No CUDA in $499 MacAppStore Resolve, makes Mac a dull boy.

Hi, Blackmagic!

You sell a software on your homepage called DaVinci Resolve Studio. And you give a (large) subset of that software away for free, under a slightly different name: DaVinci Resolve.

I think the free version is a very generous offer with great functionality. When the included features aren't enough (NR, dual GPUs and so on) one can buy the Studio version. Pay more, get more features. Nice and clean.

But then you have the DaVinci Resolve Studio that you sell via Mac AppStore. Compared to the "retail" $995 version, this $499 version seams like a great deal. The price should be an indication that it's not the same product and people who are familiar with DaVinci know the retail version gives you a dongle and multi OS compatibility. Seems like there could be $500 worth there.

What isn't as obvious is that an identically named software from you differs significantly in features on the software side whether you buy it from you or via Apple.

I recently invested in a 1080 Ti gfx card from Nvidia and was disappointed to learn that the MAS version doesn't allow the user to select CUDA under preferences. It's disappointing because it isn't clear to me how it can be included in the free version, then excluded in the MAS version, only to be included again in the Studio version. Make that the Studio version from BMD, not Apple. They're the same, except for the parts that aren't.

Had I still used my older MacBook Pro with an Nvidia discreet card, I would have been happy to have the CUDA option, so its not that there aren't ANY Macs (apart from custom builds) that could profit.

"Just use OpenCL". Yes, I would have preferred if that worked. I'm getting 58fps with my 1080 Ti card with 1NR node with CUDA (tested the free version with watermarked node), while I only get 7.5 fps with OpenCL. It might be the (official) Nvidia driver, or something else. But seeing that CUDA is already in the free version, I'd very much appreciate it if you would consider not dropping features for people who step up to the $500 level, instead of taking the free lunch.

Regardless, thanks for being as disruptive as you are.

Don't do it. If the price is half, I'm always suspect something will go sideways..

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I already have the MAS version since a while back and have been editing HD with a RX480.

The new Nvidia 1080 Ti cuts through 4k like butter in CUDA, but I can't use it in my "full" version. Have to use the free version in parallel, which is limited to UHD. Not ideal, since most of my clips are 4k DCI.

Alternative solution is Nvidia actually getting their OpenCL performance to within 90% of CUDA, but I'm not sure the motivation is there. Especially not for a couple of Mac nerds with old HW.

This is a really studid limitation!! Have you contacted support regarding this? Maybe it's a bug?


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If I understood correctly : Apple => OpenCL technology. Cuda? do not know

IIRC it's the way Apple sandboxes apps in MAS that prohibits the inclusion of CUDA. Not a Blackmagic call, but Apple's.

I've had that thought myself, but it's only forum speculation until I see firm confirmation.

It's quite unfortunate, since even if I knew to look out for "differences" between versions, I didn't know CUDA was missing until I needed it. I sort of assumed stuff was added to the free version. Not that there was giving AND taking.

Chip is right : MAS rules ban nvidia, and whatever goes against a strict sandbox, which is the main reason a lot of apps - not only Resolve but also smaller utilities - have to be re-written following specific and strict guidelines... You may have problems with OFX too, I think (to be checked), for their way of communicating might not fit either.

On the other hand, a big % of people who have quite a non upgradable mac (or upgradable with pain) like iMacs or MBP probably won't try difficult HW upgrade : for these people, an OpenCL-only version is enough after all, since they won't ever try cuda, and therefore they'll appreciate the rebate...

Now, what I agree is that the "compare" page here on BMD's site should also show differences between MAS and direct BMD site DL, not only free and studio.

And believe me, this is more important on the Fusion side, where it's sometimes more difficult to know what's excluded from the free version before you encounter watermarks at the end