Workflow help for 4K GoPro to YouTube editing

Hey all, new guy here. Bear with me while I try to explain my situation and then my question.

I have a small YouTube channel where majority of my content is from my GoPro. Currently I record at 2.7K @ 60 FPS, which produces H.264 files as far as I understand it. I've been using my very old computer (4790K, GTK 980) and *gulp* Filmora X to edit my videos. As you can imagine it's a very painful process and I decided to kick it up a notch. I'm building a new computer (13900K, DDR5, RTX 4080, M.2 drives, etc.) and purchased Resolve studio along with the quick editor, even though I've never used the software. I'm all in. I'm watching a number of tutorials now, but I have what are probably basic workflow question and I'm hoping y'all can point me in the right direction.

So here goes.

I know YouTube will re-encode and butcher my videos no matter what. The reason I record and upload at 2.7K is to get the VP09 codec for better quality, which does work. However, I'd like to switch my recording to 4K @ 60 FPS, and then have the GoPro save the files in H.265 since, as I understand it, that will produce higher quality files that are also smaller in size (compared to H.264).

So, if I pull those H.265 files off of the GoPro, Resolve studio will be able to natively read them and I could edit them as is, correct? I realize this would be really hard on the hardware, but the system I'm building should be able to handle it.

I understand "intermediate" codecs will be easier on the system and that ProRes or DNxHR are recommended. So, would I want to use Handbrake on my H.265 files to convert to, say, DNxHR before I import those output files into Resolve? Or would I just create proxies in Resolve? Is there a quality or time-to-complete difference?

If I DO use intermediate codes, I can render my timeline into (again, say) DNxHR, but I could also tell Resolve to render to H.264. I've read conflicting information on this, specifically whether Resolve can produce H.264 output that's as high quality as what Handbrake can produce. Is there really a difference (quality, time-to-finish, file size)?

I understand YouTube can accept DNxHR uploads, but they'll be big. Given that YouTube will re-encode everything anyway, is there any quality difference between uploading H.264 and DNxHR?

Basically I'm trying to figure out what transcoding and rendering and encoding steps I should be taking to preserve as much quality between the original GoPro content and YouTube. I don't mind throwing time at intermediate transcoding steps, though it would be nice to limit final upload file size as my upload speeds aren't the greatest where I live.

Sorry about the laundry list of questions, I'm hoping someone can explain this to me like I'm 5 and I'll do further research from there. I have more questions regarding rendering bitrates, but I'll save those for later. Thanks!

I would expect your new machine to handle the H.265 files pretty well. But, if you wanted smoother playback, generating proxies with Resolve would be the way to go.

I upload Cineform files to streaming sites, as I do see a difference in the end result compared to uploading compressed versions. (I have FiOS, so bandwidth is plentiful.)

Handbrake does grant access to x264 and more adjustable parameters than Resolve, so there is a good argument to be made for Handbrake. That said, I've found settings in Resolve that are nearly indistinguishable from the original when pixel peeping at 400%, so I find Handbrake unnecessary.

Ok, so if I do the proxies from within Resolve, I think I'd want to test rendering as H.264 and what... DNxHR? To compare how YouTube re-encodes each. But what bitrates and/or other settings should I be using for both encodings? Would I just want it to match the source footage?

For Proxies, I favor proper Intermediate formats, rather than highly compressed formats (which compression is often the cause of the need for proxies in the first place).

Currently, that's some flavor of DNx.

But I tend to not use Proxies in the final Delivery. So just export out a Cineform AVI and upload that to YouTube.

Right, I was going to use faster intermediate proxies if I do use proxies, my question was mainly about the final encoding. I'm totally unfamiliar with Cineform and never exported to an AVI, I didn't even know YouTube can accept those. You gave me something to read about and research further, I appreciate it!

Change the Resolution and Frame rate to match you needs, and you're good.

Upload Settings.png (39.48 KiB) Viewed 915 times

Well, it's been weeks but I finally got my PC build stress tested and I started my first edit with Resolve. So far it's going ok, but H.264 timeline playback (2.7K GoPro footage) had the occasional stutter while using the jog wheel (I have the speed editor). So I went ahead and created proxies and that seems a lot easier on the system, as you predicted.

Question, though... I went with DNxHR HQ for the proxy format, but thinking about it more, is there a downside to going with SQ or even LB? What about when I switch to 4K GoPro footage as the source, would SQ or LB still be ok at that point?

I'm not dealing with any footage where I need to see pixel-perfect detail during the editing (it's dirt bike videos). I figure I can switch to source footage when color grading anyway, right? So can I save time and disk space by going with SQ or LB?

It simply depends. If you want to use the proxies for final delivery, use DNxHR HQX 10 bit or Cineform YUV 10 bit and don't care about the originals. With the right settings, Deliver will work pretty fast.
If you want to switch back to the originals, just switch off the use of proxies for Deliver. You can use SQ or even LB then for editing if it's good enough to spot critical detail.
An alternative might be editing in a HD timeline and switching it to UHD before Deliver. Your machine is no slouch and it might be able to work without proxies that way.

is there a downside to going with SQ or even LB?

I just wasn't satisfied with the image quality of those options. I find HQ at 1/4 resolution works quite well.

Or as Uli says, HQX/Cineform at full resolution to use them for final Delivery.