Dual-Monitor with different resolutions

The dual-monitor setup of Resolve seems to completely fail when both
monitors have a vastly different resolution and seems to not take the DPI of each monitor into account.

Screenshot (80).png (313.89 KiB) Viewed 8542 times

This is an UltraHD laptop connected to a FullHD hotel TV set to expand the usable screen estate.
(Also a proper grading-monitor is connected via an UltraStudio.)

I'm having the same issue. any solutions yet?

This problem still exists in Davinci Resolve 15. When will it be fixed?

I am also having this problem. Is there any solution?

Same here. When I drag the parades from a 4k Monitor to an HD one, they don't fit.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

I'm having similar issues. I have a 4k monitor as my main, with a 1080p as my secondary. The win 10 scaling means the UI on my 4k looks normal, while my secondary is massive to the point of unusability.

Anyone know how I can fix this?


Image for clarity https://imgur.com/5siz4yp

Same here. When I drag the parades from a 4k Monitor to an HD one, they don't fit.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

You just make it a little smaller!

IMG_20190128_154937761.jpg (696.74 KiB) Viewed 7889 times

This is as small as it will go. Work around is to decrease the scaling in the windows settings for the 4K monitor. Text and fonts get pretty small even on a 32" monitor and compared to the 1600x900 20" monitors.

Screenshot 2019-01-28 18.31.32.png (108.19 KiB) Viewed 7881 times

But the text gets so small this way. It is pretty much unusable for me. Any other suggestions?

But the text gets so small this way. It is pretty much unusable for me. Any other suggestions?

Wait until Blackmagic fixes this one?
Windows does report the DPI of each monitor.
Resolve is currently just System DPI Aware and not yet Per Monitor DPI or Per Monitor DPI V2 Aware.
(Mixed Mode DPI Aware probably is not needed as these are not main windows.)

This is nothing a user can do but something a well behaved multi-windowed application in 2019 should do.

https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/window ... on-windows

https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/ ... zc5gIkO.97

The next suggestion would be to adjust the text size in "Ease of Access" windows settings but Resolve completely ignores this system setting. Next suggestion would be to use High DPI scaling override in the Compatibility settings of Resolve, but again it manages to ignore those efforts. However I'm using trying this on a PC that has a 2K monitor without the issue. I'm not at the one with the 4K monitor. Feel free to try the System setting. System enhanced makes things small.

I then searched the Registry. There is an installer folder for preferences which is nice if you want to modify preferences.
C:\ProgramData\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Preferences\config.user.xml
Then I see a copyconfig for support that pulls default-config-win.dat. This is a likely candidate in the DPManager or GUI section if ever there was a setting.
After that there were just a bunch of installer paths, firewall rules and Panel geometry layouts


I then decompiled Resolve.exe to try to manually modify the resource manifest assets to a large size but Resolve doesn't seem to use standard Windows dialogs and stuff. Probably why it doesn't observe the scaling in the same way.

I'd have to search through 441MB of the exe file with a binary editor to see if it observes an xml setting for font size in the user config that we could add.

Didn't feel like doing that so I hunted around my desk for reading glasses so I can squint at the newly set screen.

The next suggestion would be to adjust the text size in "Ease of Access" windows settings but Resolve completely ignores this system setting. Next suggestion would be to use High DPI scaling override in the Compatibility settings of Resolve, but again it manages to ignore those efforts. However I'm using trying this on a PC that has a 2K monitor without the issue. I'm not at the one with the 4K monitor. Feel free to try the System setting. System enhanced makes things small.

I then searched the Registry. There is an installer folder for preferences which is nice if you want to modify preferences.
C:\ProgramData\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Preferences\config.user.xml
Then I see a copyconfig for support that pulls default-config-win.dat. This is a likely candidate in the DPManager or GUI section if ever there was a setting.
After that there were just a bunch of installer paths, firewall rules and Panel geometry layouts


I then decompiled Resolve.exe to try to manually modify the resource manifest assets to a large size but Resolve doesn't seem to use standard Windows dialogs and stuff. Probably why it doesn't observe the scaling in the same way.

I'd have to search through 441MB of the exe file with a binary editor to see if it observes an xml setting for font size in the user config that we could add.

Didn't feel like doing that so I hunted around my desk for reading glasses so I can squint at the newly set screen.

Wow you gave up at reading glasses?

Thanks for all of the info... Please let me know if you do ever come up with a solution!

Would love to know if you do! Thanks!

I think I've found a fix based on a suggestion for another similar display issue in another thread. Make your default monitor one of the lower resolution ones.

Windows Start - Settings - System - Display - Select a low res monitor - Check "Make this my main display" - Adjust scaling on your monitors - reboot just in case and open Resolve to see if things got better for you.

Select a low res monitor - Check "Make this my main display" - Adjust scaling on your monitors

It's a workaround, not a fix.
A fix is Blackmagic honoring the DPI of each monitor as reported by Windows to it's apps for exactly this purpose.

Of cause this has the issue of affecting all other programs too. Especially on laptops where all but the internal display get detached regularly.

Any idea if the scaling only affects font-rendering or would also mean blurry, upscaled video?
e.g. when using a very low resolution USB-display just for the scopes, an UltraHD laptop display to work on and an UltraStudio with calibrated external monitor for the viewer.

Does this actually work for anyone? It doesn't on my 4k laptop with a 1080p external monitor.

Hallo
I had the same problem with my second (old) monitor. I use the Linux free version.
The problem seems to be solved with 16 version. It's still beta, but it works (no bugs found until now (1 day of use)...
Nikos

Hallo
I had the same problem with my second (old) monitor. I use the Linux free version.
The problem seems to be solved with 16 version. It's still beta, but it works (no bugs found until now (1 day of use)...
Nikos

Can you tell me how this works? Are you saying that Davinci now works with different resolutions? It doesn't seem to be working for me. Are you on Mac?

Thanks in advance!

I work with monitors of different resolutions without problems. Primary monitor is a 1920 x 1080 Benq GW2270 and the other a Dell E2014H which is 1600 x 900. The Benq is connected by DVI, the Dell by HDMI. In the Windows configuration the Dell is No 1, the Benq No 2.
This is a Snip of the desktop across the monitors. You can see that the image is scaled correctly for both.

Ah maybe it’s because my laptop is 4k and my monitor is still 1080p. The dpi settings are all out of whack and I can barely read the 4k monitor or if my laptop is primary then the 1080p monitor is way too large. Has someone solved this yet?

I work with monitors of different resolutions without problems. Primary monitor is a 1920 x 1080 Benq GW2270 and the other a Dell E2014H which is 1600 x 900. The Benq is connected by DVI, the Dell by HDMI. In the Windows configuration the Dell is No 1, the Benq No 2.
This is a Snip of the desktop across the monitors. You can see that the image is scaled correctly for both.

Since you did not mention the physical sizes,
are the densities DPI of both monitors (measured in DPI) actually vastly different?

Ah maybe it’s because my laptop is 4k and my monitor is still 1080p. The dpi settings are all out of whack and I can barely read the 4k monitor or if my laptop is primary then the 1080p monitor is way too large. Has someone solved this yet?

This may not be what you want to hear, but I think the best answer is to not use two GUI monitors with vastly different resolutions. Do that and it will solve the problem.

In situations where I only had one GUI display, I have sometimes sued a really crappy second display and just parked the scopes on it. That worked just fine, because I could vary the size of the Scopes panel and just fill the screen with it. But the Dual GUI display is a little fussy, and you do have to have similar sizes because otherwise Resolve will get confused. I went to the trouble of getting two identical models and sizes (both Dell U2715's), and they work very well. Once in awhile, the Thunderbolt connection on my Mac goes a little nuts and the two displays get "confused" in terms of which is #1 and which is #2, but I blame the OS for that. I do use custom layouts in order to optimally position and size specific GUI panels for certain projects, like one for Color and several for Editing and Conforming.

This may not be what you want to hear, but I think the best answer is to not use two GUI monitors with vastly different resolutions. Do that and it will solve the problem.

With laptops (in the field or because users no longer have desktops) this is not an option.

This may not be what you want to hear, but I think the best answer is to not use two GUI monitors with vastly different resolutions. Do that and it will solve the problem

Good point, I could pick up a cheap 4k monitor, but unfortunately I have worked on two shoots this year that forced me to edit in a hotel room with a cheap flat screen tv as a secondary. It was such a headache because of the resolutions. Is there a reason as to why this is so difficult to achieve? Every other editing software I have used never had this problem?

So, I know this thread is already 6M+ old, but I guess I still have some questions re.: resolution vs. PPi in this regard.

I am currently using a 1080p monitor and a 4k monitor. Needless to say, I am running into the same issue as others here. What I am not completely clear about is if this is soley a resolution issue, or a PPI issue.

So, if I look at the 3 monitors below, I am using #1 and #2 today (running into the known issues). Is this going to be better by using #2 and #3 because they have the same resolution, or is this not going to improve much because the PPI is still way off?

1)1920x1200- 24"- Display size: 20.35" × 12.72" = 258.88in² (51.69cm × 32.31cm = 1670.17cm²) at 94.34 PPI, 0.2692mm dot pitch, 8900 PPI²

2) 3840x2160- 27"-   Display size: 23.53" × 13.24" = 311.5in² (59.77cm × 33.62cm = 2009.68cm²) at 163.18 PPI, 0.1557mm dot pitch, 26627 PPI²

3) 3840x2160- 42.5"- Display size: 37.04" × 20.84" = 771.81in² (94.09cm × 52.92cm = 4979.41cm²) at 103.67 PPI, 0.245mm dot pitch, 10747 PPI²



Bottom line is that I want to ditch the 24" 1080p monitor and add a 42.5" 4k UHD monitor. My suspicion is that this all comes down to how Davinci handles scaling. It seems that DR takes the scale setting from the first (main) monitor and applies it to the second monitor, which is why the 24" 1080p monitor looks like a large toy UI.

Applying that logic, I should have the reverse problem when using a 42.5" UHD monitor as primary. I would set the Windows scaling to 100% on that monitor (as it is large enough to be usable at that scale/resolution). DR will then apply the 100% scale to the secondary 27" 4k UHD monitor, which will make it's GUI rendering tiny, rather than large. This is an OK issue to have for me as the content on the secondary monitor is less GUI/drop-down menu driven.

Am I correct with the above assumption?

Thank you!

Oliver

Sounds about right.

I guess the core of the issue is that Resolve uses 1 Window that streches across multiple monitors
instead of 1 window per monitor.

The UI elements (except the scopes window when not docked) are not dynamic and can't be undocked in one window and docked in a chosen place in another window.

Update:

So, I got the 32" UHD 4K monitor and things are working great now. Both monitors set at the recommended 150% Windows scaling works right out of the box- no issues.

However, 150% felt a little large for me on the 32", so I tried going with 125% instead- Davinci was not happy with that setting and scaled to 100% (tiny menu) instead.

I did find a workaround, which is working for now (maybe I should reboot before writing this:-))

Steps I took (your mileage may vary):

1) Close Davinci Resolve
2) Set to 125% scaling in Windows
3) Go to the Davinci application icon
4) Right-click icon and select: Properties > Compatability > Change High DPI Settings

Here:

5) Check "Program DPI" > "Use this setting to fix....."
6) "Use the DPI that is set for my main display when...." > "I open this program"
7) Check "High DPI scale overrride" > "High DPI sdcaling behaviour" > "System"
8) Log off Windows
9) Log back into Windows
10) OPen Davinci Resolve

Now working great at 125%. Menu fonts are still small on 32", but not ridiculously small and with plenty of room on screen for timeline, monitors, etc.

Hope this may help someone.

Best,

Oliver

As mentioned Resolve is made for a single monitor.
It can have dual monitors of same resolution.
But if one starts adding monitors of different size and resolution,
it becomes a total mess.

I have a 3 monitor setup of Hi Dpi and normal Dpi moniotrs.
In latest 16.3 my Video clean feed 47" 1080 monitor will display the feed cropped and from the right side of the display whatever I setting I try.
My main monitor is a 4K 32" where UI scales OK if on the larger size.
In my second dual screen monitor of normal Dpi resolution, Resolve cannot understand the monitors boundaries (nor resolution).
So it scales to 150 and UI looks huge, plus any context click or setting in the three dots ... like in Edit Index will just not show up. They a re hidden outside the boundaries.
Same happened when I tried opening scopes as a floating window.
Disappeared. At one point I managed to fetch them back from the window corner....
So basically it is verrry finicky with multiple resolution displays to the point of giving up on dual screen.
Most other video software with multiple windows in multiple monitors just function properly.

And exactly that should be changed one of these days.
It's 2020 after all.
Things have become way more dynamic in the last 20 years
with touchscreen convertables, High DPI monitors, commonplace USB displays, HDR and wide gammut capable displays,...

Fully customizable UIs have become commonplace back in 2001 with the start of the Eclipse framework.
That's 20 years ago and people have started to expect that from professional software 10-15 years ago.

Sizing UI elements based on intended physical dimensions independent of resolution and placing them dynamically dependent on aspect ratio and available size has become standard since the rise of mobile apps in 2008.


The current version can't even handle me switching on a secondary minitor (placed to the side) that Resolve doesn't even use.
The moment I do that all context menus extend vertically beyond the screen.

5) Check "Program DPI" > "Use this setting to fix....."
6) "Use the DPI that is set for my main display when...." > "I open this program"
7) Check "High DPI scale overrride" > "High DPI sdcaling behaviour" > "System"
8) Log off Windows
9) Log back into Windows
10) Open Davinci Resolve

Best,

Oliver

Holy cow that works. Thank you!

Update:

So, I got the 32" UHD 4K monitor and things are working great now. Both monitors set at the recommended 150% Windows scaling works right out of the box- no issues.

However, 150% felt a little large for me on the 32", so I tried going with 125% instead- Davinci was not happy with that setting and scaled to 100% (tiny menu) instead.

I did find a workaround, which is working for now (maybe I should reboot before writing this:-))

Steps I took (your mileage may vary):

1) Close Davinci Resolve
2) Set to 125% scaling in Windows
3) Go to the Davinci application icon
4) Right-click icon and select: Properties > Compatability > Change High DPI Settings

Here:

5) Check "Program DPI" > "Use this setting to fix....."
6) "Use the DPI that is set for my main display when...." > "I open this program"
7) Check "High DPI scale overrride" > "High DPI sdcaling behaviour" > "System"
8) Log off Windows
9) Log back into Windows
10) OPen Davinci Resolve

Now working great at 125%. Menu fonts are still small on 32", but not ridiculously small and with plenty of room on screen for timeline, monitors, etc.

Hope this may help someone.

Best,

Oliver

Thanks for this! Solved my issue using a high-DPI laptop with a lower-DPI external monitor.

Update:

So, I got the 32" UHD 4K monitor and things are working great now. Both monitors set at the recommended 150% Windows scaling works right out of the box- no issues.

However, 150% felt a little large for me on the 32", so I tried going with 125% instead- Davinci was not happy with that setting and scaled to 100% (tiny menu) instead.

I did find a workaround, which is working for now (maybe I should reboot before writing this:-))

Steps I took (your mileage may vary):

1) Close Davinci Resolve
2) Set to 125% scaling in Windows
3) Go to the Davinci application icon
4) Right-click icon and select: Properties > Compatability > Change High DPI Settings

Here:

5) Check "Program DPI" > "Use this setting to fix....."
6) "Use the DPI that is set for my main display when...." > "I open this program"
7) Check "High DPI scale overrride" > "High DPI sdcaling behaviour" > "System"
8) Log off Windows
9) Log back into Windows
10) OPen Davinci Resolve

Now working great at 125%. Menu fonts are still small on 32", but not ridiculously small and with plenty of room on screen for timeline, monitors, etc.

Hope this may help someone.

Best,

Oliver

Unfortunately, this did not work for me. Purchasing a cheap 4k monitor seems to be the only way around this flaw.

Resolve may not be designed to be used with multiple monitors of varying resolutions, but it will be 2022 in a couple of days and I think a reasonable question is shouldn't it be ~5 years after users pointed this out as a usability flaw?

There are many scenarios someone would want/need to use multiple varied-resolution displays to operate an editing program.

At this point I assume there's some core component of Resolve that prohibits a solution here.

In Resolve 17

I got two non resolution matching monitors to work by going to:

Preferences:
UI Settings: uncheck "Resize image in viewer to square pixels"

Dual monitors worked for me after doing that

I hope that helps