DaVinci Resolve 8.2 for Windows - Public Beta now available ... [Archive]

Neil W. Smith

12-08-2011, 09:20 PM

So for all of you that have been wondering what Peter and his team have been up to for the last few months ... the wait is over .... DaVinci Resolve 8.2 Beta 1 for Windows is now available for public consumption!

Both the full Windows version and the Lite version are available for downloading:

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/detail/?os=win&sid=3948&pid=4446&leg=false

Go check it out ... the Lite version is free!

We've been testing it for a while now ... grading a stereo 3D feature on it as we speak ... plus EPIC footage .... plus Arri ... plus Sony 4k .... the performance on a Windows 7 system with 3 x Quadro 6000 is incredible! .... unreal to say the least.

Once again Blackmagic leads the way ... these guys know what they're doing ... you do not need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a state-of-the art color correction system ... Resolve on Windows will blow you away.

We're hosting an Open House this Saturday on The Lot in West Hollywood ... RedHeads might not want to come along ... it involves an 8k imaging camera from another company (sorry) ... but we will be demonstrating DaVinci Resolve on Windows grading 4k DPX files in real time ... plus some other cool goodies.

4k digital acquisition and file-based workflow comes of age this weekend ... Resolve on Windows is the way forward!

Neil

M.Halsell

12-08-2011, 09:38 PM

Thanks Neil. Is your system performance based on staying pretty close to the Blackmagic specs or is your system your own unique configuration. Will your event be posted online, for those not able to attend?

Subhadip Sen

12-08-2011, 09:46 PM

I have played around with it a bit, and the performance is quite incredible - even with a single GPU. Haven't been able to knock it out of real-time on 1080p footage yet.

Carlos Dueñas

12-08-2011, 10:26 PM

Great news!

Jose Lomeña

12-09-2011, 03:29 AM

Can you render back to prores?

Matt Gottshalk

12-09-2011, 06:06 AM

Can you render back to prores?

Can't do that without a Mac.

But the Avid DNxHD codec is also 10bit, free, and cross platform.

luigivaltulini

12-10-2011, 04:10 PM

has anyone tried the beta version of Windows with Redrocket 1.4.19?
I can not go with a simple realtime 4K R3D, OSX Lion there are no problems.

Tom Lowe

12-10-2011, 04:23 PM

So does this use multiple CUDA cards in an SLI configuration, for example? could you use 3x GTX 590s?

jake blackstone

12-10-2011, 05:02 PM

So does this use multiple CUDA cards in an SLI configuration, for example? could you use 3x GTX 590s?

Resolve supports multiple GPUs on all platforms out of the box (up to eight I believe on Linux with infiniband connections between expansion chassis). No SLI needed.

Subhadip Sen

12-10-2011, 10:01 PM

Resolve supports multiple GPUs on all platforms out of the box (up to eight I believe on Linux with infiniband connections between expansion chassis). No SLI needed.

I think Tom's question was whether Resolve recognizes both GPUs in a dual-GPU card like GTX 590. The two GPUs inside these cards are connected by internal SLI feeding into a single PCI-e slot, rather than two GPUs connected to two PCI-e slots, as is traditional multiple GPU configurations. The internal SLI works well for gaming, but a lot of compute oriented software fail to recognize GTX 590 as two GPUs.

A very pertinent question - easy way to get 8 GPUs working on affordable motherboards without any expansion.

jake blackstone

12-11-2011, 12:40 AM

I think Tom's question was whether Resolve recognizes both GPUs in a dual-GPU card like GTX 590. The two GPUs inside these cards are connected by internal SLI feeding into a single PCI-e slot, rather than two GPUs connected to two PCI-e slots, as is traditional multiple GPU configurations. The internal SLI works well for gaming, but a lot of compute oriented software fail to recognize GTX 590 as two GPUs.

A very pertinent question - easy way to get 8 GPUs working on affordable motherboards without any expansion.
I believe this question already was answered by Peter Chamberlain a while ago.

Subhadip Sen

12-11-2011, 01:50 AM

I believe this question already was answered by Peter Chamberlain a while ago.

Thanks for the pointer - after some searching I assume this is the relevant post: http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?67133-Resolve-for-PC-When&p=882770&viewfull=1#post882770?

If 1.5 GB memory is a bottleneck (likely for 4K) then a GTX 580 3 GB could be a much better option than GTX 590, which has 1.5 GB per GPU. Unless there are GTX 590 6 GB cards - none that I know of.

Neil W. Smith

12-11-2011, 06:23 AM

.... If 1.5 GB memory is a bottleneck (likely for 4K) then a GTX 580 3 GB could be a much better option than GTX 590, which has 1.5 GB per GPU. Unless there are GTX 590 6 GB cards - none that I know of.

Good point ... we're going to do some more testing on our Windows Resolve system ... at the moment with 3 x Quadro 6000s we can play 4k DPX files back in realtime on Win Resolve ... the Q6000s have 6gbs of VRAM each ... however, Dave P made a good point in his post in another thread about just how much VRAM does CUDA utilize in Resolve? ... as soon as we can get hold of 3 X GTX 580s or GTX 590s we'll test them out against the Quadros.

The other question to consider is whether a dual Xeon CPU config is better than a single over clocked i7 CPU? ... not sure where the optimization in the Resolve image processing pipeline takes place ... I know that multiple GPUs are important (we use 3 X GTX 285s and 3 x GTX 480s in our Mac Resolve systems) but there may be some trade off in CPU usage in Win 7 .... anyone tested Win Resolve running on a single fast CPU with 3 x high-end GTX cards?

Neil

Petri Teittinen

12-11-2011, 10:02 AM

Resolve Lite has quite a steep learning curve for someone who has never even seen Resolve in action. I usually dive right in a new piece of software and mess about as long as I can, and cracking open the manual only when I hit a brickwall. It certainly didn't take long to crack my skull open at Resolve's brickwall ;)

A big thank you to BMD for providing the 435 page manual as a PDF download!

Tom Lowe

12-11-2011, 10:17 AM

at the moment with 3 x Quadro 6000s we can play 4k DPX files back in realtime on Win Resolve ...

Wow.

The other question to consider is whether a dual Xeon CPU config is better than a single over clocked i7 CPU? ...

I doubt it. OC'ing a new i7 would probably work better or equally well, but I am not 100% certain.

Neil[/QUOTE]

Neil W. Smith

12-11-2011, 10:55 AM

Wow.

I doubt it. OC'ing a new i7 would probably work better or equally well, but I am not 100% certain.

/QUOTE]

Wow is exactly the the word, Tom ... we had an Open House at our place yesterday and showed attendees our Win Resolve system playing 4K DPX files (90 second sequence) and we typically got one of two reactions ... shrug of the shoulders and a 'it looks normal to me' ... or the other ... a double take followed quickly by a jaw drop followed by some variation of 'holy crap!' ... those that understood the significance of playing 4k DPXs on a PC running Windows Resolve with 3 x GPUs were blown away.

We also showed people a "new" version of Mac Resolve de-mosaicng 16 bit Lin RAW and playing back 4k RGB SStP files in real time .... now that is scary!

BTW, your favorite director cut ToL on our Lot ... had the great good fortune to have him into our place a few times and show him what all this "digital stuff" was about ... always thought of Terry as a film only guy ... didn't take him long to suss out that this "digital stuff" has some future .... super smart cookie and does he know he few things about filmmaking technique or what?

If you're ever over in West Hollywood please drop by ... we'll show you the latest and greatest ... would love to see your uncompressed Timescapes in our DI theater ... great work, Sir!

Cheers,
Neil

Christoffer Glans

12-12-2011, 11:29 AM

After installing, why does it prompt me that it's not licensed? Isn't this the Lite-version?

EDIT: never mind, saw that I downloaded the full version, downloading Lite now.

mikeburton

12-12-2011, 11:53 AM

Christoffer Glans

12-12-2011, 01:00 PM

Question, IS it possible to have a full screen video on a second computer monitor or is it always DeckLink that has to be used?
I'm not new to color grading, but a total newbie to Resolve :)

Petri Teittinen

12-12-2011, 02:12 PM

I need some advice here, folks. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I've been totally unable to import anything else except R3D files into Resolve 8 Lite. BMD's website lists various file formats and camera codecs, but Resolve refuses to see anything (except R3Ds) I place in its media folder.

Help me Obi-wan etc. etc.

Dwaine Maggart

12-12-2011, 04:19 PM

What files types have you tried. Anything other than QT/ProRes? How about dpx or mxf files? If it's only a QT/ProRes issue, I had that here on one system. Something was wrong with the QuickTime install. I removed QuickTime in the Control Panel - Programs and Features area, and re-installed it from the Resolve installer, and that solved the problem.

Christoffer Glans

12-12-2011, 04:20 PM

I can't open DNxHD files, isn't it supposed to support that in this version?

Dwaine Maggart

12-12-2011, 04:23 PM

Yes it is. I've verified I can open a DNxHD 175x and 115 file here. Note, only mxf wrapped DNxHD is currenrtly supported. We don't support .mov wrapped DNxHD files.

Christoffer Glans

12-12-2011, 04:54 PM

Aha, that figures... so I can export an EDL from Avid then locate the media files in the MXF root and load into Resolve?

Neil W. Smith

12-12-2011, 06:26 PM

Hi Neil,

How many nodes in realtime are you getting on your WIN 7 Setup with Resolve? I would assume that most of the heavy lifting is happening on the RAID disk speed with 4K DPX's. But, your windows and color nodes would still require a fair amount of GPU power for 4K files. Also, what Chasis are you using?

Mike,

When we're working in HD or 2k on Win Resolve we can get between ten and fifteen nodes easily - with 4k DPX files less, based on the type of node .... to tell the truth, we haven't really pushed it to the limit yet - we've been using it as a production machine even when Win Resolve was in beta testing (naughty I know - but that's what we do ... Peter's team always deliver very reliable betas) ... even with two streams of 422 stereo it doesn't slow down in extreme grading situations ... and you're right, the 3 x Quadro 6000s do the heavy lifting when it comes to grading.

We're using a PC that was built for us by Globalstor based in Chatsworth, CA ... these guys are great ... they built our first RED Scratch machine way back in 2005 ... we used it to do the VFX reviews for 'Superman Returns' ... all 2k DPXs then ... totally reliable and solid ... and now? .... 4k DPXs and stereo 3D running on Win Resolve effortlessly.... amazing! ... call Scott and tell him that Neil recommended you to them ... he'll take good care of you :-)

I am going to test the machine using 3 x GTX 580s or 590s in the PCIe Expansion box to see how they perform against the Q6000s ... if Dave P's theory is correct, we might get even better performance for less cost ... there's no denying that Mac based Resolve is easier to use (thanks Steve) ... but in terms of price/performance, Wintel Resolve is the way to go (thanks Bill).

We had a whole bunch of ASC DPs attend our Open House on Saturday ... those that understood where 4k is heading, totally got Resolve running on Win 7.

We live in exciting times.

Neil

MichaelP

12-12-2011, 06:45 PM

Aha, that figures... so I can export an EDL from Avid then locate the media files in the MXF root and load into Resolve?

EDL or AAF. Point to MXF folder in Media Pool.

Michael

Petri Teittinen

12-13-2011, 01:11 AM

What files types have you tried. Anything other than QT/ProRes?
Absolutely, and I guess that's the problem. Resolve is now priced so low it's within reach of regular mortals like myself. That made me assume it would support consumer cameras and their file formats/codecs/containers. But it doesn't, does it?

Containers such as AVI, MTS and MP4 are a no-go in Resolve, it seems. I have lots of footage shot on consumer 3D cameras like Sony TD10, JVC TD1 and more recently, Panasonic Z10000. Here I was thinking about buying Resolve for grading the S3D output of those cameras but nope. I even tried converting some files to CineForm .MOV but Resolve would not see those either.

Rohit Gupta

12-13-2011, 02:04 AM

Absolutely, and I guess that's the problem. Resolve is now priced so low it's within reach of regular mortals like myself. That made me assume it would support consumer cameras and their file formats/codecs/containers. But it doesn't, does it?

Containers such as AVI, MTS and MP4 are a no-go in Resolve, it seems. I have lots of footage shot on consumer 3D cameras like Sony TD10, JVC TD1 and more recently, Panasonic Z10000. Here I was thinking about buying Resolve for grading the S3D output of those cameras but nope. I even tried converting some files to CineForm .MOV but Resolve would not see those either.

The Cineform MOV is supported on Mac, and we will have that supported on Windows by the time we do the final 8.2 release. We support a whole variety of raw camera codecs (Red/Arri/Phantom/SI2K/Canon/CinemaDNG etc), and you can refer to the exact codec list supported on our website.

Petri Teittinen

12-13-2011, 03:14 AM

We support a whole variety of raw camera codecs (Red/Arri/Phantom/SI2K/Canon/CinemaDNG etc), and you can refer to the exact codec list supported on our website
Yes, I know; I've gone through that list several times. But you don't support consumer camera codecs. I would love to be able to open AVC, AVCHD and MVC files in Resolve directly, instead of running everything through Cineform conversion first. Cineform only adds one more step to the process and eats up more disc space. I understand that Resolve is a professional application, with features to match. But price-wise it's beginning to compete with NLEs like Sony Vegas which has no problem with most consumer camera codecs. It just feels so odd, taking price into account, that Resolve does not support the most common camera containers/codecs natively.

Rohit, if BMD (I'm assuming you work for them) begins adding support for consumer containers/codecs, I'd be happy to help as a betatester.

Christoffer Glans

12-13-2011, 04:35 AM

EDL or AAF. Point to MXF folder in Media Pool.

Michael

In theory, if I edit something in DNxHD 444 and then output EDL/AAF to do grading in Resolve with the MXF-files in Avid MediaFiles, Resolve will be able to use all the depth and data from the 10-bit 444 files?
If so, that's really awesome.

ERIC PECK

12-13-2011, 04:40 AM

I was there at Neil's demo, the PC version of Resolve was indeed pretty impressive.

One of the things that Scott mentioned was that PNY was working on a more "robust" version of their GTX580 (or was it 590?) to use in professional environments, so who knows, maybe that's the way to go.

As for us, I think that we will stick to our Mac Resolve, maybe upgrade the Quadros to those hacked GTX480s and stick to that for a while, at least until the release version for PC is a reality.

On another non related news, the colorfront application looks so nice :)

Gabriele Turchi

12-13-2011, 06:17 AM

... at the moment with 3 x Quadro 6000s we can play 4k DPX files back in realtime on Win Resolve ...

Neil

hi neil,
meaning having a 4K project ? or scaled at 2K ?

when the deckling 4K will be out and more 4K display will be cheep , the 4K project will become reality , so i guess that is the important test to do 4K files on 4K project and how many nodes of correction (with a key and with blur...)

g

Gabriele Turchi

12-13-2011, 06:21 AM

We also showed people a "new" version of Mac Resolve de-mosaicng 16 bit Lin RAW and playing back 4k RGB SStP files in real time .... now that is scary!

hi neil,
what do you mean by that ?what kind of 16bit lin raw ?
what is SStp ?

also ,
are we talking just playback with no color correction ? and again , 4K project or 2K project ?

thanks

g

Gabriele Turchi

12-13-2011, 06:47 AM

Neil,
Ops i realized that you answered to my 1st question a already (you used 2k or HD project)

1 last question : what % of more performance would you say on the win Resolve compared to the mac , and does your mac Resolve have a cubic expander ? (i have 3GTX 470 on my cubix ) and wondering if is worthy move on PC or not ...(i guess that there is more choice of GPU ...but honestly the hacked GTX 470/480 are pretty powerful on Resolve Mac...)

thanks

g

Subhadip Sen

12-13-2011, 06:59 AM

The Cineform MOV is supported on Mac, and we will have that supported on Windows by the time we do the final 8.2 release. We support a whole variety of raw camera codecs (Red/Arri/Phantom/SI2K/Canon/CinemaDNG etc), and you can refer to the exact codec list supported on our website.

I agree with Petri - with Resolve down to $0 it ought to support popular prosumer formats natively. For starters - XDCAM EX (in its original MP4 container) and AVCHD / AVCCAM / NXCAM. That should cover cameras like AF100, EX1/3, FS100, F3, etc. Also, support for VFW architecture is a must on Windows. That will automatically bring in GoPro-Cineform AVI support (as well as thousands of other excellent VFW codecs).

Petri Teittinen

12-13-2011, 07:18 AM

I agree with Petri - with Resolve down to $0 it ought to support popular prosumer formats natively. For starters - XDCAM EX (in its original MP4 container) and AVCHD / AVCCAM / NXCAM. That should cover cameras like AF100, EX1/3, FS100, F3, etc. Also, support for VFW architecture is a must on Windows. That will automatically bring in GoPro-Cineform AVI support (as well as thousands of other excellent VFW codecs).
Oooh, I wasn't even talking about the free version of Resolve - I had forgotten all about it! Hahaha!

I was actually thinking about the $995 version which includes several S3D features not found in the Lite version, and how nice it would be to grade S3D footage shot on the new Panasonic Z10000.

But absolutely, both Resolves should support popular formats natively on Windows. It would certainly make sense for BMD too because it would widen their potential customer base immensely.