Really Choppy/Degraded Audio Issues only in Fairlight tab

Hi - I'm admittedly a novice user but when I try to work on audio under the Fairlight tab (and only when in the Fairlight tab) the audio will either not play or become severely choppy and even degrade in quality during playback, making voices sound robotic like characters from Dr Who.

However, this issue never happens when I playback files in the Cut or Edit tabs, everything behaves as it should - audio & video play fine. Even with Chrome open and a load of active tabs, there's no issues at all until I try to use Fairlight and then things fall apart and the problem seems to become system wide.

For example, I ran a test where I opened a YouTube video and as soon as I try to play audio in Fairlight the YouTube video will heavily lag and the audio in Fairlight will stutter and also degrade in quality, voices will sound robotic etc. Spotify will also stop working properly as soon as I try to work in Fairlight and playback some audio. I opened task manager during this and there's nothing showing as using up the systems resources much either.

This was just a test, I know it isn't recommended to play YouTube vids etc when editing video, I just wanted to see how bad the issue is.

I have tried different I/O engine options under preferences/video and audio I/O, makes no difference.

I also edit audio as part of my day job using Adobe Audition, and that runs perfectly fine.
This same PC is also used to stream gaming on Twitch in 1080p, no issues there either regardless if it's a resource heavy game or not.

I would really appreciate any help I can get with this, as I'm really starting to enjoy using DaVinci Resolve.

Thank you

My PC specs are as follows:
Windows 10 - fully up to date as of the time of this post.
DaVinci Resolve version 18.0.3 Build 5

CPU - RYZEN 5 3600.
MOBO - Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE AX ATX.
GPU - MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GAMING X TRIO - Drivers all updated and have even tried both Studio and Gaming drivers from Nvidia.
4x SSD - GIGABYTE NVMe SSD 512GB.
RAM - 32GB CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX 32GB (4X8GB) DDR4-3200.

[Peter Chamberlain]

it sounds like your system cant play the clips in real time.

What playback speed do you see on the color page?
What is the timeline frame rate and resolution?
What is the source codec, frame rate and resolution?

it sounds like your system cant play the clips in real time.

What playback speed do you see on the color page?
What is the timeline frame rate and resolution?
What is the source codec, frame rate and resolution?

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate you taking the time to help. I’ll get those details to you soon, but in the meantime: My system can play all and any clips in real time with no issues, it’s only when audio tries to play back while in the fairlight tab, do issues occur. The video pane in fairlight still runs smoothly however.

I notice that fairlight will run fine when I use just my PCs onboard Realtek audio headphone jack, but if I use any external audio interfaces the whole thing screws up again (all issues are happening only under the fairlight tab, never a problem with audio interfaces in the other tabs). While trying to use an audio interface for playback in fairlight I can see my systems audio default settings switching erratically. I have a Yamaha MG10XU and a GoXLR, both connected via usb - not at the same time, both experienced the same issues. All devices are up to date and are listed as available under preferences in davinci. These devices both work flawlessly with all other video and audio software, while under heavy loads and they run fine in all other tabs in davinvi, except fairlight. I have changed audio I/o settings, including using ASIO and adjusted all possible options as for as changing default audio settings in windows 10.

All other tabs it runs smoothly with no glitches or lag at all. Solely the fairlight tab.

I hope this might help. Thank you again

[Peter Chamberlain]

Hi, sorry, doesn't help.. All the tabs use the same underlying fairlight engine and I/O so im just not sure where to go next with out more details when you can.

At least we now know it works with system audio.

Please let me know if you need more info.

it sounds like your system cant play the clips in real time.

What playback speed do you see on the color page? I don't know where to find that exact info and can't see a setting to change the playback speed on the Color page, but it's playing fine and at regular speed.

What is the timeline frame rate and resolution? Timeline Format says 1920x1080 HD at 60fps

What is the source codec, frame rate and resolution? Video codec is H.264 High L4.2, 60fps, 1920x1080 and I'll include the voiceover audio file, which is MP3, 32bit, 44100hz 2 channel

Thank you

[Peter Chamberlain]

Ah. So check if Resolve and your 3rd party I/O is set to 44.1K or 48k.

Ah. So check if Resolve and your 3rd party I/O is set to 44.1K or 48k.

Have changed the setting on my MG10XU to match the 48K audio that Resole says it's using under the Project settings>Fairlight widow but no difference, issues is exactly the same. I can't change the setting in resolve as it's greyed out.

My question is, why is this only a problem in the Fairlight page and none of the others. I think you said all the pages use the same underlying audio settings, so why is this only happening in Fairlight. It makes no sense to me. Things go haywire in Fairlight, but why no issues with the other pages??

Edit: Here's a video to illustrate the issue. You'll need to sign into YouTube to view the video, it's listed as private:

Ah. So check if Resolve and your 3rd party I/O is set to 44.1K or 48k.

Further update - I have spent all day resetting my system, clean slate etc - the problem is still there, only in Fairlight. I can only determine there is something wrong with Resolve when it comes to communicating with my audio interface. Right now I just have the GoXLR connected, it's all up to date. It is fixed to run at 48000hz (this cant be changed) and Resolve is also set to that too (which also can't be changed as that setting is greyed out).

There's nothing on my PC now apart from this browser, Resolve and the software to run the GoXLR.

Is there anything else we can try??

Thank you

Well great to see this post get ignored.

I can see I'm not the only one with this issue and those threads get ignored also.

Have since installed Premiere Pro, and while it does come with a subscription cost, at least it works and their customer support seems to be better, too.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Can u post a Resolve project archive, with just one clip, that shows the issue as we can’t see it here.

I'm not 100% sure if I understand you, but I think you want me to upload an actual project?
OK, hopefully what I uploaded in a zip folder will be what you're after - It's just a one minute clip, but I think the file will be too big for this forum to accept. Yep it's too big.

Here's a link to it instead via WeTransfer: https://we.tl/t-amvgJAXov0

I have no idea what to send to be honest. Could have done with some instructions.

YouTube video above is also viewable again, please take a look at that too.

Note that since upgrading 18.0.4, the Fusion page now too has the same audio issue.

[Peter Chamberlain]

A dra is an archive of the project, from the project manager, and includes the media and project file.
Please also generate logs and supply a nfo. Details in the FAQs above, at the end

The dra is already uploaded both directly and via the WeTransfer link (the WeTransfer link includes the media files).

A dra is an archive of the project, from the project manager, and includes the media and project file.
Please also generate logs and supply a nfo. Details in the FAQs above, at the end

The project has ben uploaded, please use the wetransfer link as mentioned above.

The FAQ above has nothing listed about how to make an archive or supply logs or a nfo - please link me to information on how I can do this. The FAQ above only lists info on how to use the forum.

[Peter Chamberlain]

please see,

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=90190
Posting on the forum / Contacting Support for DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio

the archive is an operational process so its not listed in FAQs.

i'll ask someone to review the link.

Logs uploaded directly to this forum and nfo is available via the link below, as it's too big to upload here. Please let me know if you have do not see them or if I need to do something else.


WeTransfer link: https://we.tl/t-lT1dwC2nxU

[Dwaine Maggart]

Could you please send a screen shot of your Resolve Preferences - System - Video and Audio I/O page, with the Automatic Speaker configuration button unchecked so we can see what the Monitor Speaker Configuration is?

I have the same issue.

Audio with Compressor plays fine in the EDIT tab but not in the FAIRLIGHT tab.

Sometimes I can remove the Compressor and add it back and it works in Fairlight. Sometimes not. But it always plays fine in the EDIT tab.

FAIRLIGHT is broken now.

I have the same issue.

Audio with Compressor (and also other plugins etc) plays fine in the EDIT tab but not in the FAIRLIGHT tab.

Sometimes I can remove the Compressor and add it back and it works in Fairlight. Sometimes not. But it always plays fine in the EDIT tab.

FAIRLIGHT is broken now.

[Dwaine Maggart]

Does it play fine in the Edit page if you select the 3 dot Viewer menu and select the Show All Video Frames menu?

Does it play fine in the Edit page if you select the 3 dot Viewer menu and select the Show All Video Frames menu?

Yes, that also plays fine. I only have issues on the Fairlight page.

So strange that I can remove either fx. Compressor and/or a 3rd party plug-in and add it back in and sometimes it plays fine, then I pause an it doesn't. Other times I can remove and add it back and it doesn't work.

But it always plays back perfectly fine on the EDIT tab. So FAIRLIGHT is definitely broken/buggy.

[Dwaine Maggart]

Can you send a project export dra that exhibits the issue along with a Resolve log?

Could you please send a screen shot of your Resolve Preferences - System - Video and Audio I/O page, with the Automatic Speaker configuration button unchecked so we can see what the Monitor Speaker Configuration is?

Screenshot uploaded - please note that I have used both the GoXLR (as seen in the screenshot) and a Yamaha MG10XU and the issue happens exactly the same way on both units - all drivers are up to date and I have changed bitrate settings etc to match resolve and makes no difference.
Using the onboard audio via headphone out will improve things a lot, but you can hear it still struggles even then.

But I would LOVE to know what you think might be the reason why ONLY Fairlight has this issue and no other page does. Because for me all roads are pointing to Resolve being the issue at the moment. I dont have any issues with Premiere Pro or with Audition, and I will run quite large projects on those, but Fairlight crumbles with just one short clip.

Admittedly, I am totally an armchair critic here and understand there's a lot a might not understand with how this all works under the hood. So I do appreciate you all taking the time to try help with this.

Thank you

I have had problems with sound chopping in one tab but not the other (can't remember which way around). In my case it was down to a H.265 video @30 fps playing on a 24 fps or may of been 25 fps timeline. Once project was matched to the video framerate the audio played back just fine.

I am not sure if this is your problem or not but its worth having a look too see.

[Dwaine Maggart]

You mentioned earlier "both connected via usb - not at the same time, both experienced the same issues."

But the Resolve log you sent shows that both are connected at the same time. Could you check again that with only one of the devices connected, that you have an issue? And send a log from that test?

Yes when that log was made they were both connected - but even when separately connected it's the same issue on both. Exactly the same.

You mentioned earlier "both connected via usb - not at the same time, both experienced the same issues."

But the Resolve log you sent shows that both are connected at the same time. Could you check again that with only one of the devices connected, that you have an issue? And send a log from that test?

New Log file attached with just one device attached and the same issue- the other is literally off and disconnected.

I see I'm far from alone with this issue. Can you please share your thoughts as to why you might think this only happens on Fairlight? I have asked a number of times and no one has addressed it. I'm audio technician by day, by no means the greatest, but it makes no sense to me why Fairlight is the only page with this audio lag issue.

Thank you

You mentioned earlier "both connected via usb - not at the same time, both experienced the same issues."

But the Resolve log you sent shows that both are connected at the same time. Could you check again that with only one of the devices connected, that you have an issue? And send a log from that test?

Hello - did you look at the new log I uploaded???

Did you try different USB ports? Under Win10 not all ports might be managed the same way. Some of your ports might still use the old interrupt sharing, which is deadly for real-time communication. Just a guess and not sure why this should only affect the Fairlight tab...

Did you try different USB ports? Under Win10 not all ports might be managed the same way. Some of your ports might still use the old interrupt sharing, which is deadly for real-time communication. Just a guess and not sure why this should only affect the Fairlight tab...

Yeah I did, thanks for the suggestion though.

Really disappointed that they wont answer the question about that, which I have asked a number of times now.

Well obviously no one at Blackmagic cares.

I would just like to say that the customer support offered for Resolve is really bad.

Is there any proper ticketing system or is it just considered ok to abandon threads on the forum and ignore them when you can’t help someone?

It’s so disappointing to see this on a such a well regarded product.

I will thank you however as this experience with Resolve meant I took a look at Premiere Pro, and sure it's a subscription based model but at least it works and has far better support.

And for sure they offer much better support...

If you have a studio license, you can apparently contact BMD support, providing your license serial number and get a higher level of support. I have used this approach in the past with some success but I imagine it depends on the nature of the issue.

Paul, this is one of those difficult problems which is hard to solve. I will say that having looked at the GoXLR manual it would appear to be totally unsuitable for use with Resolve.
As to the Yamaha it should work with a standard USB driver as it is not a multichannel ASIO device but only a 2in 2out. Do you have a driver supplied by Yamaha for it?
I have a similar Behringer 2xI/O mixer which when in use needs to be selected in the Windows Sound setup page with the sample rate set to 48k, and also in Resolve's Preferences under System/Video and Audio I/O.
As you have said that the Realtek audio device works perfectly, it points to the Yamaha or its setup, or an audio device driver conflict.

As I've said, the cause of odd problems can be hard to find. I have never experienced this in the six years of using both Free and Studio versions of Resolve

Paul, this is one of those difficult problems which is hard to solve. I will say that having looked at the GoXLR manual it would appear to be totally unsuitable for use with Resolve.
As to the Yamaha it should work with a standard USB driver as it is not a multichannel ASIO device but only a 2in 2out. Do you have a driver supplied by Yamaha for it?
I have a similar Behringer 2xI/O mixer which when in use needs to be selected in the Windows Sound setup page with the sample rate set to 48k, and also in Resolve's Preferences under System/Video and Audio I/O.
As you have said that the Realtek audio device works perfectly, it points to the Yamaha or its setup, or an audio device driver conflict.

As I've said, the cause of odd problems can be hard to find. I have never experienced this in the six years of using both Free and Studio versions of Resolve

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

The Realtek device does perform better in Fairlight than either external device, but its not perfect. It does struggle at points. It's understandable that the GoXLR isn't suitable, they're really not worth the hype. The Yamaha drivers are all up to date and I do understand what you mean regarding Windows Sound setup, but no joy.

But, and I do keep bringing it up, what reason could there be that this is only an issue in Fairlight and not the other pages, regardless of external device or not?

Thank you again.

Had a similar problem. The thing that was messing mine up was Preferences > User > UI Settings > "Delay Viewer Display by" option. I had it set to 2 frames. Once I turned that off (Unchecked and 0 Frame Offset) the problem went away.

Fairlight seems to have a different interaction with the audio hardware attached to the computer. In my case I'm running an UltraStudio 4k Mini and an RME Fireface 800. Depending on what setting you have under Preferences > System > Video and Audio I/O > Audio I/O > I/O Engine, will determine how the audio hardware will interact with Fairlight. It also seemed to be mitigated if I ran with System Audio, but then the sync is off. So you might experiment with System Audio / Desktop Video as your I/O Engine. But if you're not running an UltraStudio, I don't think you will have this option.

I also highly recommend, if you use an external monitor, to use CatchinSync: https://quietart.co.nz/catchinsync/
This will allow you to see if your video and audio are synced up. Mine were off at least a frame or 2. But the problem with Resolve is that it has a bunch of different delays you can employ and they all affect different pages and parts of the app. So it will be in sync on the Edit page, but out on Fairlight. Super annoying stuff. BMD really needs to rewrite the underlying code, so that all the pages work with the same audio settings.

What BMD do is buyout different software from different vendors and then Frankenstein all of these systems together. When it works it's downright astounding, but at times it's buggy and needs a real architectural underpinning, so that it works more smoothly. But I can't complain too much, Resolve is doing a lot of things right.

Hopefully some of this will help.

BMD really needs to rewrite the underlying code, so that all the pages work with the same audio settings.

Hi, sorry, doesn't help.. All the tabs use the same underlying fairlight engine and I/O so im just not sure where to go next with out more details when you can.

BMD really needs to rewrite the underlying code, so that all the pages work with the same audio settings.

Hi, sorry, doesn't help.. All the tabs use the same underlying fairlight engine and I/O so im just not sure where to go next with out more details when you can.

Are you running an external audio interface, if so, what? Are you using an external monitoring setup for the video feed, if so what's the video chain?

Are you saying that the audio is bad on all tabs (edit, color, etc.) or just the Fairlight?

Strange, on the Pro Atmos fb group someone is complaining Atmos doesn't sound the same when not playing from the Fairlight page. Saying the audio is smeary when not in Fairlight. I'm having major issues with Dolby Atmos panning not responding to the new automation panning features, so have had to revert back from 18.1 to 18.0 as that bug is impossible to work with.