Exporting full HDR quality color range.. Other than 422 Full

Hi everyone,

I’m an amateur videographer and have been fussing with cameras and software enough to be functional but am missing a lot of understanding about the digital headspace.

I am working on Resolve projects/color within HDR, currently importing SDR footage but am planning to add some HDR footage. In any case, the color grading and effects on SDR footage is turning out just how one would want, in full spectrum HDR. It’s great.

My Timeline and Output color space are each set to Rec.2100 HLG.

My export trials have only one success story… the Apple Pro Res 422 HQ…. And that’s only IF i select “FULL” from the dropdown menus in Advanced>Data Levels>… The blacks/shadows turn out exactly how the Timeline looks. Everything looks terrific. But of course, it is just a monstrous file size.

And, if i don’t choose “FULL” as just mentioned, and leave the 422 at “Automatic” data level, the rendering turns out washed out as the other stuff. The only thing that exports what the Timeline looks like is 422 HQ with “FULL” data.

So I’ve been poking around all the options and can’t figure out anything else that exports full depth of color. Everything turns out washed out ie doesn’t have depth of blacks at all.

Isn’t there not some H.265 export that can handle the wide color range? Isn’t that the point?

Do we need to purchase special third party H.265 codecs in order to export a full spectrum video that isn’t 1 GB per second ?

Thanks !

In general, grading for HDR in Resolve is challenging, because you need a) a true mastering-grade display, b) the display has to be specifically calibrated for HDR, and c) you have to have the skills and experience needed to grade HDR in a way that will satisfy the filmmaker and also pass industry QC technical specs. This is harder to do than you might think.

If you haven't done HDR grading before, check out these tutorials and tech papers:

https://professional.dolby.com/content- ... al-series/

https://www.fxphd.com/product/introduction-to-hdr/

https://www.mysterybox.us/post/dolby-vi ... filmmaking

https://www.mysterybox.us/post/hdr-vide ... -hdr-video

The Mysterybox stuff goes over the details in a very "user-friendly" way, and I think people doing gaming videos and stuff like that will relate to it very easily.

Did you check how video looks on HDR display and good video player (like MPC-BE)? VLC cannot handle correct HDR look. MPC-BE can do that (with special settings).
rec2100 with h.265/h.264 handle HDR very very good (main10 setting).
PS Use standard color wheels on color page.

Another pretty good source:
https://daejeonchronicles.com

Basically, H.265 is absolutely capable of handling HDR, but you should always use 10 bit.

Another pretty good source:
https://daejeonchronicles.com

Basically, H.265 is absolutely capable of handling HDR, but you should always use 10 bit.

h.265 handles HDR even in 8b but with big posterization.. and yes we should always use 10bit.

Thanks for the pointers! I will certainly go and get some lessons in HDR with these links. Much appreciated!
I don’t suspect that my current issue is solvable by getting better at HDR however, but rather that it is just some specific setting that is required in order to export things as full spectrum as 422 HQ but not as gigantic of file size.
Full disclosure: I am working on an iPad Pro, which as far as i have been told is a pretty decent HDR monitor when calibrated. But i think that’s beside the point because this is the only monitor I’m using right now for color work and I’m observing all of this on the same monitor/screen, so something else is going on and it’s not the monitoring.

Please see below.
I have created a dark contrasty moment in a video and exported it using 3 different settings, took screen grabs of the exports, and also of the specs below that. Also included a screen grab from the active Timeline itself as a control.

Upper Left: is the control in this test, which is a screen grab of the timeline.
Upper Right: is the 422 HQ with “Full” data selected.
Lower Left: is a H.265 with “Full” data selected.
Lower Right: is a H.264 with “Full” data selected.

As you can see, the 422 HQ turns out very similar to the Timeline.
The H.265 and H.264 turn out similarly brighter.

Not shown here, but I tried H.265 again but this time with an encoding profile of “Main 422 10” chosen, in case that would help. Doesn’t make a difference, it looks the same as the first H.265.

Any ideas? Obviously 422 HQ is great and I can do nice exports, but the files are around 100MB/second.

[ PLEASE SCROLL DOWN IMAGE TO SEE SPECS ]

IMG_1009.jpeg (961.21 KiB) Viewed 1878 times

Normally, you shouldn't use full range for video. HDR is video too.
But, of course, your monitoring should be set to video as well.

It's funny because screen from timeline and 422HQ looks like without HDR (but thats only my opinion)
How do you make screenshot of timeline. I work only couple months on Macbook pro and in FinalX there was option to take screen with "HDR look", but Davinic on PC (Windows) cannot take sreenshots with rec2100 look (only display lut). Maybe ipad can do that.
Play those samples on Player and show properties of each video sample. It should be YUV BT2020 non-constant 10-bit.
Try set output rec2100 HLG (output color space in color management).

This is just a screen grab from IOS. Exactly like you would from a phone as if you were sending a screen shot to a friend, nothing fancy. Then i trimmed them to 16:9.

I think the most important factor here is that I’m viewing these exports on the same screen and they turn out dramatically different. There are almost no “blacks” in the H.265 and H.264, as opposed to 422 Pro which retains all blacks.

One thing I believe that i know about HDR is that it offers a whole lot more opportunity for dark/black colors. It’s why i want to work in HDR. And this is also why i chose to darken the image a lot as a test. It’s just exposure turned severely down.

So someone may think that the lighter one looks better, and yes it certainly looks more clear haha. I would never choose those dark trees either! But this is a test of export black/darks. The H.265 and H.264 image is not exporting nearly as dark as the Timeline looks or as the 422 Pro appears. I have to assume that the 422 Pro is correct, because it looks basically identical to the timeline.

So something is up with Resolves codec system, or i need to adjust settings somewhere. H.264 and H.264 are brightened and don’t contain nearly as much dark/black information. It’s almost like the H.265 and H.264 export codecs are ignoring the exposure being turned down on the clip itself, or at least poorly translating it into the render. I am using the HDR color wheels to adjust exposure… maybe you simply HAVE to export 422 PRO HQ in order for that exposure level to be correctly rendered to the export?

Show properties form video player.
I work only in HDR and timeline always look the same like render (one differences is - on Windows HDR display system lut is a little more saturated than output [for about 2-3%] but this is more due to my limited preview window, eye perception...and limitation of video player) and I work in h265.
Maybe ipad prefer own codec.

Could you explain what you mean by “show properties from video player?”
I don’t see anything in the software like this.
Thank you!

But again, it strange because the 422 HQ export is basically perfect. So if i had an issue with video/play/timeline settings, i don’t think I’d be able to export a perfect 422 HQ. Or would i?

I don't really understand what you are doing from the example you posted but if you are getting the result you think you want by exporting to ProRes as Full Levels, you are way off. You may be getting to what you think is the right place but that is just by chance. If it's perfect as you say, it's purely by accident.

If you use Full (Data) Levels for ProRes, it increases the contrast in the highights (brighter) and the shadows (darker) over what you are seeing in the timeline. It's impossible to judge anything from those shadowy images. You have to use Video Levels for ProRes exports to match an exported video to what you are seeing in the timeline. Here is a link to an excellent article on levels originally posted by Marc Wielage which is probably the best explanation of levels that I've come across.:

https://www.thepostprocess.com/2019/09/ ... -vs-video/

So it's not clear what you are doing. Are you using RCM (Resolve Color Management)? Does your iPad Pro have an XDR screen? If so you need to set it to Reference mode. If you don't have an XDR screen, you are working blind in HDR.

Could you explain what you mean by “show properties from video player?”
I don’t see anything in the software like this.
Thank you!

But again, it strange because the 422 HQ export is basically perfect. So if i had an issue with video/play/timeline settings, i don’t think I’d be able to export a perfect 422 HQ. Or would i?

Example of QuickTime HDR properties from video player.

Zrzut ekranu 2025-06-09 213021.png (66.53 KiB) Viewed 1679 times

Even 50-60mbps render h265 can look amazin (and lower than 30mbps) Personaly I work on HDR OLED 100%DCI-P3.

I don't really understand what you are doing from the example you posted but if you are getting the result you think you want by exporting to ProRes as Full Levels, you are way off. You may be getting to what you think is the right place but that is just by chance. If it's perfect as you say, it's purely by accident.

If you use Full (Data) Levels for ProRes, it increases the contrast in the highights (brighter) and the shadows (darker) over what you are seeing in the timeline. It's impossible to judge anything from those shadowy images. You have to use Video Levels for ProRes exports to match an exported video to what you are seeing in the timeline. Here is a link to an excellent article on levels originally posted by Marc Wielage which is probably the best explanation of levels that I've come across.:

https://www.thepostprocess.com/2019/09/ ... -vs-video/

So it's not clear what you are doing. Are you using RCM (Resolve Color Management)? Does your iPad Pro have an XDR screen? If so you need to set it to Reference mode. If you don't have an XDR screen, you are working blind in HDR.

Thank you for this, i will go and read that article.
To explain what I’m trying to do.. it is to merely get my exported file to match the timeline.
I know the highly contrasted example i created is bad to look at, but the upper left is the timeline and it is dark (on purpose), and the two lower examples are H.265 and H.264 and they are not nearly as dark. This is obviously not a good thing, since i want the exports to look like the timeline. The darks are very important to me. Many people watch videos on their phones/tablets, most of which are XDR now. So i don’t want to be exporting videos that appear lighter and with less blacks.

Yes my screen is XDR.

I have some things to learn here. I also tried out Final Cut Pro for iPad and the exports looks exactly like the Timeline. DaVinci Resolve is a lot more flexible and powerful though, so it’s the ONLY choice on the iPad for working with color grading. But it’s also a lot more complicated. The user has to figure everything out. This is the trade off. But it would be nice if Resolve had some default export that was just meant to do what Final Cut for iPad does, which is simply an export that looks like the timeline.

I will follow up here after i have learned some more things.
Thanks!

I also tried out Final Cut Pro for iPad and the exports looks exactly like the Timeline. ... it would be nice if Resolve had some default export that was just meant to do what Final Cut for iPad does, which is simply an export that looks like the timeline.

As others tried to point out above, the Resolve's program window is not an accurate representation of what your exports will look like -- short of some very rigorous (if doubtfully successful) screen calibration of your device. This window is intended for for editing purposes, not color grading. Color grading is typically done on another [calibrated] monitor suited to the purpose. If this one device is all you have, Resolve may not be the best choice, short of a miracle of calibration on your part.

That still doesn't account for the variation you're seeing, but you've added an additional unwanted variable and source of error by exporting full levels, which raises the question of how other players are interpreting this footage (whether as full or video). The wrong interpretation, which is likely in this case, will provide a wrong result.

I also tried out Final Cut Pro for iPad and the exports looks exactly like the Timeline. ... it would be nice if Resolve had some default export that was just meant to do what Final Cut for iPad does, which is simply an export that looks like the timeline.

As others tried to point out above, the Resolve's program window is an not accurate representation of what your exports will look like -- short of some very rigorous (if doubtfully successful) screen calibration of your device. This window is intended for for editing purposes, not color grading. Color grading is typically done on another [calibrated] monitor suited to the purpose. If this one device is all you have, Resolve may not be the best choice, short of a miracle of calibration on your part.

That still doesn't account for the variation you're seeing, but you've added an additional unwanted variable and source of error by exporting full levels, which raises the question of how other players are interpreting this footage (whether as full or video). The wrong interpretation, which is likely in this case, will provide a wrong result.

To remove that variable, I did a quick test before starting the work day and exported all 3 “stock” presets, 442, H.265, H.264, and didn’t modify anything like Full and what not.
Indeed they all turn out the same, when comparing them to eachother. Yet, they are all much brighter than how things look within the software. And again, this is all on one single monitor. This isn’t a monitor issue.
So my issue is a software misunderstanding. I need to figure out how to view in Resolve what it will look like when exported. It seems impossible to work on color under the condition that you won’t ever view the exports results live as you work. And again, this has nothing to do with a monitor. Even if i was working just on one screen from 1992 that was 10 pixels wide, this wouldn’t change my situation or observations or what i need to learn about.

In Resolve, all the windows look the same (except for the motion graphics one which dumbs down the quality). So no matter if I’m in the color grading window or the edit window or export window, etc, the colors look the same as eachother. And, of course, they are all much darker (and better) than the exports all end up.
So it’s ultra confusing to a new guy when the exported videos look dramatically brighter and/or washed out than every view option within Resolve.
I am happy to admit i need to learn some things. I’m not trying to stiff anyone’s advice. This is a forum and it’s nice to be able to ask questions and get human explanations instead of trying to dig for hours through user manuals. (And i do love user manuals)

And again, this is all on one single monitor. This isn’t a monitor issue. ...
I am happy to admit i need to learn some things.

I hope so, because you're still missing the point as far as I can tell. On a typical installation, what you see in the Resolve program window is not, repeat not, what your exports will look like. Yes, the material will look the same in all Resolve panels, but that's not an export viewed in a third-party player or youtube.

It seems impossible to work on color under the condition that you won’t ever view the exports results live as you work. And again, this has nothing to do with a monitor.

It's not impossible, because the Resolve program window is not designed to assess color correction. Color correction is supposed to take place on an external monitor -- or a rigorously calibrated single device, if the device and OS allow it. You have neither. When you export, it's potluck.

Ok! Haha.
Sounds good. I’m very curious what the iPad XDR screen may be capable of, it terms of being calibrated. There is a reference mode and external measurement equipment is part of the process. I’ll look into that and see how costly that is.
Here’s another naive question.. in a classic workflow with an external monitor for grading, what section / window of Resolve gets displayed on said external color calibrated monitor? None of it? Is there a totally separate color grading live output feed that gets sent to the external monitor and is sending true color rather than sending the darker stuff?

For a usual desktop editing/grading setup, you install a BMD decklink video card or one of their usb devices for viewing program material on an external monitor (no coincidence BMD makes this hardware). This hardware outputs nothing but the program video. And this time the output will be broadcast-accurate. And what your program looks like on that monitor in Resolve should be the same as what your exports look like (on that same monitor)

If you have Studio you can also use Clean Feed, which is accurate enough for most purposes, at least for SDR material (haven't tested HDR). That feed goes direct from your existing desktop video card to a 2nd or third monitor.

It is definitely possible to match what you see in the timeline in Resolve with the same clip exported as HDR whether on an iPad or a Mac (I don’t know about Window). As you are working on a single device, an iPad, calibration is not necessary to get matching between timeline and exported clips. Calibration comes into exporting to play when viewing on other devices and is very important if sharing graded footage but it is not relevant here.

I presume you are using a keyboard and accessing the Deliver Page by the unsuported back door method? I don't use this as I use a computer with Studio if I want to do any serious grading. The iPad is for convenoence when travelling light. Anyway perhaps that is where things are going wrong if you are not able to match what you see in the timeline with the exported clips. One thing is for sure - you don't use Full or Data levels exporting ProRes. Auto levels generally works fine with any of those codecs you mention, the exported clips should all look the same as each other and should look the same as the timeline clip.

I suggest going back to basics and trying Resolve Color Management with DaVinci Wide Gamut as the Color Processing mode and Rec2100 ST2094 (HDR PQ) as well as Rec2100 HLG. When I do this, all clips look the same in Reference Mode when played on the iPad outside of Resolve as well as matching what I see in the timeline.

It is possible to calibrate an iPad with a Calibrite device but it requires a Mac and mirroring the Mac screeen as the software doesn’t run on the iPad as far as I know. Is it worth it? Maybe but not if you are just learning. Again it is not the cause of whatever issues you are having.

If you have Studio you can also use Clean Feed, which is accurate enough for most purposes, at least for SDR material (haven't tested HDR). That feed goes direct from your existing desktop video card to a 2nd or third monitor.

Clean feed works fine in HDR on Mac. I don't think Clean Feed is possible on an iPad even if one uses the backdoor hack to access all the pages and menus but I didn't spend a lot of time on it when I looked. I don't use the hack myself which requires a keyboard pretty much negating the portability for which I got the iPad in the first place.

The only app that I have found that does HDMI feed to an external monitor is LumaFusion. This can be bought as an inexpensive perpetual licence and might be worth a look for the OP, as it is much easier to use than Resolve on iPad for someone who is not familiar with the computer version. It is also designed for iPad whereas Resolve is more like a direct cut-down port from the desktop version and difficult to use without a keyboard.

Lack of calibration of the device is not the cause of what he's seeing (or *was* seeing; unclear whether all exports now match) but without it, the whole exercise is pointless. He presumably intends to publish. And for the sake of sanity, we have to assume that the other device is calibrated.

And he's interested in more than footage which is consistently wrong; he wants the exports to match the timeline. Without accurate calibration inside Resolve, such that the Resolve program window and third-party players which go direct to the OS color management, match on the same device/screen, how will that possible?

Comments on Clean Feed were meant for a desktop. There was no presumption he could manage it on a tablet device.

Lack of calibration of the device is not the cause of what he's seeing (or *was* seeing; unclear whether all exports now match) but without it, the whole exercise is pointless. He presumably intends to publish. And for the sake of sanity, we have to assume that the other device is calibrated.

And he's interested in more than footage which is consistently wrong; he wants the exports to match the timeline. Without accurate calibration inside Resolve, such that the Resolve program window and third-party players which go direct to the OS color management, match on the same device/screen, how will that possible?
device.

I don’t know anything about the inner workings of iPadOs but I can tell you for sure that it is a very simple matter to match the exported clip with the timeline. On macOS it’s necessary to go into the prefs and click a few settings to do the same but not so on iPad. I’m talking HDR only, nothing to do with the infamous gamma shift which affects SDR only. I’ve not checked if that happens on iPad.

I think anyone doing serious grading is not going to be using an iPad Pro as a main machine. It would be far better to invest in a MacBook Pro for a similar price. I just use mine to cut down weight when travelling and checking/culling my footage but I couldn’t grade or edit on it. There are too many features missing from all the iPad NLEs I’ve tried.

Thanks everyone, i wish i had more time to actually try things out but alas i am swamped with other work so i can only pop in to reply.

I really appreciate the sight on all of this.
I am not a professional with this stuff, this is simply for my own creativity. I do other work that involves a similar headspace and similar software workflow, so I’m pretty comfortable learning about all of this.

NLE’s on the IOS/iPad platform are still brand new to the world basically. But Resolve on the iPad is pretty darn terrific I have to say. That’s assuming you go into the settings and reveal all of the other “pages” which are hidden by default. Once you do that, it’s almost identical to the desktop resolve. I used that some years ago too, to a light degree. I haven’t looked at the Studio upgrade features that come with the iPad version but i certainly will do that. Because, maybe there is a proper monitoring situation after all. The Clean Output i mean.

Final Cut iPad is a joke in terms of having real control, especially for color work. One other hilarious aspect of FCiPad is that you can’t create INS/OUTS and can’t export just one section of the timeline. So if you’re like me and you want to drag in a ton of clips to work with an edit, well, if you want to export the 3minute “movie” you have to delete all the other clips otherwise it will end up 2 hours ! Womp womp.

BUT, in Final Cut iPad, your timeline color looks like your export. It’s effectively identical. So you work on stuff, and you export it. And then when you send it to someone else to play it on their mobile device, or you upload somewhere for streaming/social, again it’s pretty much spot on.

I am in NO way a social media person, nor a “content” creator. I am looking to make solid use of good software and just do as best i can with just this iPad to make short films. And there’s a lot to be said for how valuable of a situation Final Cut iPad is. You just get to start creating. I assume they are taking massive shortcuts in quality to get there, or something. I don’t know nearly enough about this stuff to even take guesses at what is different.

But i know that the reason Resolve has obstacles is because it is designed for full professional level of operations. You don’t want easy things, you want real tools, and control. And that’s great!

I can’t go back to Final Cut, it’s a joke on the iPad. For now at least. So I’m going to set about utilizing Resolve on the iPad as best as i can. It’ll be fun, and very interesting. I’ll probably look at calibration equipment, see if there is something cheap out there that does the job.

But as for those newer exports, I thought i mentioned it but basically they all look like eachother, so all are lighter, as opposed to the timeline which is darker. That’s when de-selecting that “FULL DATA” option. Just exporting 422, H.265, H.264, as prescribed in the export screen, all those look the same. But they are much lighter than the timeline.

The only time i got that 422 to be darker was because, as someone mentioned here, i got “lucky” since choosing “FULL DATA” just put it into the same level of darkness as the timeline appears.

I have no explanation for any of this. This is way beyond my knowledge. But i want to be able to export stuff from Resolve and have it be as simple and good looking as when I export stuff from Final Cut iPad. Again, no external monitor has been involved. I’m just exporting it and opening it to see it on the iPad. Those brightness differences are directly caused by the software somehow.

Thank you all again !

Normally, you shouldn't use full range for video. HDR is video too.
But, of course, your monitoring should be set to video as well.

Dolby Vision is full.

HDR10 I think is typically requested in full also.

Not true. Just two examples from HDR demo clips, both limited, but 10 bit:

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-11 um 09.16.23.png (35.34 KiB) Viewed 1311 times

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-11 um 09.15.53.png (25.63 KiB) Viewed 1311 times

It is definitely possible to match what you see in the timeline in Resolve with the same clip exported as HDR whether on an iPad or a Mac (I don’t know about Window). As you are working on a single device, an iPad, calibration is not necessary to get matching between timeline and exported clips. Calibration comes into exporting to play when viewing on other devices and is very important if sharing graded footage but it is not relevant here.

This. The problem of these threads, I said it time and time again, is that the people are not trying to help the OP but to show off some sort of hardware superiority. He's got a problem that most likely is just one setting away to be solved, but he's being told he needs to read a few thousand pages of papers, buy a calibrated external display, and a bunch of I/O devices. Obviously, this is a joke because nobody editing on an iPad will ever consider using a calibrated external display, even if it's free.

People on this forum are not willing to help you with this type of question. I didn’t even get a straight answer on what colour profile I should set for a machine like a MacBook Pro, not an exotic home build pc. So I share your frustration.

I am very ignorant and I cannot help you, unfortunately, but I'm pretty sure to solve your problem, you're one setting away. I remember a couple of times I had similar issues, and I was told the same at the end: it was one setting. For example, when I first switched from PC to Mac, the colours (gamma) were way off, but all I needed to do was to tick on the setting in the Preferences: Automatically tag Rec 709 Scene clips as Rec 709-A. Of course, none of the experts bothered to tell me to tick this option, but surely they were ready to make me buy an external monitor and I/O device because that's apparently the only way. If you haven’t got those, how can you be sure the colours are off or that the sun is really shining? Apparently, without an external calibrated monitor and proper I/O device, you cannot tell if it's really night or day.

Not true. Just two examples from HDR demo clips, both limited, but 10 bit:

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-11 um 09.16.23.png

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-11 um 09.15.53.png

I agree and all one needs to do to prove this is to export a ProRes clip in HDR using full and video levels. The full levels clip will be too contrasty with highlights brighter and shadows darker than the timeline. The video levels clip will match the timeline as long as Use Mac Display Color Profiles is checked in general prefs and Use 10-bit precision for viewers as well for HDR. I know this because I learned by trying it out. It’s not theory, it’s practical observation.

It is definitely possible to match what you see in the timeline in Resolve with the same clip exported as HDR whether on an iPad or a Mac (I don’t know about Window). As you are working on a single device, an iPad, calibration is not necessary to get matching between timeline and exported clips. Calibration comes into exporting to play when viewing on other devices and is very important if sharing graded footage but it is not relevant here.

This. The problem of these threads, I said it time and time again, is that the people are not trying to help the OP but to show off some sort of hardware superiority. He's got a problem that most likely is just one setting away to be solved, but he's being told he needs to read a few thousand pages of papers, buy a calibrated external display, and a bunch of I/O devices. Obviously, this is a joke because nobody editing on an iPad will ever consider using a calibrated external display, even if it's free.

People on this forum are not willing to help you with this type of question. I didn’t even get a straight answer on what colour profile I should set for a machine like a MacBook Pro, not an exotic home build pc. So I share your frustration.

I am very ignorant and I cannot help you, unfortunately, but I'm pretty sure to solve your problem, you're one setting away. I remember a couple of times I had similar issues, and I was told the same at the end: it was one setting. For example, when I first switched from PC to Mac, the colours (gamma) were way off, but all I needed to do was to tick on the setting in the Preferences: Automatically tag Rec 709 Scene clips as Rec 709-A. Of course, none of the experts bothered to tell me to tick this option, but surely they were ready to make me buy an external monitor and I/O device because that's apparently the only way. If you haven’t got those, how can you be sure the colours are off or that the sun is really shining? Apparently, without an external calibrated monitor and proper I/O device, you cannot tell if it's really night or day.

I agree with a lot of this but it is only true for a very small minority of forum users, not all. There are people who repeat the same mantra about calibration or needing an external monitor or not being able to do HDR without spending vast amounts of money. There can even be a snobbery from certain professional colourists and editors towards lesser mortals who have different agendas and needs.

I ignore this, pick the bits I need and just get on with what I do. I learn by practice as well as theory and I certainly don’t rely on what the theory alone tells me I need to do. I was told I couldn’t do HDR and that it was impossible to match the timeline with the export because of this, that and the other. Well I can and I’m happy. I’ll challenge a theory expert when I know from practical experience that I’m on solid ground.

All that said, there are some really helpful people on here and that includes most of the mantraistas when they are not spouting their mantras. I’ve learnt an awful lot from being active on this forum and I think it is actually one of the best on the internet for learning from really knowledgeable people who are happy to share their experience and knowledge.

If you go to the https://daejeonchronicles.com I already suggested, you can learn that it's not too hard to do HDR.
And then, maybe FCP-X on the iPad is the easier solution, since it does pretty good HDR without too many complex settings.

Thank you again everyone.
I’m reading up on links you all have sent, and am learning.
Separate from that, i tried a whole bunch of new exports, starting with the exact ones recommended here by mickspixels, and then trying a number of other manual HDR combinations from these drop down menus. It was interesting but nothing resolved it all until I ultimately landed on the following setting in the image down below, which seems to be a user friendly automatic prescription within the Resolve software when you want to use SDR footage but deliver it with strong color to HDR screens. At least that’s my interpretation.

All 3 exports, the 422 preset, the H.265 preset, and the H.264 preset, all look exactly like the timeline now. I didn’t have to click any advanced options either. The screen grab below shows the color space settings and a bit of the timeline image behind it. All exports look precisely like that too. The blacks are fully black. Thank goodness.

But i don’t know what I’m doing yet haha. I am concerned that if i add footage recorded in HDR from other cameras, that this setup won’t be good enough. Right now I’m just using SDR footage. But i want to be able to grade it with very dark colors.

I am way out of my league of understanding what I’m really doing, but I believe i will end up learning about why this works. And if there is something I’m doing wrong that will end up limiting the way the exports appear on other screens and platforms, I’ll just have to learn some more and make a change.

But for now, this seems to give me what i want so i really can’t argue with it.

I did discover one completely silly thing about Resolve just now though.. that you can’t record audio in the iPad version. Even with the Studio upgrade. That’s just absurd, especially after paying 100 USD (which i haven’t done yet). I’ll have to go to Logic iPad to do ADR or Voiceover over an imported video, but that’s not difficult. It’s just pretty unprofessional. But so far that’s my only complaint about DaVinci Resolve for iPad. It is otherwise a fully professional feeling environment, which i am delighted to have access to on this device.

I saw on YouTube examples that the Clean Feed does work on the iPad Studio version. I’m possibly going to end up purchasing the upgrade just for that, so that i can send it to an external screen. I have basic 4K external monitors on hand, not color grade type. They will come in handy without a doubt, when digging deeper into editing.

IMG_1011.jpeg (791.63 KiB) Viewed 1158 times

This. The problem of these threads, I said it time and time again,

If that's all you came out with after reading these exchanges, maybe you're posting too much and too long ("I said time and time again") and reading too little. You also say -- a few hundred words later -- that you are ignorant but are nonetheless "pretty sure" the OP is one setting away from solving his problems.

If that's your view of being helpful, than you're right, not everyone is as helpful as you are.

Thank you again everyone.
I’m reading up on links you all have sent, and am learning.
Separate from that, i tried a whole bunch of new exports, starting with the exact ones recommended here by mickspixels, and then trying a number of other manual HDR combinations from these drop down menus. It was interesting but nothing resolved it all until I ultimately landed on the following setting in the image down below, which seems to be a user friendly automatic prescription within the Resolve software when you want to use SDR footage but deliver it with strong color to HDR screens. At least that’s my interpretation.

All 3 exports, the 422 preset, the H.265 preset, and the H.264 preset, all look exactly like the timeline now. I didn’t have to click any advanced options either. The screen grab below shows the color space settings and a bit of the timeline image behind it. All exports look precisely like that too. The blacks are fully black. Thank goodness.

But i don’t know what I’m doing yet haha. I am concerned that if i add footage recorded in HDR from other cameras, that this setup won’t be good enough. Right now I’m just using SDR footage. But i want to be able to grade it with very dark colors.

I am way out of my league of understanding what I’m really doing, but I believe i will end up learning about why this works. And if there is something I’m doing wrong that will end up limiting the way the exports appear on other screens and platforms, I’ll just have to learn some more and make a change.

But for now, this seems to give me what i want so i really can’t argue with it.

I did discover one completely silly thing about Resolve just now though.. that you can’t record audio in the iPad version. Even with the Studio upgrade. That’s just absurd, especially after paying 100 USD (which i haven’t done yet). I’ll have to go to Logic iPad to do ADR or Voiceover over an imported video, but that’s not difficult. It’s just pretty unprofessional. But so far that’s my only complaint about DaVinci Resolve for iPad. It is otherwise a fully professional feeling environment, which i am delighted to have access to on this device.

I saw on YouTube examples that the Clean Feed does work on the iPad Studio version. I’m possibly going to end up purchasing the upgrade just for that, so that i can send it to an external screen. I have basic 4K external monitors on hand, not color grade type. They will come in handy without a doubt, when digging deeper into editing.

The attachment IMG_1011.jpeg is no longer available

Those settings (now removed) are a fudge for HDR. If you are getting what you want from those, it's accidental. They are incorrect for HDR. The following screenshot show simple RCM settings for HDR - PQ that simply works. For HLG just change Output color space to Rec2100 HLG, have reference mode on and that's it.

You need to grade your footage using the parade or waveform as a guide and use 1000 Nits max or it will clip. It doesn't have to be recorded in HDR. 10-bit or higher log footage is perfect and you can use 8-bit SDR footage if you have. Just expand the tonal range and off you go.

If you are serious about grading and editing on an iPad, again check out LumaFusion to edit alongside Resolve. It doesn't have some of the advanced features of Resolve but it's probably got what you need (voiceover for one thing, HDMI output to an external monitor for another and very good tutorials). If I was going to use my iPad for serious work, I would use Resolve for grading individual clips and LumaFusion for everything else.

RCMHDRPQ.jpg (150.35 KiB) Viewed 1041 times

Thank you again everyone.
I’m reading up on links you all have sent, and am learning.
Separate from that, i tried a whole bunch of new exports, starting with the exact ones recommended here by mickspixels, and then trying a number of other manual HDR combinations from these drop down menus. It was interesting but nothing resolved it all until I ultimately landed on the following setting in the image down below, which seems to be a user friendly automatic prescription within the Resolve software when you want to use SDR footage but deliver it with strong color to HDR screens. At least that’s my interpretation.

All 3 exports, the 422 preset, the H.265 preset, and the H.264 preset, all look exactly like the timeline now. I didn’t have to click any advanced options either. The screen grab below shows the color space settings and a bit of the timeline image behind it. All exports look precisely like that too. The blacks are fully black. Thank goodness.

But i don’t know what I’m doing yet haha. I am concerned that if i add footage recorded in HDR from other cameras, that this setup won’t be good enough. Right now I’m just using SDR footage. But i want to be able to grade it with very dark colors.

I am way out of my league of understanding what I’m really doing, but I believe i will end up learning about why this works. And if there is something I’m doing wrong that will end up limiting the way the exports appear on other screens and platforms, I’ll just have to learn some more and make a change.

But for now, this seems to give me what i want so i really can’t argue with it.

I did discover one completely silly thing about Resolve just now though.. that you can’t record audio in the iPad version. Even with the Studio upgrade. That’s just absurd, especially after paying 100 USD (which i haven’t done yet). I’ll have to go to Logic iPad to do ADR or Voiceover over an imported video, but that’s not difficult. It’s just pretty unprofessional. But so far that’s my only complaint about DaVinci Resolve for iPad. It is otherwise a fully professional feeling environment, which i am delighted to have access to on this device.

I saw on YouTube examples that the Clean Feed does work on the iPad Studio version. I’m possibly going to end up purchasing the upgrade just for that, so that i can send it to an external screen. I have basic 4K external monitors on hand, not color grade type. They will come in handy without a doubt, when digging deeper into editing.

IMG_1011.jpeg

Those settings (now removed) are a fudge for HDR. If you are getting what you want from those, it's accidental. They are incorrect for HDR. The following screenshot show simple RCM settings for HDR - PQ that simply works. For HLG just change Output color space to Rec2100 HLG, have reference mode on and that's it.

You need to grade your footage using the parade or waveform as a guide and use 1000 Nits max or it will clip. It doesn't have to be recorded in HDR. 10-bit or higher log footage is perfect and you can use 8-bit SDR footage if you have. Just expand the tonal range and off you go.

If you are serious about grading and editing on an iPad, again check out LumaFusion to edit alongside Resolve. It doesn't have some of the advanced features of Resolve but it's probably got what you need (voiceover for one thing, HDMI output to an exterak monitor for another and very good tutorials). If I was going to use my iPad for serious work, I would use Resolve for grading individual clips and LumaFusion for everything else.

RCMHDRPQ.jpg

Thanks for all this help!
However when i try this, there is a little bit of exposure difference between timeline and export. It’s not as extreme as my original issue, but it’s definitely a difference. The export of itself is a bit darker. (Not to mention the entire grade is now drastically different, but that’s not at all and issue nor is it what we’re addressing here. )
What are the consequences of staying with Resolve’s “fudged” automatic version that i just posted? Is it probably similar to using Final Cut iPad’s “behind the scene”’s automatic settings for HDR?

2nd reply:
I suppose the real question is… what footage will i be using predominantly? SDR or HDR?
Is that where I’m at now?

Because, right now all of my main camera footage is SDR 8-bit, and my drone camera is HDR 10-bit.

As Resolve suggests, i have ended up at “SDR grading environment, best used when the majority of source material is SDR. Suitable for SDR and HDR deliverables.”

It looks great to me. My sLog2 conversion looks great, and the one LUT that i blend in using nodes looks great. So maybe that’s what i stick with?

However, I may very well upgrade my main camera to something that is HDR. So at that point will i have to completely redo my colorspace?

Thanks for all this help!
However when i try this, there is a little bit of exposure difference between timeline and export. It’s not as extreme as my original issue, but it’s definitely a difference. The export of itself is a bit darker. (Not to mention the entire grade is now drastically different, but that’s not at all and issue nor is it what we’re addressing here. )
What are the consequences of staying with Resolve’s “fudged” automatic version that i just posted? Is it probably similar to using Final Cut iPad’s “behind the scene”’s automatic settings for HDR?

I don't know why there is a difference on your iPad. This works perfeclly for me on iPad and MacBook Pro with the correct preset HDR P3 - ST2084. Maybe you have changed something fundamental by going in the backdoor on your iPad. Delete the app with all its data and start from scratch. I can't help beyond that I'm afraid. Using SDR sRGB setting to get what you want in HDR is absurd.

Again check out LumaFusion. Resolve for iPad is designed for expeirenced desktop users as evidenced by the fact that there is zero documentation.

Not true. Just two examples from HDR demo clips, both limited, but 10 bit:

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-11 um 09.16.23.png

Bildschirmfoto 2025-06-11 um 09.15.53.png

I’m not sure about those files but DV is full in Resolve (turn on DV and look at the settings available in the tone mapping window) and all deliverables we have done for broadcast and streaming are all full.

We did one HDR10 some years back that asked for video levels but they accepted full anyway. All HDR deliverables since then are primarily DV and asked for MaxFall and MaxCLL, which I assume is for HDR10 conversion.

HDR can be full or video level. All I’m saying is that for DV it seems full is the standard and HDR10 as well.

Full disclosure: I am working on an iPad Pro, which as far as i have been told is a pretty decent HDR monitor when calibrated. But i think that’s beside the point because this is the only monitor I’m using right now for color work...

I don't think that will work, because the iPad doesn't necessarily relate to the real world. If you can get it calibrated (which has been possible for the last six months or so), you may see something kind of in the direction of correct, but it's never really going to be "right" in the broad sense of the word.

To amplify what I said before...

HDR is complex and difficult. For more advice, read the following:

The BBC and the ITU has some interesting papers on HDR and Rec2020:
https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/techreports/tr037.pdf
https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp ... WHP309.pdf
https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/r ... -PDF-E.pdf

Spectracal has a good explanation of how it affects calibration and the monitor business:
https://app.spectracal.com/Documents/Wh ... tified.pdf

SMPTE has quite a few good tech papers (some of which you have to pay for):
https://www.smpte.org/past-events/clari ... -range-hdr
https://ff.de/st-2086-demystified-from- ... hdrmaster/

Dolby has a plethora of technical reports on HDR as it relates to Dolby Vision:
https://professional.dolby.com/content- ... creators/2
https://professional.dolby.com/content- ... al-series/

and there's some miscellaneous stuff:
http://vmi.tv/training/useful-stuff/HDR_SURVIVAL_GUIDE
https://www.fxphd.com/product/introduction-to-hdr/

Mixing Light has a number of tutorials & discussions on their paid website about HDR and Dolby Vision:

https://mixinglight.com/color-grading-t ... show-look/

and I have a collection of free HDR papers at this link:

https://spaces.hightail.com/space/nEaXy

Doing HDR color is not for the faint-of-heart and requires far more of an investment in time, training, and cost than most people understand. An iPad is not going to be enough to do it right.

There is clearly a massive gap in understanding between what is required to produce and distribute a movie in HDR and what is required to produce HDR video on a computer or an iPad for personal viewing or even for YouTube if required.

Perhaps it has escaped the high end Holloywood colorists but HDR (HLG) is the default now for recording and viewing video on an iPhone. And the vast vast majority of iPhone users don't realise that they need a degree in color science to record and view HDR video on their phones. They can even view this HDR video on their HDR TVs in all its glory without knowing the first thing about color grading or video editing as long as the TV is set right. And I can even give someone my HDR video and they can play it on their modern iPhone and it will look close to what I intended.

Apple have made this whole thing so simple that all the science is under the covers and people are just seeing the end results without ever needing to think about it. And for those of us who do want to grade in HDR for personal viewing or even for YouTube, it does not require a vast background in color science theory. In fact for anyone who wants an easy life, just use FInal Cut Pro and a suitable HDR screen (MacBook Pro XDR or iPad XDR will do fine). There are just a few options in FCP: SDR, HDR HLG and HDR PQ. Just set it up and go. No need for a degree. It is not just possible but it is also very easy once you get it set up.

Resolve can do it as well (MacBook Pro XDR or iPad XDR) but there are a lot more options which is good but it also means that there are more ways to go wrong. This seems to be what has gone wrong for the OP who is confused on several fronts. However, the fact that he is confused doesn't mean that reading vast amounts of background material will help. More likely it will blow his mind and he might give up. That would be a real shame as this HDR stuff is easy as long as you are not producing for broadcast etc.

Apple have made this whole thing so simple that all the science is under the covers and people are just seeing the end results without ever needing to think about it.

That's why I suggested FCP-X. Some more information about its advantages and shortcomings here:
https://digitalproduction.com/2025/06/0 ... r-ipad-m4/

You're right - H.265 can handle HDR like Rec.2100 HLG, but you need to set it up carefully.

Try this:

* Set Data Levels to "Full"

* Use H.265 Main10, 10-bit

* Set Color Space: Rec.2100 HLG, Gamma: HLG

* Enable HDR metadata in advanced settings

Also, make sure you’re on the Studio version of Resolve — the free version has limited H.265 export features.

This should give you smaller files without losing that HDR look.

I did a little bit of investigating and tests of things, have some results.
But first off… yes this is overwhelming and a shocking learning curve but I’m not gonna stop now, haha. I want DResolve on the IPad to be my workflow and hook up a large monitor for a Clean Feed when digging in occasionally. I am not a professional, i make my own short “films” and just want as much control as i can muster. Equipment needs to fit your creativity, not the other way around. I will settle for something less than professional color grading, but still effective.

This is not going in major broadcast/theatre/Netflix. It is for people’s devices and TV’s, and maybe an occasional screening for festivals.

I think i may be on to something regarding my own differences with Exports vs Timeline within my device…. It finally occurred to me that even though i am viewing the exports on the same exact monitor (iPad XDR), i am NOT viewing it in the same software. It is played within Apple’s domain. It’s just the the simple Finder app. So, I wondered what color space is used and i am 99% certain is it sRGB. So you have DaVinci timeline under separate control, and then you have the Finder app viewing those exports within sRGB. And, as a mentioned before, when i set DaVinci to have that Auto Color Management of SDR, the output color space is in fact sRGB. So, i think maybe i was just tuning DR to be perfect for exporting specifically for the IOS environment.

It just so happens that YouTube also seems to use the same color space. I know it’s complicated, but i think that both Apple and YouTube use sRGB, so that’s why DR sets sRGB as its standard Auto situation for SDR. And it works great.

I could roll like that and probably be fine for my purposes. I mean, currently my footage is all SDR anyways.

But, i found this video which is amazingly helpful in understanding color spaces and the way DR handles them. It really is terrifically helpful and i feel like i have a much better grasp. And in this video they end up diving into a “CUSTOM” option that gives you control over all 3 color space stages… the Input/Camera color space, the Timeline/Intermediary/Scene color space, and the Output/Delivery color space. Here is a link to that exact segment..

So i gave it a shot. My cameras are Slog2, so i set up that as the Input. I chose the DR wide gamut as the intermediary, as recommended by everyone here and also in that video, and then Output is when it gets interesting. This is i think where i am learning what is actually going on in all of this confusion. Before, i didn’t know there were 3 stages. The software wasn’t clear. But with Custom chosen, it shows you all the stages so it becomes clear…

But first on a side note here, it leaves me with one big question, which is what STAGE of those 3 is the Timeline/Resolve displaying in all its viewing windows? Because, if i change the Output color space, the colors very visibly change within Resolve. I was not expecting that. In that video above, they talk about how the entire point of a Custom setup is to be able to adapt to different Output color spaces for your material in the future. Like, you could grade your project, Output it to whatever is appropriate, and then say a year later you could have a need to Output it to a different color spaces and so you could just open the project and change the Output color space and make some minor adjustments if needed and then Output it as such. That sounds great to me. But, i was expecting the Timeline to be consistent looking no matter how you set your Output. So, is there some option for flipped between viewing the Timeline color space VS viewing the Output color space? Maybe both are possible and that’s how it works? That would also make sense to me, and i hope that’s the situation.

But going back to the Output choice within Custom.… just like the Auto setup, if i set custom Output to sRGB… sure enough my exports look identical in the Timeline as they do in the IOS Finder app. So i feel pretty confident that the IOS color space is sRGB. But again, within Resolve the colors displayed are drastically different than choosing some other color space.

And i don’t really want to be constantly viewing the Apple/IOS/Youtube color space at ALL times. I want to view the “master” DW color space, and then flip to viewing other color spaces on a project by project basis. Does that make sense? Or maybe this is where I settle, and just accept the sRGB / REC709 SDR world.

All of this is ignoring HDR for now. I have a whole world of things to figure out about that. To be honest I’m no longer even sure my materials will ever utilize the color range of HDR. But my reason for wanting to understand it is because nearly all viewing situations are HDR these days. So if i export SDR, say just using that Auto setup in sRGB for example… will the material look weak/washed out on HDR devices? My limited experience tells me NO, and that it will be fine. That’s because when i export using Davinci’s Auto SDR, it looks great on my iPhone and on my iPad. Clearly Apple is already taking care of playing SDR material how it’s supposed to be played, not making it look like crap because it’s expecting HDR blacks and whites. And surely Samsung, Google, YouTube, etc, will all do that same. So what am i even attempting to get into the HDR environment for? The only reason i can think of now, for me, is to be able to use that great HDR color wheel setup in Resolve. But even with my project in Auto SDR sRGB, i still have that HDR color wheel. So, maybe I’m good to go?

But I’m 100% interested in learning about grading SDR footage in the HDR domain, so that i can incorporate HDR footage along with my SDR footage. Someone mentioned here that i could “expand the tonal range” of the SDR clips. I will look into that.

You're right - H.265 can handle HDR like Rec.2100 HLG, but you need to set it up carefully.

Try this:

* Set Data Levels to "Full"

* Use H.265 Main10, 10-bit

* Set Color Space: Rec.2100 HLG, Gamma: HLG

* Enable HDR metadata in advanced settings

Also, make sure you’re on the Studio version of Resolve — the free version has limited H.265 export features.

This should give you smaller files without losing that HDR look.

Just seeing this. Thanks so much, I’ll give this a shot asap.

You need to grade your footage using the parade or waveform as a guide and use 1000 Nits max or it will clip. It doesn't have to be recorded in HDR. 10-bit or higher log footage is perfect and you can use 8-bit SDR footage if you have. Just expand the tonal range and off you go.

Could you clarify what you mean by expand the tonal range? I understand the why and what, but how would you go about doing this? Is there possible a feature in DR to achieve this with any given clip with some SDR > HDR curve?

You need to grade your footage using the parade or waveform as a guide and use 1000 Nits max or it will clip. It doesn't have to be recorded in HDR. 10-bit or higher log footage is perfect and you can use 8-bit SDR footage if you have. Just expand the tonal range and off you go.

Could you clarify what you mean by expand the tonal range? I understand the why and what, but how would you go about doing this? Is there possible a feature in DR to achieve this with any given clip with some SDR > HDR curve?

Exactly what I said. You can grade 8-bit SDR footage as HDR by expanding the tonal range (brightening the midtones and highlights to a max of 1000 Nits). In all honesty, reading your previous long post and others, it's clear that you are tying yourself up in deep knots of confusion and you are making what is actually a very straightforward process into something very complicated.

Perhaps you should just sort out grading in SDR for starters (you can use the so-called HDR color wheels on SDR material in SDR projects). But as Uli has said as well, just subscribe to FInal Cut Pro for iPad (you can unsubscribe on a monthly basis) and take it easy. There are only two options (SDR and HDR) and it's hard to go wrong. Best of luck.

I ran some tests, decoded the mystery, solved the problem, and am ready to answer the original question of this thread..

Final Cut iPad, of course, spits out a file that has the appropriate metadata. Choose SDR or HDR for the project, export with one click, and you’re done. The exports match their respective timelines. Additionally, you can choose SDR or HDR when you export, if you want to dumb it down. And it works.

In DaVinci Resolve, it’s also that easy, if you just click a few things..

Firstly i have my color space as “Custom”, and Input as Slog2 because that’s my footage, and my Timline as DaVinci WG/Intermediate.

Then, to get the equivalent of Final Cut’s SDR vs HDR choices, do the following…

For SDR, set your Output Color Space to sRGB. Your timeline will appear as SDR, and It’ll export exactly as the Timeline appears. At least, when viewing in IOS, that is.

For HDR, set the Output Color Space to “Rec.2020 (Scene)”, and export using H.265 with a Color Space Tag of “Rec.2020” and a Gamma tag of “Rec.2100 HLG (Scene)”.

Again, the Timeline while working will be a higher dynamic range, and your export viewed within IOS Finder app will match that higher range perfectly. Problem solved. Lower file size (as opposed to Pro Res 422 monster files), and it matches the timeline.

Someone here had just suggested similar tags a few posts ago, but those specific tags don’t exist in Resolve iPad. Or maybe they exist in Studio version. I’ll find out soon.

But here’s the thing…. Before i chose those tags, not only did the export look weak, the Finder app didn’t show its little “HDR” icon above the movie. Many of you probably know what i mean, you can see little icons like that above photos and videos, in either the Photos app or the Finder app. So, clearly that is built into Final Cut iPad’s export, but in Davinci you have to manually make sure it’s there. And that is clearly the solution here, for Resolve iPad HDR work in the IOS playback world.

So then, with both apps exporting SDR or HDR at will, and appearing as their respective timelines… which looks better?……….

It’s Resolve, folks. It’s not even close. Final Cut iPad’s HDR timeline/export, although a similar overall brightness/luminosity to Resolve’s HDR timeline/export, has a much much flatter dimension to it. Almost like shadows have been lifted unnaturally. Davinci’s export seems natural and therefore much more 3 dimensional. All layers are darkness are present, instead of being flattened out. However, i must add that Final Cut has one single option for adding curve compensation such as Slog2 to your clips. It’s a built in Slog2 curve. Davinci has that option in many places of course, but, maybe Final Cut’s is just not as good looking. Who knows. But the problem is, even if that IS the problem, you don’t have any other choices in Fina Cut iPad.

I’ll be sticking with Resolve, no doubt.

Thanks everyone! I’ve learned a ton.

You can grade 8-bit SDR footage as HDR by expanding the tonal range (brightening the midtones and highlights to a max of 1000 Nits).

How exactly one does that, please?