Resolve Lite Output only at 24Ffps?

So, I brought in some clips (mov/quicktime files), shot at 1920x1080x60fps, and there are some problems.

First, the footage plays on in slow motion. I have a 2011 Imac, with a Radeon 6970 Graphics card with 1 GB of memory. I can't believe it doesn't have enough processing power to play it at full speed. Or is this a limitation of Resolve Lite version?

Second, it appears that I can only output at 24 fps. I don't get this.

Any thoughts out there?

Lite easily plays back faster than 24 fps, but you need a fast computer with a decent amount of RAM and a dedicated, fast GPU. The iMac is not that good for Resolve.

In order output at different frame rates you must open the project preference and set it to the desired speed.

I suggest that you download Resolve's manual. It is very well written and includes a few tutorials.

[Dwaine Maggart]

Render frame rates on the Deliver page are locked to the Project Settings / Master Project Settings / Conform Options "Calculate timecode at" frame rate setting. This setting must be set to the desired frame rate BEFORE you put any media into the Media Pool. Once you have clips in the Media Pool, this cannot be changed. So it's very important to make sure this is set correctly at the beginning of the project, because you can't change it later.

Thanks, Dwaine! That's the information I needed. You know, I'd be a registered and licensed owner of Resolve if my camera were here...........

...Once you have clips in the Media Pool, this cannot be changed. So it's very important to make sure this is set correctly at the beginning of the project, because you can't change it later.

There's a workaround for that. And it has pulled me out of a few scary situations. Especially when all the grading is done and you discover that the project was set wrongly from the beginning.

With your project open, click on the little house icon at the lower left of the screen. Once the Project Manager screen opens up, right click on a project that you know has the correct settings you want and select "Load config to current project". Close the Project Manager. The correct project settings will now be in your current project. Save it. Now you may have to close the project and open it again in order for the settings to work. This is a great way to make a 24fps project render in 29,97, for instance.

If you don't have a project with your desired settings, just create one.

[Dwaine Maggart]

This work around has been mentioned in the past, and has also been reported not to actually work. I've not done any detailed testing myself. If it's worked for you, that's great. But I would advise folks not to count on this working, and to set up their project correctly from the beginning. But it's certainly something to try if you are in a jam.

You are absolutely right, Dwaine. Thanks for making that clear. I guess I failed to explain that this method should only be used as a last resort and it's not a substitute for properly setting up the project.

So far this method has worked for me every single time that I've needed it.

I've discovered it by myself when I was grading a documentary (delivered to me in a hurry) that had been set to NTSC 25fps. Crazy, but Final Cut allowed it. The correct setting should have been PAL 25fps. I only noticed the problem after the grading was complete and I was ready to export the footage. Resolve had set the render frame rate to 29,97 based on the XML (that FCP messed up). After trying everything, I backed up the project and decided to copy the settings from another PAL project and it worked. I've had to use this method three other times on projects that had been improperly set up from the beginning.

But, after the documentary problem, I spend the time to carefully check everything before I start grading. The headache I got from trying to save a couple of minutes was definitely not worth it. So follow Dwaine's advice and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble.

Render frame rates on the Deliver page are locked to the Project Settings / Master Project Settings / Conform Options "Calculate timecode at" frame rate setting. This setting must be set to the desired frame rate BEFORE you put any media into the Media Pool. Once you have clips in the Media Pool, this cannot be changed. So it's very important to make sure this is set correctly at the beginning of the project, because you can't change it later.

Dwaine:

I moved the project to a Mac that has a Nvidia GTX670 card (and Resolve seems to recognize it) with 2 GB of RAM, Motherboard is Core i5 with 32 GB of RAM. Powerful machine, I would think.

But, still there are problems:

Playing in slow motion for instance. The originals play fine in FCP, in Quicktime, but in Resolve, the audio plays at full speed while the video plays at half speed. ???

When I play the originals via Quicktime or VLC, they play fine, video and audio at normal speed. When I play the Resolve processed mov files, they play in slo mo, with other problems, the video is choppy, with lots of breakup. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I can't be the only person who has had this happen.

[Dwaine Maggart]

Are you really trying to play back the files at 60FPS? If so, that would be the issue. It takes a very beefy system to play back at that frame rate. Our 5,1 MacPro with dual 6 core 2.4Ghz processors won't play back a PR422HQ HD file at 60FPS. Most people work with 24 and 30 FPS rates, so if you are really trying to playback at 60FPS, that would be somewhat unusual. If you are really using a 30FPS play back rate, that could be different.

Are you really trying to play back the files at 60FPS? If so, that would be the issue. It takes a very beefy system to play back at that frame rate. Our 5,1 MacPro with dual 6 core 2.4Ghz processors won't play back a PR422HQ HD file at 60FPS. Most people work with 24 and 30 FPS rates, so if you are really trying to playback at 60FPS, that would be somewhat unusual. If you are really using a 30FPS play back rate, that could be different.

Okay, essentially, 60fps won't cut it. That's what I suspected. Thanks for your response.