DaVinci Resolve App Reviews

The current version is 11.1 and has fixed some bugs that got introduced in 11. You can download it from the blackmagic website, and it is more robust. If you are new to editing (as the last reviewer might be) this is indeed not yet ready for prime time, and on a mac your best bet is Final Cut X. X is a next gen paradigm and not for those with a deathgrip on the old way of doing things. It is very deep and yet instantly accessible. But back to Resolve. It wasn’t that long ago that this software was thousands of dollars, and make no mistake it is mainly meant for professionals. It is still the Standard in most high end post facilities, so if the interface seems inaccesible it is because people use it every day and have different requirements than someone doing the occasional small film. To give it a bad review is just from ignorance. The full editing capabilities are new to 11 and are quite powerful (they borrow some things from FCP, some from FCPX and from Avid). I presume the interface will continue to evolve so that users of their hardware have a one stop solution to their post. I just shot a small film on RED Dragon, edited in FCPX and then output the xml to Resolve. Resolve read it in and references the original RED Raw files (4k) no problem. If this doesn’t make sense to you don’t worry, just trust me this software is amazing for what it is mainly for, color correction. The new version has something I’ve been waiting for for a long time, the ability to apply group corrections. Naturally everything is non-destructive, and you can have alternate looks, etc. So now you can apply some basic grade to everything more easily, then customize by shot by using power windows, tracking, etc. Very cool, and very fun once you get used to it. If you want to get into the world of color correction, start with this and learn everything you can about color theory, the post process and pipeline. I give it 4 stars because there are still a lot of kinks to work out with version 11 in general.

I am a Digital Imaging Tech, union member with the cinematographers guild. I would say at least 80% of the DIT’s use this software as part of our workflow. Excellent application for coloring and for transcoding. For the people that could not figure out how to use it and put up a bad review, these are people who either do not want to put in the time to learn a advanced coloring application and or are just not good with learning applications that are made for professionals. As for the editing side of the application, it is not the strongest part of the software. I use it just to make minor adjustments on my timeline if needed. All of my editing is done in final cut which is made for editing. This application is a Coloring application this is it’s strong side and yes it has a timeline for editing but as I mentioned editing in Resolve is not it’s strong point. The timeline is there so that you can import edl’s or projects from other editng applications and then do all your color correcting. So if you want something simple this isnot for you, if you want something that can handle all types of color correcting, tracking masks for color corrections and everything that has to do with the color adjustments of the image…this is an amazing application. There are plenty of tutorials on the web and the manual is in the help menu of the application for those who mentioned they could not find a manual. I figure if you can not even find the manual in the help pulldown of the application…well then you are a dummie and this is a big boys application and not a childs application. I make my bread and butter withthis application… Love it 100% but you have to learn it to love it.

This is a great app, it is powerful and it is amazing. Lets also not forget it is free. This app dominates any free software you can get, and most of the ones you pay for. This program in its non lite version is used by Hollywood to grade movies. So you know this is a well balanced app… However, do not download this from the app store actually download it from the website, 11.1.1 version is what you are wanting (or newer). Something about the app store version makes it not setup right. Free Pointers: Perfect setup for this is FCPX and Davci Resolve, Imovie works as well, but only if you cannot afford FCPX. Program is built for powerful computers, however it will run on a mac book air, just make sure nothing else is open and give it time to process the information. The output of film is worth the few extra seconds of waiting. Make sure if screens less then 15” you set the program to be viewed in a window. There are free tutorials online to help with the app features.

Very powerful editor. Its layout and UI is what you’d expect for a program that is of a pro-caliber. The only downside I see is that it manages the imported media somewhat uncleanly. Besides that, the editing tools are great, and the color grading tools are second to none. This app should be worth several hundred dollars, but luckily the developers made this a free alternative to current programs of that price.

I just downloaded the this software and it’s not working at all! It’s just crashing befor it starts.

It keeps updating on the site, but not here. Why?? What’s the point to use MAS version as not if for good updating mechanism? The current version is 11.2.1!

it crashes… I recently downloaded it…

This software is amazing. When I first opened it I was intimidated by it and immediately shut it down and went back to using FCPX’s built in color grading system. However, I’ve been working on a passion project for the last two years, which had been shot on RED and BlackMagic, so I knew the limited grading capabilities of FCPX just wouldn’t cut it. So, I watched a tutorial on how to use the software (at least the basics) and I’m kicking myself now for not doing this before. It’s a phenominal product with unbelieveable results. I’m still a beginner at color grading but after you figure out the basics of this software you’ll be amazed as well!

I won’t sugar coat it. This software is NOT easy. If you’re the instagram type that likes to pick some cheesy preset instead of taking time on true art, this software is not for you. This is advanced work that requires patience, understanding, training, hard work and lots of time. It’s like the old man from Toy-Story 2 said: “You can’t rush art." That said, this software is absolutely incredible. As the industry standard for video colorization and grading, it does it’s job incredibly well. But there are some significant requirements. You need training. You will only get so far on your own - and honestly you’ll probably give up if you try. Luckily there are resources from others, such as YouTube, that can help get you started. You need a powerful machine. If you’re lacking a proper GPU and intense processor and a significant amount of RAM, forget it. I won’t review the tech-specs you need here, but plenty of additional resources exist online for this exact purpose. You need real video codecs. Video shot with DSLR cameras (Canon, Nikon, Lumix, etc in-camera capture) is not nearly as flexible as professional codecs such as DNxHD, ProRes or BM RAW, and you won’t achieve the results you’re looking for easily, and you may not achieve them at all. And also remember: Pixel depth is more important than pixel quality. 4K is just a hype that you don’t need right now in a 1080 world. But this software separates the men from the boys and gives your production the kick it needs to succeed in todays media-flooded world. Good luck, and happy coloring!

This version of reslove does not show external hard drive unlike the web download of lite and this version is not updated to the latest version.

Process: Resolve [42805] Path: /Applications/DaVinci Resolve Lite.app/Contents/MacOS/Resolve Identifier: com.blackmagic-design.DaVinciResolveLite Version: ??? App Item ID: 571213070 App External ID: 731602708 Code Type: X86-64 (Native) Parent Process: launchd [873] Responsible: Resolve [42805] User ID: 503 Date/Time: 2015-06-22 21:41:18.825 -0700 OS Version: Mac OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) Report Version: 11 Crashed Thread: 0 Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP) Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000 Application Specific Information: dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries Dyld Error Message: Library not loaded: @executable_path/../Frameworks/Cg.framework/Cg Referenced from: /Applications/DaVinci Resolve Lite.app/Contents/MacOS/Resolve Reason: image not found Binary Images: 0x7fff6c23f000 - 0x7fff6c272817 dyld (239.4) <7AD43B9B-5CEA-3C7E-9836-A06909F9CA56> /usr/lib/dyld 0x7fff8546f000 - 0x7fff8547dfff com.apple.opengl (9.6.1 - 9.6.1) <359D0ECB-D100-341B-B437-BDE56E27B74B> /System/Library/Frameworks/OpenGL.framework/Versions/A/OpenGL 0x7fff8547e000 - 0x7fff8547efff com.apple.Carbon (154 - 157) <EFC1A1C0-CB07-395A-B038-CFA2E71D3E69> /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Carbon 0x7fff85864000 - 0x7fff85a49fff com.apple.CoreFoundation (6.9 - 855.17) <729BD6DA-1F63-3E72-A148-26F21EBF52BB> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation 0x7fff86d4a000 - 0x7fff86db6fff com.apple.framework.IOKit (2.0.1 - 907.100.13) <057FDBA3-56D6-3903-8C0B-849214BF1985> /System/Library/Frameworks/IOKit.framework/Versions/A/IOKit 0x7fff87850000 - 0x7fff87861ff7 libz.1.dylib (53) <42E0C8C6-CA38-3CA4-8619-D24ED5DD492E> /usr/lib/libz.1.dylib 0x7fff89593000 - 0x7fff895a0ff0 libbz2.1.0.dylib (29) <0B98AC35-B138-349C-8063-2B987A75D24C> /usr/lib/libbz2.1.0.dylib 0x7fff8a6ab000 - 0x7fff8a787fff libcrypto.0.9.8.dylib (52) <ED7F3865-10D4-346B-8C9C-D968EB3B5D35> /usr/lib/libcrypto.0.9.8.dylib 0x7fff8c4c1000 - 0x7fff8c50fff9 libstdc++.6.dylib (60) <0241E6A4-1368-33BE-950B-D0A175C41F54> /usr/lib/libstdc++.6.dylib 0x7fff8cb4e000 - 0x7fff8ccfbf27 libobjc.A.dylib (551.1) <AD7FD984-271E-30F4-A361-6B20319EC73B> /usr/lib/libobjc.A.dylib 0x7fff8cd85000 - 0x7fff8cfe9ffd com.apple.security (7.0 - 55471.14.18) <83A9E8C8-06A1-3F6D-8514-C35CD0DBD370> /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/Versions/A/Security 0x7fff8d05e000 - 0x7fff8d0acff7 com.apple.opencl (2.3.59 - 2.3.59) <9F43F471-C3C3-352D-889D-EC418DC1F5B2> /System/Library/Frameworks/OpenCL.framework/Versions/A/OpenCL 0x7fff8d3b0000 - 0x7fff8d4d2fff com.apple.avfoundation (2.0 - 651.12.1) <F82271D8-7859-322C-8BDD-4818825525AE> /System/Library/Frameworks/AVFoundation.framework/Versions/A/AVFoundation 0x7fff8fe25000 - 0x7fff90125ff7 com.apple.Foundation (6.9 - 1056.16) <24349208-3603-3F5D-95CC-B379616FBEF8> /System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Versions/C/Foundation 0x7fff9026b000 - 0x7fff9026bfff com.apple.CoreServices (59 - 59) <7A697B5E-F179-30DF-93F2-8B503CEEEFD5> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/CoreServices Model: MacBookPro11,2, BootROM MBP112.0138.B11, 4 processors, Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 16 GB, SMC 2.18f15 Graphics: Intel Iris Pro, Intel Iris Pro, Built-In Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 8 GB, DDR3, 1600 MHz, 0x80AD, 0x484D54343147533641465238412D50422020 Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 8 GB, DDR3, 1600 MHz, 0x80AD, 0x484D54343147533641465238412D50422020 AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x134), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (6.30.223.154.65) Bluetooth: Version 4.2.7f3 14616, 3 services, 23 devices, 1 incoming serial ports Network Service: Wi-Fi, AirPort, en0 Serial ATA Device: APPLE SSD SM0256F, 251 GB USB Device: Internal Memory Card Reader USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad USB Device: BRCM20702 Hub USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller Thunderbolt Bus: MacBook Pro, Apple Inc., 17.1

Crashes upon opening, yet the one from the website seems to work fine. Weird that apple keeps this version up, time for some housekeeping!

Installed the app from the Apple Store. Opened it. Instant crash. Multiple times.

This is indicative as to why I love Blackmagic!!! Downloading Resolve Lite was never any hassle. There was no need for them to make it avialable on the App Store, but they put in the effort for the convenience! It still blows my mind that its free. Just for laughs I intsalled in on a: Macbook Pro 15inch mid 2009 8gb Ram, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 256 MB, 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 500gb SSD (all my files are internal when working, cause my fastest port is firewire 800) It runs pretty well considering its a 6 year old laptop!! I can’t manage anything heavy duty or use NeatVideo. BUT, I can transcode my MagicLantern Raw files into ProRes so that’s very useful! Thanks Blackmagic! If you decide to include noise-reduciton in the LITE versions, I’m sure a lot of people would be more than happy to pay $200-$500 for it!

Found a magazine artile that talked about this software. Was pretty excited ot use it. Instant crash, reboot, instant crash.

Instant crash why won’t you make a software that works regardless of OS and hardware… that’s not what software is supposed to be like specially free software..

Im getting constant crashes. Late 2012 iMac 8GB RAM. Still crashes. Amazing software from what Ive been able to see before it disappears. Ive been on the fence about a Cinema Cam for a while, checking out the software might push me and thousands others to the checkout button! Right BlackMagic? Ill try on my 5K iMac in the AM, lets see.

The update is 100% unusable for professionals. Be sure not to download it. we have been using resolve for 300 videos a year all the way back to 9 (at least). This updateis not usable despite many hours of work attempting to set it up.(every update had requred at least a full day to trouble shoot. this is not fixable.) its just another example of casual laziness by black magic… such a shame. we eagerly await an update. again…...

Downloaded and installed but won’t run on my machine (2.8ghz i7). Just goes straight to error message that app “quit unexpectedly”. Fail!

One star is One Too Many Completely Useless, Now I’m stuck because "Can’t use Da Vinci at all," I was so much better off before upgrade! – Thanks Apple! Exactly like the others Error message, so now I know what products NOT to try using. Thank You Very Much! MBP i7 2.66 8gb - 10.9.5 And the splash screen is - way too tacky an attempt at being artsy… just the whole thing leaves a very bad gimmiky taste. When more thought goes into the splaash screen than the software….affects credibility & people’s thinking, forces them to change plans and priorities…..