Fusion standalone

Hello there guys.... I have a licence for the resolve studio... But fusion inside resolve is a mess. Something gets fixed with each version and something else breaks...
So the question is...... Is fusion studio standalone better/more robust without so many bugs that the resolve version has?
I do t want to ask the bosses for another software just to tell them that it has the same quirks and bugs with the resolve version....

I have tried for a bit fusion 9 and it seemed a much better experience but I need the studio version and I have heard a lot (bad things) about the fusion 11 version.

What's your experience.?

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There are up- and downsides to both versions. Even though the Fusion pages has some issues inside of 16, there are definitely cases where having direct access to Fusion is really helpful.
That being said, working in Fusion Studio 16 is definitely improving compared to the original 16 release.
Compared to the Fusion page, standalone can use more memory and doesn't have to deal with all the overhead of a simultaneously running Resolve. It definitely has some quirks and is less efficient and flexible in its UI than Fusion 9.02, but some stuff that was introduced in Fusion 9 i.e. Planar and 3D tracking have really matured in version 16. It still crashes from time to time, but less and less so with every release.

Internally I don't think there's much difference anymore between standalone and 'the page' but file format support is slightly different. In Resolve, everything Resolve can read can be used in the Fusion page, but Fusion standalone can write prores video under Windows while Resolve can't. Same with for example BRAW - support for this is much better in Resolve at the moment than it is in standalone.

I am not sure what the current situation with licensing is though. I seem to recall that if you run Resolve Studio from a Dongle you can use Fusion standalone from version 16 and up, but that doesn't work with a software license. On the other hand with a Fusion dongle you can run both Fusion from 7.5 up to 16 AND Resolve, so you're better off with that.

I'm sure other people will chime in who are better informed about all of this than I am.

There are up- and downsides to both versions. Even though the Fusion pages has some issues inside of 16, there are definitely cases where having direct access to Fusion is really helpful.
That being said, working in Fusion Studio 16 is definitely improving compared to the original 16 release.
Compared to the Fusion page, standalone can use more memory and doesn't have to deal with all the overhead of a simultaneously running Resolve. It definitely has some quirks and is less efficient and flexible in its UI than Fusion 9.02, but some stuff that was introduced in Fusion 9 i.e. Planar and 3D tracking have really matured in version 16. It still crashes from time to time, but less and less so with every release.

Internally I don't think there's much difference anymore between standalone and 'the page' but file format support is slightly different. In Resolve, everything Resolve can read can be used in the Fusion page, but Fusion standalone can write prores video under Windows while Resolve can't. Same with for example BRAW - support for this is much better in Resolve at the moment than it is in standalone.

I am not sure what the current situation with licensing is though. I seem to recall that if you run Resolve Studio from a Dongle you can use Fusion standalone from version 16 and up, but that doesn't work with a software license. On the other hand with a Fusion dongle you can run both Fusion from 7.5 up to 16 AND Resolve, so you're better off with that.

I'm sure other people will chime in who are better informed about all of this than I am.

Thank you sander for your experience ... Unfortunately we purchased the licence for resolve not the dongle... So I am stuck, I guess for now, although with another 300 euros we can have both.


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So I am stuck, I guess for now, although with another 300 euros we can have both.

Of course I can't see into your budget and times are tough, but since your workstation costs at least 4.500 euro, I don't feel another 300 euro would break the bank of the company.
To put it another way: I feel that would be 300 euros well spent.

So I am stuck, I guess for now, although with another 300 euros we can have both.

Of course I can't see into your budget and times are tough, but since your workstation costs at least 4.500 euro, I don't feel another 300 euro would break the bank of the company.
To put it another way: I feel that would be 300 euros well spent.

Well we have purchased the macpro with a bit of ram and a couple of monitors and the good gpu so add another 9000 and you can see why I am a bit hesitant to keep asking for things... lol

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On the other hand, it would be weird to buy this whole setup and then say: we're out of budget *now* so let's use MS Paint for all of our graphics.

One of the nice things about Fusion is the comp files themselves aren't reliant on the version of Fusion you are using. I can open a Fusion 16 file in Fusion 9, save it and reopen in Fusion 16. I'm a lightweight compositor, so maybe this doesn't work for the heavyweights with complex projects, but it works for me and is something I do.

On the other hand, it would be weird to buy this whole setup and then say: we're out of budget *now* so let's use MS Paint for all of our graphics.

I know.. he should have ditched the overpriced mac and got a power house threadripper PC and then Nuke X. Less disappointment all around.

On the other hand, it would be weird to buy this whole setup and then say: we're out of budget *now* so let's use MS Paint for all of our graphics.

I know.. he should have ditched the overpriced mac and got a power house threadripper PC and then Nuke X. Less disappointment all around.

Well guys the purchase wasn't my decision although I have to admit that I am a mac user for the last 10 years at least and I love the os.... The stability and the user experience.

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[Well guys the purchase wasn't my decision although I have to admit that I am a mac user for the last 10 years at least and I love the os.... The stability and the user experience.

Yup, macOS is by far the best OS for my needs also. Having spent years in all of macOS, Windows and Linux, macOS is the only OS that for me combines the power of a UNIX base - with all the power and flexibility of a full suite of command line tools and with great terminal emulators available to use them - with a modern, flexible UI and great application support.

I particularly love macOS' multi-desktop & multi-monitor system, that allows me to switch desktops on individual monitors at once, something that Windows can't do and I haven't heard of it being supported in Linux, either. Combining this with macOS superb trackpad support (I use a Magic Trackpad 2 - my only Apple hardware!) and a powerful third-party app called BetterTouchTool that allows total gesture customisation and allocation, I get a wonderfully fluid UI experience where I can switch desktops on any monitor at any time with a quick trackpad gesture, or a hotkey.

Back in the day I used to run either a Linux base OS + Windows virtual machine, or the other way around. But then I tried macOS, and since then it has been the best of all worlds. Coming from Windows and Linux it initially took some getting used to, and I installed a number of third party productivity apps to add features to the UI that were lacking compared to those OS' (basic things like windows snapping to the edges of the screen), but once I added those I've never looked back. And I was impressed with the range of such productivity apps available - it often feels there's more small productivity apps for macOS than there are for Windows (though it may just be that they're more discoverable on macOS), and of course on Linux the number of commercial apps is extremely low.

Of course the big shame of macOS is being tied to overpriced Apple hardware, which is why I've mostly run it as a Hackintosh. And now with the coming of ARM, that will one day end. It's a shame.

But yeah, when people scoff at overpriced Apple hardware they frequently forget that there's more to it than the hardware; for many people, at all points on the experience spectrum, macOS is just a better OS.

I particularly love macOS' multi-desktop & multi-monitor system, that allows me to switch desktops on individual monitors at once, something that Windows can't do and I haven't heard of it being supported in Linux, either.

I'm curious how's that different from the Windows or Gnome 3 desktop switching. I totally depend on both, as well as the desktop switching on macOS, but I wonder if I'm missing out on something better.

The desktop switching I'm referring to in Windows is invoked with CTRL +Windows + cursor left/right. It causes both monitors to switch desktops.

I'm curious how's that different from the Windows or Gnome 3 desktop switching. I totally depend on both, as well as the desktop switching on macOS, but I wonder if I'm missing out on something better.

The desktop switching I'm referring to in Windows is invoked with CTRL +Windows + cursor left/right. It causes both monitors to switch desktops.

Yeah, that's the default on Windows, macOS and Linux - you have X monitors, and when you switch desktop, all desktops on all X monitors will switch.

On macOS there's an alternative: Open System Preferences -> Mission Control and enable "Displays have separate Spaces". You'll need to log out and back in for it to take effect.

Now open Mission Control. Each monitor now has one Desktop assigned, and you can use the + buttons at the top to add one or more extra desktops, on a per-monitor basis. You could have three Desktops on monitor 1, but only two on monitor 2. When you now use the next/previous desktop shortcut, it changes the desktop only of the monitor that you're active on. You can switch desktop on monitor 1 without affecting monitors 2, 3, 4, etc.

Even better, this integrates with macOS' Native Full Screen system. Whenever you put an app into macOS Full Screen mode (at least, any app that supports it - Resolve doesn't, nor do many Adobe apps, but most other apps will, including Fusion Studio) it becomes like another desktop on that monitor. Meaning you can switch between full screen apps and/or extra desktops on a monitor-by-monitor basis.

Here's how I currently have my Spaces and full screen apps arranged on four monitors:


On my main 4K monitor, Resolve is in Desktop 1, with Fusion Studio and Visual Studio Code as Full Screen apps. Resolve's Dual Screen pane goes on my bottom left monitor, in Desktop 5. That second monitor also has Path Finder and a Firefox as Full Screen apps. My top left monitor is my primary Firefox monitor, and as a result I don't usually have anything in its Desktop. My fourth screen, on the right, is in portrait orientation; it has activity monitor + my email client in its Desktop, then Discord and PDF documentation as Full Screen apps.

This for me is the most natural and flexible multi-desktop & multi-monitor system I've so far found. It means I can use each monitor for specific tasks, and quickly change that task at any time, without affecting what's showing on other screens. With a flick of my wrist I can go back and forth between desktops and full screen apps, and switch out any given monitor just by having my mouse cursor on that screen. I also have keyboard shortcuts to switch specific monitors, but in practice I find I use the trackpad gesture 99% of the time.

For me this is a really powerful, flexible and fluid way to work, much preferable to any other multi desktop system I've so far seen.

This is how I have Mission Control setup:


I've removed all keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures as I manage these in BetterTouchTool instead. Eg I have three-finger-swipe-up assigned to opening Mission Control, which is useful for finding loose windows that have gone behind bigger windows, and for moving windows between Desktops. Then I have three-finger-swipe-left/right assigned to move left/right a Space, and this is my primary means of navigation between apps. I also have a window switcher assigned to Option-Tab, but I don't use that nearly as often as I would on Windows.

You should try it. If you have two or more monitors it's really awesome!

Just to clarify, as i'm not sure if i was reading the statement correctly, but

If you have a fusion dongle, it will also unlock any version of Resolve.
If you have a Resolve dongle, it will only unlock Resolve

I have 2 Resolve dongles, and 1 fusion dongle, but have to move the fusion dongle around if i want to move Fusion around. I do not however need to plug in a resolve dongle on my main box, as long as the fusion dongle is there.

For the record i still use fusion 9 more than 16. I have trouble finding some of my go-tos in 16, although i admittedly, haven't spent a lot of time looking, and haven't tried the latest fusion 16 standalone update yet. Luckily you are able to have both 9 and 16 installed at the same time (in windows).

I have plenty of crash and speed issues if i use the fusion page with any comps of real consequence, so i only use the page for very basic items. Once lighting and shadows and motion blur get invoked, i find it a waste of time, and switch to standalone.

You can copy and paste many of your nodes from standalone to resolve and vice versa, but the loader system is different, so there is some work arounds that need to be taken care of.

To avoid the subscription cost of AE, i find 300 dollars for fusion a steal, especially considering i paid about 2400 for my license back when it was still Eyeone.

Just to clarify, as i'm not sure if i was reading the statement correctly, but

If you have a fusion dongle, it will also unlock any version of Resolve.
If you have a Resolve dongle, it will only unlock Resolve

A (version 7+) Fusion dongle will unlock Resolve 15+ and a Resolve dongle will unlock Fusion Studio 16+. Legacy Eyeon dongles (prior to version 7) probably won't open Resolve.

For someone buying a new dongle today, the Fusion dongle is much the better choice, both because it can run Fusion Studio 9 if desired, and because it provides unlimited Fusion network render nodes, something that the Resolve dongle will not.

Here's a full explanation of all the (too many) permutations, courtesy of Andrew Hazelden in a post on the We Suck Less Fusion forum:

• Resolve Activation Card = Resolve Studio 2 seats activated at any one time, No Fusion Studio access, No unlimited Fusion Render Node network "floating" license rendering, possibility your eBay reseller sold this camera bundled activation code to many people and your license will be "checked-out" and deactivate often on the internet.
  
• Resolve Mac App Store = Resolve Studio on your Mac with limited plugin support and other restrictions due to Apple Sandbox rules, no Fusion Studio access, No unlimited Fusion Render Node network "floating" license rendering.
  
• Resolve Single Seat Dongle = Single Resolve Studio seat, ability to run Fusion Studio v16 GUI but no access to prior Fusion versions, No unlimited network "floating" license rendering, possibility your eBay sold dongle is counterfeit and will be de-activated by BMD in next update.
  
• Fusion Single Seat Dongle = Single Fusion v7-16 seat, unlimited Fusion Render Node network "floating" license rendering, single Resolve Studio v15/16 seat on the host system the dongle is plugged into with no accesss to Resolve v14 or earlier versions.
  
• Fusion Multi-user Seat Dongle = Multiple Fusion v7-16 seats, unlimited Fusion Render Node network "floating" license rendering, single Resolve Studio v15/16 seat on the host system the dongle is plugged into with no accesss to Resolve v14 or earlier versions.