MAC Mini and Resolve

Hey guys, I just purchased Davinci Resolve 10 for my MAC Mini and just found out that it won't work with a mini. The MAC is 2.4 gHz with 8GB RAM. Any suggestions?
Thanks

Get a more powerful computer? There's pretty much nothing else you can do.

Resolve 10? How did you even get that?

I've been running Resolve 14 and then 15 on an i5 Mac Mini with 8 gigs of RAM for the past nine months. It's totally fine for basic editing and one-node color grading of HD material. Once you start trying to apply things like power windows, multi-node grades, etc. you'll notice skipped frames and jerky playback. The limitations become quickly apparent; I upgraded to a Mac Pro for video work but the Mini is still my daily driver and I still use it to test techniques and simple edits in Resolve (the Mac Pro only has Resolve and Logic Pro X on it, nothing else).

Yeah, I'm looking at an iMac with 3.5 gHz and 16 mB of RAM. Also with a solid state storage device. Not sure what graphics card to look for. Probably just an NVIDIA.
Seriously, when I purchased the BMCC, if I knew I was gonna need all this other stuff, I would've opted for something else. Ridiculous.

Get a more powerful computer? There's pretty much nothing else you can do.

That's what I've decided to do. I'd love some recommendations.

You need to read the configuration guide at https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/ ... _Guide.pdf

That should answer your questions in terms of the specs you need for your machine. But note that this is for Resolve v. 15. You wrote that you "just bought Resolve 10." Was that a typo? I don't think you can actually buy Resolve 10 anymore, that's very old, from 2013. I think the Studio version cost $1,000; the Studio version 15 is a lot cheaper (about $300).

You can edit BMCC footage in other NLEs (non-linear editors); you don't necessarily need Resolve. Lightworks runs fine on computers with lower specs, and you could try that (the free version) on your Mac Mini for starters. Also was "BMCC" a typo? That would be the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, which was discontinued some years back. Did you mean the BMPCC (Pocket Cinema Camera)? Or did you find a used BMCC?

You need to read the configuration guide at https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/ ... _Guide.pdf

That should answer your questions in terms of the specs you need for your machine. But note that this is for Resolve v. 15. You wrote that you "just bought Resolve 10." Was that a typo? I don't think you can actually buy Resolve 10 anymore, that's very old, from 2013. I think the Studio version cost $1,000; the Studio version 15 is a lot cheaper (about $300).

You can edit BMCC footage in other NLEs (non-linear editors); you don't necessarily need Resolve. Lightworks runs fine on computers with lower specs, and you could try that (the free version) on your Mac Mini for starters. Also was "BMCC" a typo? That would be the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, which was discontinued some years back. Did you mean the BMPCC (Pocket Cinema Camera)? Or did you find a used BMCC?

I purchased a used BMCC in "Like New" condition in EF mount then got a couple of Canon lenses and the necessary SSD. Charged the battery, then checked the camera and lenses for functionality. They all seem to work flawlessly.
Next, I Purchased DaVinci Resolve v. 9.
So this is where I am now.

I purchased a used BMCC in "Like New" condition in EF mount then got a couple of Canon lenses and the necessary SSD. Charged the battery, then checked the camera and lenses for functionality. They all seem to work flawlessly.
Next, I Purchased DaVinci Resolve v. 9.
So this is where I am now.

Okay, but how (and why) did you purchase Resolve version 9? It's from 2012! I hope you didn't pay much for it as there was a free version available. Is there a reason why you want to use that old version and not the current one?

I purchased a used BMCC in "Like New" condition in EF mount then got a couple of Canon lenses and the necessary SSD. Charged the battery, then checked the camera and lenses for functionality. They all seem to work flawlessly.
Next, I Purchased DaVinci Resolve v. 9.
So this is where I am now.

Okay, but how (and why) did you purchase Resolve version 9? It's from 2012! I hope you didn't pay much for it as there was a free version available. Is there a reason why you want to use that old version and not the current one?

I purchased a used BMCC in "Like New" condition in EF mount then got a couple of Canon lenses and the necessary SSD. Charged the battery, then checked the camera and lenses for functionality. They all seem to work flawlessly.
Next, I Purchased DaVinci Resolve v. 9.
So this is where I am now.

I didn't think something like v. 15 would integrate too well with the older BMCC or my limited computer system.

Okay, but how (and why) did you purchase Resolve version 9? It's from 2012! I hope you didn't pay much for it as there was a free version available. Is there a reason why you want to use that old version and not the current one?

Well, the good news is that your Resolve v9 dongle will work with later versions as well. There are many speed optimizations in v14 for example, but I would just try v15.

A Mac Mini might be ok for editing ProRes files in 1080p, but the Color page will be very slow.

Well, the good news is that your Resolve v9 dongle will work with later versions as well. There are many speed optimizations in v14 for example, but I would just try v15.

A Mac Mini might be ok for editing ProRes files in 1080p, but the Color page will be very slow.

It's actually not a dongle. It's a couple of disks. I think I need to return them and try something else.

Resolve 10? How did you even get that?

I've been running Resolve 14 and then 15 on an i5 Mac Mini with 8 gigs of RAM for the past nine months. It's totally fine for basic editing and one-node color grading of HD material. Once you start trying to apply things like power windows, multi-node grades, etc. you'll notice skipped frames and jerky playback. The limitations become quickly apparent; I upgraded to a Mac Pro for video work but the Mini is still my daily driver and I still use it to test techniques and simple edits in Resolve (the Mac Pro only has Resolve and Logic Pro X on it, nothing else).

Well, our processor is 2.4gHz with 8 gigs of RAM and we can't get the earlier versions (9,10,11) to complete a download onto our computer. Does the mini need some other peripheral?

It's actually not a dongle. It's a couple of disks. I think I need to return them and try something else.

I think the least resource-intensive recent version of Resolve is version 12. As I mentioned, I'm using the free version 15 on my Mac Mini and it's totally fine for basic editing, but you won't be able to do much color grading. You can create a timeline and apply very basic color correction (the automatic color correction works well for starters), apply LUTs, etc, and I've never had any problems. Things slow down when you start doing more complex multi-node grades, optical flow in clip speed changes, that sort of thing.

You really have two choices if you want to do more serious editing and color grading with your BM Cinema Camera footage: upgrade your computer or use a different NLE. As I mentioned, Lightworks could be a good choice for the Mac Mini and you should be able to edit your footage with it. It's free so you lose nothing by trying it. Heck, you might even try iMovie to see if that will work with your footage.

You've already asked about upgrading your computer on your other thread.

Well, our processor is 2.4gHz with 8 gigs of RAM and we can't get the earlier versions (9,10,11) to complete a download onto our computer. Does the mini need some other peripheral?

My Mini is 2.8 gHz with 8 gigs of RAM and downloads version 14 or 15 just fine. You can download version 15 for free directly from the BMD website. Here's the link for Mac: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/suppor ... c%20OS%20X

Do you have enough free space on your Mac Mini's disk? My guess is that you have the full version of version 9, which shipped with the BMCC, but it included a dongle. Without the dongle, you probably can't use it.

The free version 15 will work fine with your footage, so I would just download it and install from the link I provided above. But performance will be limited, especially when it comes to color grading. Might be good enough for your needs, but it doesn't cost anything to experiment.

Resolve 10? How did you even get that?

I've been running Resolve 14 and then 15 on an i5 Mac Mini with 8 gigs of RAM for the past nine months. It's totally fine for basic editing and one-node color grading of HD material. Once you start trying to apply things like power windows, multi-node grades, etc. you'll notice skipped frames and jerky playback. The limitations become quickly apparent; I upgraded to a Mac Pro for video work but the Mini is still my daily driver and I still use it to test techniques and simple edits in Resolve (the Mac Pro only has Resolve and Logic Pro X on it, nothing else).

Well, beleive it or not, v.15 downloaded. Only problem is; when I go to open it, it says it "can't find the CUDA...". So I imagine I don't have the correct video card or whatever. Is that something that can be plugged in to the MAC Mini or does it have to be something already in my computer?

Well, beleive it or not, v.15 downloaded. Only problem is; when I go to open it, it says it "can't find the CUDA...". So I imagine I don't have the correct video card or whatever. Is that something that can be plugged in to the MAC Mini or does it have to be something already in my computer?

Okay, you must have a pretty old Mac Mini, from 2009 or 2010, right? Those are the only Mac Mini models that shipped with NVIDIA GPUs. This machine might be too old to update with the latest drivers, but read on below.

I've pasted the relevant text below from the configuration guide:

NVIDIA and CUDA drivers for Mac
Systems using NVIDIA GPUs and also not using DaVinci Resolve from the Apple App Store will need to have the correct NVIDIA and CUDA driver to operate the GPUs. While Resolve will check the CUDA version on your system you may have to update it after any OS updates.

There are two parts to successful operation of your NVIDIA CUDA based GPUs.
NVIDIA drivers
If you use Mac OS X 10.8.4 or newer then Apple supplies within the OS NVIDIA drivers for the Apple certified GPUs. If you plan to use a GPU that’s not certified for Mac the OS driver will not work. In these cases, while not officially certified you can download and try the NVIDIA web driver for non-Mac GPUs. Generally all older Mac certified cards will work with the latest driver.

CUDA drivers
If your Mac has NVIDIA GPU’s and does not have CUDA installed the DaVinci Resolve installer will load the latest CUDA drivers suitable for Resolve. If however your system already has a newer CUDA driver that Resolve needs, the DaVinci Resolve installer will not update this driver as this may cause problems with other applications you have that use CUDA.
If the message, “WARNING: No CUDA Acceleration Hardware Detected“ appears when you launch Resolve and your Mac contains the recommended NVIDIA GPUs and NVIDIA drivers for those GPUs, you will need to quit Resolve and update to the correct CUDA drivers.
After quitting Resolve, go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences. Then click on the CUDA icon to reveal the CUDA Preferences and note the installed CUDA driver version.
If the installed drivers are older than the certified version listed on the Resolve installer readme, avoid clicking on the “Install CUDA Update” button and instead visit http://www.nvidia.com/object/ mac-driver-archive.html to download the certified CUDA driver version.
Once the certified CUDA drivers are installed, you will be able to successfully launch DaVinci Resolve.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Fundamentally, MacMini is not recommended for running DaVinci Resolve.
Modern versions could be used for a database server for a few seats.

The last Mac mini with a Nvidia card was from 2010. Sorry, but simply forget it for Resolve, it won't work.

Some of the recent models with Intel graphics 4000 or 5000 are working reasonably well with 1280 x 720 in ProRes, even for some simple grading.

@Peter: I remember even seeing a commercial by Intel advertising that.

P.S. Ah, yes, here it is: youtube.com/watch?v=G1zGXjGTpis

Try version 12.5 if 15 doesn't like it.

Some of the recent models with Intel graphics 4000 or 5000 are working reasonably well with 1280 x 720 in ProRes, even for some simple grading.

Yep, that's been my experience. I spent 9 months learning Resolve on an 2014 refurbished i5 Mac Mini with 8 gigs of RAM and integrated Intel graphics, using ProRes HQ footage from original Pocket and Micro Cinema cameras. As I mentioned above, it's totally fine for basic editing and one-node color corrections, but anything beyond that and you start getting dropped frames.

I agree that you should just forget about using Resolve on that machine and either upgrade to a computer that meets the specs or try a different NLE. Lightworks might work; you can test the free version.