Newbie question-using Davinci Resolve Lite 9 w/ FCPX

I am brand new to Resolve Lite, and starting out with version 9. I know a fair amount about FCPX, but I'm no expert.

I downloaded Resolve Lite thinking it would operate within FCPX, like an effect. Having watched a basic tutorial about it, I now understand it operates independently.

I'm wondering how this works. I take it you can do the Resolve Lite adjustments to your clips from your camera before you edit them into a project in FCPX, or that you can finish your project in FCPX and then edit the color in Resolve Lite.

But, either way it seems you would be losing some quality. I mean, isn't it like editing a picture in that every time you make changes to it and save it you are reducing its quality? I read something about XML files, but I can't find a lot of information. The company whose tutorials I buy for FCPX has a Resolve tutorial, but it is for version 8.

For my purposes, since I use stationary cameras without lighting changes, it would be easier to make changes to the clips in my Event browser before I start putting them in a project.

If it matters, I my camera creates AVCHD files and I then optimize those in FCPX upon import (also creating proxy files).

Any advice is appreciated.

You might have a problem taking your optimized AVCHD files from FCPX to Resolve, and here's why. I only know this because it's a problem I have with it every time...

I shoot a lot with an AF100, recording ProRes to an Atomos Samurai, but sometimes, I have to rely on the backup AVCHD files that were recorded on the SD card. When I take a project from FCPX to Resolve, Resolve ALWAYS chokes on the AVCHD files, even though they were "optimized" in FCPX. Upon further investigation, it turned out that the "optimized" files were still in the AVC codec, but just rewrapped in a QT file. I had to take the original AVCHD files, convert them with MPEGstreamclip to true ProRes422, and then use them that way. SO, if you want to shoot AVCHD, I suggest you modify your workflow to something like this:

Shoot, then batch convert AVCHD to ProRes422 using an app like Pavtube MTS Converter, THEN take the ProRes files into FCPX for editing. In other words, convert the AVCHD files to ProRes422 before they even see FCPX.

Hi Darren--

Thank you for the answer. I don't know how I'd have ever learned about that issue.

I have a couple of other questions, if you don't mind:

1) Are there any other advantages or disadvantages to true ProRes422 in the manner you are describing? I mean, does it negatively impact the quality of the footage, or does it maybe make the footage more or even less difficult edit in FCPX (in terms of the demands on the computer's resources)?

2) I still have my original question, if you can help with it: I take it that the Resolve (Resolve Lite for me) color correction must be done to either the "raw" footage that will end up in FCPX's Event browser, or the to the finished project. Is that right? If so, which is better? Is there a loss of quality doing this (similar to when you edit a jpeg photo, save it, edit it again, and save it. It seems there would be such a loss in quality to me, but I'm certainly no expert.

Hi,

I have been through the same problem (DaVinci Studio 17.4.5), and finally I found a solution. It has something to do with the pixel aspect ratio on MTS files. So before you generate the proxy files, go to: Clip Attributes > and click the checkbox next to Pixel Aspect Ratio. You shouldn't need to change the aspect ratio settings. Save and generate your proxies.

It should work, does for me, after a week of struggling with alternatives...