Install 20 alongside 19?

Hi,

It would be so helpful to be able to install the 20 beta alongside 19. I want to play with the beta, but don't want it to interrupt my work in 19 since installing 20 will overwrite 19 and upgrade all the 19 projects to 20 projects. We used to be able to install multiple versions in the past and I get why you've perhaps simplified this, but I feel like it would be nice to get more feedback than less, no?

Thanks,
Jae

Hi,

It would be so helpful to be able to install the 20 beta alongside 19. I want to play with the beta, but don't want it to interrupt my work in 19 since installing 20 will overwrite 19 and upgrade all the 19 projects to 20 projects. We used to be able to install multiple versions in the past and I get why you've perhaps simplified this, but I feel like it would be nice to get more feedback than less, no?

Thanks,
Jae

There is a workaround. Install V19, go to C > program files > Blackmagic Design and make a copy of Davinci Resolve folder. (and for example call the new folder "Davinci Resolve 19").

Install davinci resolve 20 (this will install version 20 inside "Davinci Resolve" folder, but not inside "Davinci Resolve 19" folder).

Then go to "Davinci Resolve 19" folder and make a shortcut of Resolve.exe.

This way you can have both working.

For the safety of Libraries, you should install Resolve normally.

I test out new versions on my personal machine before upgrading my edit system.

Hi,

It would be so helpful to be able to install the 20 beta alongside 19. I want to play with the beta, but don't want it to interrupt my work in 19 since installing 20 will overwrite 19 and upgrade all the 19 projects to 20 projects. We used to be able to install multiple versions in the past and I get why you've perhaps simplified this, but I feel like it would be nice to get more feedback than less, no?

Thanks,
Jae

There is a workaround. Install V19, go to C > program files > Blackmagic Design and make a copy of Davinci Resolve folder. (and for example call the new folder "Davinci Resolve 19").

Install davinci resolve 20 (this will install version 20 inside "Davinci Resolve" folder, but not inside "Davinci Resolve 19" folder).

Then go to "Davinci Resolve 19" folder and make a shortcut of Resolve.exe.

This way you can have both working.

The way you're speaking it's not clear if you've actually done that. Do you have V19 and V20 on same computer, or anyone else that's used that method, and everything is running fine on both installs?

It used to be possible to install another version of Resolve on another user account but haven't done it in a long time, so no guarantee.

It worked for me too with V17 and V18beta, but hope to hear from people who have tried it with V19 and V20beta and can confirm they both still operate fine

To do this successfully you’d need to copy your library to another place and then point the older version to that copy. The original library will get updated by the newer version and you’ll end up with two versions side by side but accessing different project libraries.

Haven’t tried this yet but give me a few minutes and I’ll let you know if it’s successful.

So it ALMOST works - by which I mean it works if you remember to switch databases each time you open the other version.

Turns out that - not surprisingly - both versions share the same config files. So when you switch databases in one version it also switches for the other version. This is a bit too fraught to use I'd say as it's very easy to forget and open a project in v20 that you want to stay available in v19. And once you do that... there's no going back.

If you were to save a drp at the end of every session in v19 you'd be able to recover from even that but... still too fraught to trust it. Unless of course you just want to test v20 and only open test projects in it. Then you'd probably be just fine.

Thanks for trying, sounds fraught with danger, I"ll probably just wait for Beta3 (plus positive forum feedback)

I’m cooking up a script that’ll do it. If you’re on a Mac that is.

Hi,

It would be so helpful to be able to install the 20 beta alongside 19. I want to play with the beta, but don't want it to interrupt my work in 19 since installing 20 will overwrite 19 and upgrade all the 19 projects to 20 projects. We used to be able to install multiple versions in the past and I get why you've perhaps simplified this, but I feel like it would be nice to get more feedback than less, no?

Thanks,
Jae

There is a workaround. Install V19, go to C > program files > Blackmagic Design and make a copy of Davinci Resolve folder. (and for example call the new folder "Davinci Resolve 19").

Install davinci resolve 20 (this will install version 20 inside "Davinci Resolve" folder, but not inside "Davinci Resolve 19" folder).

Then go to "Davinci Resolve 19" folder and make a shortcut of Resolve.exe.

This way you can have both working.

The way you're speaking it's not clear if you've actually done that. Do you have V19 and V20 on same computer, or anyone else that's used that method, and everything is running fine on both installs?

I've done it. The only "problem" is in Local Database projects made with Davinci 19 and Davinci 20 are mixed, so I add a (v19) or (v20) at the end of the names.

If I try to open a v19 with davinci 20 it ask me if I want to upgrade the project. If I try to open a v20 with Davinci 19, it tells me I need a newer version.

I didn't find any other problem.

Example of both:





Trying to open a V19 with Davinci 20


Trying to open V20 with Davinci 19


Just to be clear, if I try to open a v20 with davinci 20 or a v19 with Davinci 19, it is perfect. These 2 last examples are to show that Davinci gives you a warning in case of missclick or confusion.

Over the years, this approach has been advocated by some and it does work, apparently, however... your mileage may vary and I don't think this would be a recommended setup for mission critical work. If, for example, a bug in the beta were to corrupt your database, you would lose access to both your v19 and v20 projects. It's also the case, as Joe noted, that the side-by-side install shares some of the same configuration files and you never know how that may play out. Just saying...

I use custom setting file for a launcher like yap and special Resolve documented environment vars like BMD_RESOLVE_SUPPORT_DIR to execute any of previous versions on my Windows PC. It is required a programming knowledge skill to create such "portable" install directory.

But there are some issues with shared files:

1) RED SDK files have a hard-coded file path and every Resolve version is not compatible.
2) Now AI filters also located on the same path and can be incompatible.

I copy these files manually to the hard-coded shared path before execute of a previous version.

For regular users it may be very useful, if BMD will not place most stuff to the common "Support" folder, because they are always related to the required Resolve version.