Struggling with dropped frames in edit and post-render

Hi there, I'm pretty new to editing and DaVinci resolve so apologies in advance if I'm missing something obvious.
I have some footage recorded in 4k with an encoded FPS of 60. If I watch the footage back it is smooth with no dropped frames or jitter. Similarly, if I load the clip into DaVinci Resolve and watch in the media pool I get the same smoothness.
However, once I load the video into a timeline I start to see dropped frames and some stutter on playback. Same occurs after rendering.
I'm using Resolve 18.1.3 on an M2 MacBook Pro.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Studio or free? Which codec? Can you post a sample?

Did you change the fps from the timeline after importing files?

How does your source drive with the Blackmagic Speed Test utility? What source format are you using? If it's H.264, I bet it would play back more effectively if it was first transcoded to ProRes (even 422 or 422LT).

What's your training level, James. Have you had a chance to complete at least the Beginner's Guide yet?

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/produc ... ning#books


I ask because Operator Error seems a plausible explanation here. Your project or timeline settings may be the issue.

Subject: Jitter After Render – DaVinci Resolve 19.1.4 – Samsung S24 Footage

Hi everyone,

I know this is an old thread, but I’m hoping someone might still see this—otherwise, I’ll start a new one.

I recently upgraded to DaVinci Resolve 19.1.4 (Build 11).

My footage is recorded on a Samsung S24 at 30fps, and I haven’t changed my timeline frame rate. I’ve produced several videos with this setup in the past without any problems.

However, I’m now noticing jitter after rendering on some clips. It only happens on about 1 in 20 clips, usually during the first few seconds, and seems to affect panning shots (left-to-right or right-to-left) the most.

I use proxies during editing, and playback on the timeline is completely smooth. The jitter only appears in the final rendered output.

Has anyone else experienced this or found a workaround?
Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Riterb97

No smartphone as of today is reliably recording constant frame rates, only conventional cameras do.
Check with a tool like MediaInfo (free) and I bet you'll find that it records VFR (variable frame rates). Until manufacturers can fix that, any smartphone may expose such issues randomly.