Added support for a Project Setting to automatically apply convergence to windows and effects in 3D stereoscopic projects.
Added support for groups in the Color page on collaborative projects.
Added support for generating and rediscovering optimized media in collaborative projects.
Added support for viewing audio codec information in the Metadata widget.
Added support for GoPro CineForm as a caching and optimized media format.
Added support for higher resolution DNxHR formats for MXF-based Fusion Connect workflows.
ResolveFX Warper is now GPU-accelerated.
Bus section in the Fairlight page meters is now scrollable.
Added support for decoding enhanced AC-3 audio on macOS and Windows.
Improved performance of viewer in Fairlight page.
Improved behavior and interactivity of timeline and track index in the Fairlight page.
Added support for 2D scrolling on the Fairlight page.
Added support for source audio clips at any sample rate.
Added support for Dolby Vision trim on compounds clips and Fusion Connect clips.
Added ability to perform audio-only insert to a tape deck.
Added ability to capture video and audio or video only from a tape deck.
Addressed an issue where the audio and video would sometimes be out of sync when capturing from a tape deck.
Addressed an issue where an incorrect frame would sometimes be inserted when performing an assemble edit on a tape deck.
Addressed an issue where recording microphone input on some tracks would not persist the recorded clip.
Addressed an issue where the length of a duration marker could not be modified on the Fairlight page.
Addressed an issue where deleting a bus that is being monitored would result in incorrect control room behavior.
Addressed an issue where Audio FX in a project would not be persisted if the the Audio FX was not installed.
Addressed an issue where moving or pasting clips in the Fairlight page would sometimes remove the associated transitions.
Addressed an issue where assigning an offline reference clip to a timeline would result in loss of audio.
Addressed an issue where switching timelines would sometimes result in loss of audio.
Addressed an issue where dynamics would not apply evenly across stereo and 5.1 tracks.
Addressed an issue where unintended audio fades would sometimes be applied.
Addressed an issue where there was sometimes a change in audio level when playing back on the Edit and Fairlight page.
Addressed an issue when duplicating a timeline with layers would result in additional layers.
Addressed an issue where layers inside a compound clip would not play the correct audio.
Addressed an issue where moving an audio clip in subframe increments would not update waveform positions.
Addressed an issue where playback of nested timeline clips would not honor the mute state of the track.
Addressed an issue where the track volume slider in the Inspector would sometimes be disabled.
Addressed an issue when using Alt/Option + click to switch multicam angles.
Addressed an issue where trimming a freeze frame clip would sometimes crash.
Addressed an issue where video-only clips could sometimes not be dragged from the source viewer.
Addressed an issue where flags and markers from existing projects would not be loaded correctly.
Addressed an issue where a marker name change would sometimes not get saved.
Addressed an issue where importing FCPXML files with a subframe video edit would sometimes cause a crash.
Addressed an issue where exporting an XML from some timelines would cause a crash.
Addressed an issue where rendering a clip with synced audio in Individual Clips mode would not render the synced audio.
Addressed an issue where “Render at source resolution” would not apply ResolveFX Face Refinement correctly.
Addressed an issue where Fusion Connect clips would be rendered without temporal noise reduction applied.
Addressed an issue where saving a project would fail in certain collaboration scenarios.
Addressed an issue with saving a collaboration project when overwriting a clip in certain scenarios.
Addressed an issue in collaboration where switching clips on the Color page would sometimes not acquire a lock.
Addressed various issues with tracking of Power Windows when working in Cinemascope.
Addressed various issues with tracking of Power Windows when using Center crop with no resizing.
Addressed an issue where stabilization would sometimes not work with Edit and Input sizing applied.
Addressed an issue where the tracking would be applied incorrectly when changing the timeline resolution or the clip pixel aspect ratio.
Addressed an issue the FX tracker would sometimes not work correctly when Input or Edit sizing was applied.
Addressed issues with applying 3D LUTs when using Metal as the GPU processing mode.
Addressed an issue where some OpenFX plugins would cause flashing of grades.
Addressed a crash in certain scenarios when switching to the Key Palette on a matte node.
Addressed issue with playback performance of large projects in the Color page.
Addressed an issue where render at source resolution would not apply stabilization.
Addressed an issue where some memories would show up as blank when reloading project from disk database.
Addressed a crash when opening some stereo projects upgraded from DaVinci Resolve 12.5.6.
Addressed an issue with importing some DaVinci Resolve 12.5 projects.
Addressed an issue where easyDCP renders would cause a crash on macOS 10.13 High Sierra.
Addressed an issue where the easyDCP KDM generation would not honor the validity dates specified.
Addressed an issue where decoding certain long QuickTime clips would repeat a frame.
Addressed an issue where QuickTime ProRes 4444 clips would sometimes lose the alpha channel during playback.
Addressed a crash when trimming and copying AIFF clips using Media Management.
Addressed an issue where decoding HEVC clips at 2048×858 would sometimes result in artifacts.
Addressed an issue where certain MXF clips would show incorrect duration.
Addressed an issue when decoding certain Sony clips in an ACEScc workflow.
Addressed a performance issue when media managing a large number of clips from the same source folder.
Addressed an issue where floating Media Pool windows would not get updated correctly when performing an undo.
Addressed an issue where resizing the Media Pool would sometimes result in a crash.
Addressed an issue where a clip with a split edit would not be stored correctly in the Media Pool.
Addressed some UI issues when running Resolve in full screen mode on macOS.
Addressed a crash when opening the Effects Library when duplicate plugins are installed.
Addressed connectivity issues with the DaVinci Resolve Advanced panel on Linux.
Addressed an issue where large projects would sometimes hang during load.
General performance and stability improvements.

In 14.2

Added support for the DeckLink 8K Pro monitoring modes.
Added support for importing audio-only AAF timelines.
Added support for rendering audio handles in ProTools round trip mode.
Added support for audio playback when performing dynamic trimming.
Added support for import and export of Final Cut Pro 10.4 XML.
Added support for automatically naming Gallery Stills using user-defined tags.
Added support for 16 and 18 fps timeline frame rates.
Added support for 95.905 fps timeline frame rate.
Added support for more fine-grained preferences for Performance Mode.
Improved support for keyframes in the Fairlight page.
Added support for listing multiple DeckLink SDI devices with unique names.
Added visual indicators for distinguishing between timeline clips without media in the Media Pool and without media on disk.
Added the ability to change the playhead position without stopping playback on the Fairlight page.
Added support for Enable 2D Timeline Scroll on the Fairlight page.
Added support for context menus for markers in the Fairlight page.
Added support for automatic creation of a timeline when dragging in an audio clip in the Fairlight page.
Addressed issues with acquiring and releasing the lock for a bin in a collaboration project.
Addressed an issue where network connectivity issues could cause unexpected results in a collaboration project.
Addressed an issue where a blank node graph would sometimes be displayed when switching between clips in collaboration mode.
Addressed an issue where two users could sometimes load a non-collaboration project in write mode without a warning.
Addressed an issue where “Update Timecode from Audio using LTC” would not work on clips starting with blank audio.
Addressed an issue where retiming an audio clip would sometimes result in audio glitches.
Addressed an issue where unlinking linked audio groups with the Pan dialog open would cause a crash.
Addressed an issue where starting or stopping playback would sometimes cause a momentary glitch in the audio on the Fairlight page.
Addressed multiple issues with fader behavior for direct track outputs in the Fairlight track mixer.
Addressed an issue where the Fairlight timeline would sometimes show an incorrect number of audio tracks.
Addressed an issue where the Fairlight control room widget would sometimes become invisible when resetting a dual-screen UI layout.
Addressed an issue where JKL playback would not honor the looped playback state on the Fairlight page.
Addressed an issue where moving an audio clip would not refresh the keyframe navigation buttons on the Fairlight inspector.
Addressed an issue where some Fairlight dial widgets would not reset their values correctly on double-click.
Addressed an issue where audio EQ band adjustments might be incorrectly saved.
Addressed an issue where stopping playback would continue audio output for a few frames on the Edit page.
Addressed an issue where LTC timecode output over SDI would not work when playing back on the Edit page.
Addressed an issue where the Mute status would not be reflected correctly in the Edit page on a track with automation.
Addressed an issue with titles where using certain fonts would result in cropped glyphs.
Addressed an issue where bypassing color grades would bypass OpenFX applied on the Edit page.
Addressed an issue where deleting a clip with an OpenFX transition would sometimes crash.
Addressed a crash when switching multicam angles if the viewer was in source mode.
Addressed an issue where reconforming multicam clips from a bin would not retain the original angle information.
Addressed an issue where performing a blade operation on asymmetric linked edits would result in incorrect linking.
Addressed an issue where previewing compound clips and timelines in the source viewer would activate the timeline audio meters.
Addressed an issue where previewing video-only clips in the source viewer would sometimes be slow on the Edit page.
Addressed an issue where importing older projects using a Sony IDT in an ACES workflow would sometimes cause a crash.
Addressed an issue with audio playback when applying clip filters on the Color page.
Addressed an issue where Color Tracing Power Windows from proxy files would result in incorrect window positions.
Addressed an issue where copying grades between clips would unnecessarily invalidate the clip source cache.
Addressed an issue where bypassing color grades on speed changed clips would disable the optical flow or frame blending.
Addressed an issue with incorrect results when stabilizing multiple edits from the same source.
Addressed an issue where switching databases would sometimes incorrectly hide the second screen in a dual screen monitor layout.
Addressed an issue where GoPro CineForm clips would decode with a watermark applied on Linux.
Addressed an issue with decoding some Sony XAVC-I clips.
Addressed an issue with incorrect cropping for certain QuickTime ARRI clips.
Addressed an issue with color shifts when decoding certain Panasonic AVC-Intra clips.
Addressed an issue where the stereo audio format of some MXF clips was not recognized correctly.
Addressed an issue with reading drop-frame timecodes for DPX clips.
Addressed an issue when decoding some QuickTime clips with large timecode values.
Addressed an issue with color shifts when rendering stereoscopic 3D clips in side-by-side mode using H.264.
General performance and stability improvements.

Lewis McGregor is a certified BlackMagic Design DaVinci Resolve Trainer.

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