Resolve Choppy 4k Playback vs PP and Powerdirector

[pao1os]

Hi,

I have been using Resolve for some time with 1080p editing. In order to improve output quality I decided to swap to 4k (h264) from my 2 Pro. I have a reasonable laptop with 16GB RAM, an NVidia GTX870M with 6GB vRAM, Win 10, SSD drive and Core i7 CPU.

When I tried editing 4k in Resolve the playback (for trimming etc) becomes choppy to such an extent that it is almost unusable. I then decided to try Powerdirector which seems able to edit, trim and scrub the same 4k footage perfectly well with no frame dropping. This peaked my curiosity so I downloaded a trial of Premier Pro (which even though it complained about wanting to update my video drivers) was also able to edit the 4k footage smoothly.

So my question is, am I missing something; two out of three editors are fine with 4k editing on my laptop but Resolve struggles. I would prefer to use Resolve as its colour grading is way better than Powerdirector (and I don't feel like paying for Premier Pro) but unless I can resolve (no pun intended) the choppy 4k playback issue then its a non starter.

I have tried half resolution in proxy mode, I have changed the optimised render setting to DNx HRSQ, I have the GPU enabled but nothing works, playback is still choppy. I don't get it, why can PP and Powerdirector play this footage back without dropping frames?

Thanks

 

[THE CYBORG]

You aren't alone, I also can’t get Resolve to run properly.

My system.
Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
Asustek ROG Maximus XI Hero Motherboard
Intel i9 Processor
32 GB DDR-4 Ram
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super UHD Graphics
1.5 TB SSD Storage

 

[pao1os]

You aren't alone, I also can’t get Resolve to run properly.

My system.
Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
Asustek ROG Maximus XI Hero Motherboard
Intel i9 Processor
32 GB DDR-4 Ram
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super UHD Graphics
1.5 TB SSD Storage

With that spec you should be able to make it get up and dance! The thing I don't get is that Powerdirector will even play nice with h265 footage from the 2 Pro. If you don't mind me asking which editing software do you recommend?

 

[THE CYBORG]

Couldn’t get the playback windows to play my clips, they loaded but when I attempted to play them they disappeared, had a lot of advice but gave up & uninstalled it.

 

[SkyeHigh]

Couldn’t get the playback windows to play my clips, they loaded but when I attempted to play them they disappeared, had a lot of advice but gave up & uninstalled it.

The following link shows the minimum and ideal system requirements for 4K editing in Resolve 16. The main requirement is the multi-core CPU as it’s the CPU that does the decompression of the video file before its past to the GPU.

DaVinci Resolve System Requirements & Recommended Hardware | Motion Array

How well does your computer need to be to run DaVinci Resolve 17? Learn the minimum & ideal system requirements all editors should know.

motionarray.com

 

[pao1os]

The following link shows the minimum and ideal system requirements for 4K editing in Resolve 16. The main requirement is the multi-core CPU as it’s the CPU that does the decompression of the video file before its past to the GPU.

DaVinci Resolve System Requirements & Recommended Hardware | Motion Array

How well does your computer need to be to run DaVinci Resolve 17? Learn the minimum & ideal system requirements all editors should know.

motionarray.com

Interesting, seems to me that Cyborg certainly has the specs for 4k editing. My laptop is borderline due to the RAM and VRAM. I still don't really get why for playback and simple editing Resolve struggles where others seem not to have a problem though.

Hey ho, I guess I'll have to either optimise the clips or use Powerdirector, just a shame about losing the color grading though.

 

[SkyeHigh]

Interesting, seems to me that Cyborg certainly has the specs for 4k editing. My laptop is borderline due to the RAM and VRAM. I still don't really get why for playback and simple editing Resolve struggles where others seem not to have a problem though.

Hey ho, I guess I'll have to either optimise the clips or use Powerdirector, just a shame about losing the color grading though.

May be worth checking with Blackmagic support. Cyborg’s spec should be okay. It could be as simple as a config option in the BIOS. I had a similar issue in the past using Premiere Pro and eventually discovered it was the South Bridge chipset on my Tyan motherboard that was a known issue by Adobe. I bought a Mac in the end, and of course, it just worked and still does.

 

[Edward Knight]

Use clip optimization while editing. The rendered video will use the actual clip. Watch this video and use his method and see if it doesn't help your issue.