The futility of color grading

After spending great care color correcting in Resolve, making it look exactly the way I want, once I render an export as a Quicktime file (ProRes or H.246) and view it on my system using Quicktime, the whole image is desaturated and way too bright. I have read that Quicktime has some sort of gamma issue that causes this, but this has been going on for years with the same results across many different MAC computers I have used, including when I use to edit with Adobe Premiere.

Have they not fixed this yet? Is this just that way it is and what I have to live with? I certainly understand that once it goes into streaming land, different browsers and displays will all look different, but how can I create a file that is at least an average representation of what I had intended? Especially on my own system! This problem makes the effort of color grading seem like a pointless endeavor.

If anyone has a solution, I would be extremely grateful!!

After spending great care color correcting in Resolve, making it look exactly the way I want, once I render an export as a Quicktime file (ProRes or H.246) and view it on my system using Quicktime, the whole image is desaturated and way too bright.

What about viewing the same file with other viewers?

After spending great care color correcting in Resolve, making it look exactly the way I want, once I render an export as a Quicktime file (ProRes or H.246) and view it on my system using Quicktime, the whole image is desaturated and way too bright.

What about viewing the same file with other viewers?

When I load the exported Quicktime file back into Resolve, it looks fine. I haven't tried any other viewers. Is there a best one I should try? What's frustrating is that the file is a Quicktime file and that it can't play back properly with Quicktime! The fact that this problem exists at all, especially after so many years of this being a known issue, is simply baffling to me.

VLC is a very full featured and free media player. I recommend testing your files in that just to determine whether the issue really is Quicktime Player.

Thanks Jamie, I'll give VLC a try.

Addendum... I just tried VLC and the color is now perfect! Thanks again Jamie! However my files output at 4.6k in ProRes 422 won't play smoothly like they do in QuikTime. I suspect VLC only supports up to 4k? Well at least the color looks good.

I believe the issue is a known one -- it's called the Quicktime gamma bug. Here's a link that better explains what is going on:

https://vitrolite.wordpress.com/2010/12 ... gamma_bug/

Benton, presumably if you are using an Apple Macintosh, in the Resolve Project Settings, Colour Management tab, make sure the box "Use Mac Display Colour Profile for Viewers" is unchecked!

First time I did a pretty grade, the rendered file looked nothing like the grade in Resolve. That box was checked. After unchecking the box, and redoing the grade, then my output actually looked the same as my video in the Resolve Viewer.


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Honestly y'all should try using the other sub forums on this site, they are extremely helpful.
I've noticed there are Resolve specific employees and forum member that seem to rarely visit the General Discussion/Cinematography sub forum. My only guess is that like most, they have become tired of the stupid BS in this group.
Or maybe in the Cinematography group they just let us talk among ourselves to handle "Cinematography" issues, but the other subforms have a flurry of Green, Blue, and Orange names responding to questions daily.

Every time I have a Resolve issue I post in that forum and it's answered promptly, courteously, and for the most part they always solve my issues.

I had the issue you have been dealing with, the increase in exposure when exporting a jpeg or finished video, minus the undersaturation which maybe just a side effect from the increases of 1.5 stops in exposure.

Here is the thread. Paul and Antoine hit the nail on the head for me, and after unchecking the "Use Mac color display profile for viewer" box located in the project settings, it completely resolved my issue. Pun intended. lol

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=47679

Hope this helps!

Edit: The way I had it explained to me is that Resolve has always been grading it how it exports. It's just that Mac owners have been viewing the original file wrong(darker) with our monitors, which has made us over compensate the color grade to the original file. So the export comes out overexposed because we overexposed it without knowing.

Benton, presumably if you are using an Apple Macintosh, in the Resolve Project Settings, Colour Management tab, make sure the box "Use Mac Display Colour Profile for Viewers" is unchecked!

First time I did a pretty grade, the rendered file looked nothing like the grade in Resolve. That box was checked. After unchecking the box, and redoing the grade, then my output actually looked the same as my video in the Resolve Viewer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks Rick!

Honestly y'all should try using the other sub forums on this site, they are extremely helpful.
I've noticed there are Resolve specific employees and forum member that seem to rarely visit the General Discussion/Cinematography sub forum. My only guess is that like most, they have become tired of the stupid BS in this group.
Or maybe in the Cinematography group they just let us talk among ourselves to handle "Cinematography" issues, but the other subforms have a flurry of Green, Blue, and Orange names responding to questions daily.

Every time I have a Resolve issue I post in that forum and it's answered promptly, courteously, and for the most part they always solve my issues.

I had the issue you have been dealing with, the increase in exposure when exporting a jpeg or finished video, minus the undersaturation which maybe just a side effect from the increases of 1.5 stops in exposure.

Here is the thread. Paul and Antoine hit the nail on the head for me, and after unchecking the "Use Mac color display profile for viewer" box located in the project settings, it completely resolved my issue. Pun intended. lol

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=47679

Hope this helps!

Edit: The way I had it explained to me is that Resolve has always been grading it how it exports. It's just that Mac owners have been viewing the original file wrong(darker) with our monitors, which has made us over compensate the color grade to the original file. So the export comes out overexposed because we overexposed it without knowing.

Thanks Timothy! I posted in the cinematography section purely out of habit, I'll give the others a try. I'll definitely try un-checking the Mac viewer setting. What's puzzling is why the currently too bright files in the QuickTime viewer, play perfectly using VLC.

You're welcome Benton.
That's weird about the VLC issue. Do keep us informed because Resolve is a vast program with many alternate settings, and I would like to know if there is another option I should apply to improve my footage.