Could I make video editing work on my laptop?

I've got a great desktop setup for video editing, but one thing that (sort of) sucked was that I didn't do a single bit of video (vlog) editing while I was traveling. I choose a 13" laptop for travel/weight purposes, but wonder if that'll only come back to bite me!

I've got a Dell XPS 13":
- i7-7500 (kaby lake) CPU
- 256GB SSD
- 8GB RAM (pretty sure not user-upgradeable)
- Intel HD Graphics 620

I shoot 1080p clips off my 5D Mark IV, 4K from GoPro and 4K from my DJI Mavic. I was playing around with a single 4k gopro clip and it seemed to take forever just to analyze/stablize the clip, even after I created optimized media (which also took a long time!)

Should I give up hope about doing video editing on this rig, or is there still hope? I did think about one of those external dedicated GPU dock things, but I don't know much about them and I feel like at that point I really should have just picked up a 15"...

Are you using Beta 14?
Free or Studio?

Editing using 14b4 Studio on my Dell XPS listed below is smooth with no dropped frames. I record only in 4K.

Try it. Not sure about your Intel HD Graphics 620 solution - might not be compatible with Resolve but it's worth a try if you already have the laptop.

Kaitlyn, I noticed on another post that you aren't using Studio. On my XPS 15 I could not edit H.264 real-time before upgrading to Studio. I had to optimize first and it was very slow and painful. After upgrading to Studio I've thankfully been able to edit 4K with 14b4 and 14b5 in real-time with no dropped frames.

Blackmagic says that Resolve 14 Studio runs H.264 on "a laptop" and I don't see were they specify GPU requirements. It would certainly be interesting to see how Studio runs on your Dell XPS 13.

Besides the extra features, does studio offer upgraded processing speed?

Native 4K Gopro / Dji are going to be a pain. Transcoded should work.

Yes, Studio version does offer GPU based video decoding for playback and it is faster as per user feedback on these forums.

The previous Resolve free vs Resolve Studio detailed comparison list is gone from BM website unfortunately. The link below describes the feature set for Resolve 14b5 Studio (click read more in the relevant place if the list doesn't pop up). The Studio only features are stated explicitly as you read through it:
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/sup ... 641fd7ffe4

Are you using Beta 14?
Free or Studio?

Editing using 14b4 Studio on my Dell XPS listed below is smooth with no dropped frames. I record only in 4K.

To be fair your rig in your signature is FAR more powerful than mine...

Kaitlyn, I noticed on another post that you aren't using Studio. On my XPS 15 I could not edit H.264 real-time before upgrading to Studio. I had to optimize first and it was very slow and painful. After upgrading to Studio I've thankfully been able to edit 4K with 14b4 and 14b5 in real-time with no dropped frames.

Blackmagic says that Resolve 14 Studio runs H.264 on "a laptop" and I don't see were they specify GPU requirements. It would certainly be interesting to see how Studio runs on your Dell XPS 13.

I do plan to buy Studio 14 once I don't have to deal with this dongle thing? I don't know much about it but I can't think of any other software that required a hardware component to work...

Native 4K Gopro / Dji are going to be a pain. Transcoded should work.

Am new to video - transcoded = "optimized media" or something else?

I do plan to buy Studio 14 once I don't have to deal with this dongle thing? I don't know much about it but I can't think of any other software that required a hardware component to work...

It's the norm with expensive professional software. BMD has gotten the price down to consumer level, but I don't think I'd call it a consumer product.

I was also very frustrated with trying to edit H.264 files from my Sony camera, DJI Osmo+ and DJI Mavic Pro. And I too hated the idea of a dongle. I called Blackmagic and they told me that the release of DaVinci Resolve Studio 14 would no longer require a dongle. I was assured that all I needed was my proof of having purchased 12.5 Studio and I would be automatically upgraded to Studio 14 with no dongle requirement. Based on that I purchased 12.5 Studio. And I can tell you from experience that Studio edits 4K H.264 real-time with no dropped frames on my hardware listed below.

Thank you for this Gary!

BMD, can you confirm that playback/performace will be much better in the Studio version? If this is the case, I will be upgrading to the Studio version. Please confirm Blackmagic Design Team.

That might be true for Nivida cards only.

I called Blackmagic and they told me that the release of DaVinci Resolve Studio 14 would no longer require a dongle. I was assured that all I needed was my proof of having purchased 12.5 Studio and I would be automatically upgraded to Studio 14 with no dongle requirement. Based on that I purchased 12.5 Studio.

You mentioned proof of purchase. If someone sells their dongle, will proof of original purchase be needed? Or as long as one has a dongle it will be upgraded to the final DR 14 Studio? What's BMD policy on this?

[Peter Chamberlain]

DaVinci Resolve Studio customers, which means you have a dongle, will be able to use the same dongle for v14 just as they have for all versions since v9. BMD allows the free transfer of ownership so if you sell the dongle the right to use goes to the new dongle owner. If you loose the dongle you loose the license to use. You can use this dongle now for the v14 beta.

After release of v14 we will offer new customers the choice to purchase a dongle or license key version of DaVinci Resolve Studio. The license key can only be activated on one machine at a time and we will allow you to deactivate so you can move to another OS or another computer. You will need internet access to activate or deactivate. Dongle users need only to unplug and then re-plug to move the license.

The license key can only be activated on one machine at a time and we will allow you to deactivate so you can move to another OS or another computer. You will need internet access to activate or deactivate.

Can BMD force deactivate a license if the activated computer has an unrecoverable crash?

Well, even if only BM can give a definitive answer, I've never experienced to the contrary with any respectable manufacturer. (And I have seen a lot of unrecoverable computers since the mid 80s)

[Peter Chamberlain]

With the license key and serial number from your purchase you will be able to work with BMD support for them to de-activate. Without these its as though you lost your dongle. I will provide more details post release.