Davinci Mini Panel **Suggestion Box**

My Mini Panel arrived today. Nice solid feel and lots of control packed into a compact space. After a few hours of working with it I'd just like to add a few ideas to the suggestion box.



*Include a power cable. Mine arrived with just a type C USB cable. For over $3K USD you can include a power cable.
*Display screen dim/power off. When not using Resolve it would be nice for the screens/keys to go dark.
*Display screen brightness. Minor cosmetic thing but the default brightness of the LCD screens is waaaay too high. The lifted blacks of the displays just don't look as nice as it should.
*Paste grade. Not sure if I'm missing how to do this with the mini-panel but I can grab stills, scroll through stills and play stills via the panel, I just can't apply the grade from the still (or adjust the wipe).
*Reset grade. The reset button will reset the node but could a long press of the same button reset the node?
*Primaries Wheels. I know some folks like the Primaries Bars more than the Wheels. I'm a wheels guy. Would it be possible to either set a preference for the Primaries button (wheels or bars) or toggle between the two if you press the Primaries button a second time? The display would always return to the last used option (wheels or bars).


Just my 2¢. I'm sure others will chime in with more ideas.

This is my 2 cents.

* tracking shapes forward/backward from Windows palet

* add static/dynamic keyframe

* wipe still

Thanks,
Maciek

good suggestions.

Just out of curiosity
- what options are available under Help->Davinci Resolve Panels Setup ?
- does double tapping play = fast forward by any chance?

the transports should act like [j][k][l], a double tap should do 2x and so on

the transports should act like [j][k][l], a double tap should do 2x and so on

Doh, I've missed that feature for years with the Avid and Tangent panels, too.

This all sounds totally crazy as my old MC Color+ Transport does allow all this incl. wipe still and J,K,L.

Nevertheless these guys get thrown out for the new panels.

I had a go on one yesterday, found there's some minor bugs in the way it operates too, though at the moment all I can remember is that if you are in the Camera Raw palette and it's currently on Project settings, and then you press 'Clip Settings', if you toggle this off again it will return to Camera Default rather than Project Settings.


As for suggestions, it might help if when you use things like Temperature and Tint via the Offset modifier (as opposed to via the LCD panels), the software should switch to Primaries panel 2 so you can see the numbers. There's other things like that where the software doesn't always switch to what you are controlling.

- sleep/dim mode
- better (less) sensitivy on the balls. Put them on 1 and they are still rather sensitive. But turn m to 100 and they are unuseable.
- all tools in resolve gui have a dedicated reset button ( mostly in top right corner) it would be nice to have them on the softknobs of the display too. Reset qualifier, reset prrimaries etc.
- i guess this cant be changed but the panel would have greatly benefitted from an ALT or SHIFT button. ie. Reset now resets the node, but alt- reset could reset the grade., etc etc.

(been working on it the whole day and I'm really in love with this panel. Great job BMD!)

I just received a mini panel today, and my first impressions were very good.

I would normally go into more detail, but one of the main features of the mini panel to me is the inclusion of controls for Camera Raw. When the RAW button is pressed, the LCD's turn to RAW settings, and in my case display RAW Sony.

My Camera Raw preferences for Sony Raw are set to: Decode Using=Project, White Balance = Daylight, Color Space = S-Gamut, and Gamma = S-Log2. Those are also the camera settings of all the clips being graded. They are initially greyed out.

In order to adjust the white balance, I press the RAW button on the mini panel. At that point, the White Balance changes to As Shot (and the Color Temp and Tint knobs are greyed out, and cannot be changed), Color Space changes to S-Gamut3.Cine, and Gamma changes to SLog3.

So it is necessary to manually reset all these with a mouse before grading -- for every single shot!

Pressing Clip Settings again results in changing Decoding Using to Sony Default, changing all settings again, rather than to Project as set in the preferences. This happens even is Save with Version is checked.

I hope someone can assure me that this behavior will be modified. I have 29 days to return the panel.

Cheers.

My Mini Panel arrived today, looks and feels so much better than my Tangent Element panels, It reminds me of the old 2K panels I used to work on.
I have a problem connecting the new panel. I've been using the Tangent Element panels for the last 2 years. I bought a power cord for the Mini, hooked up the USB cable to a USB 3 port, it powers on but I get an error message "No connection to davinci resolve - please go to davinci resolve preferences to select this panel" - I already did that. I just updated from version 12.3 to Davinci Resolve Studio Version - 12.5.5.026 on an HP Z820, Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. I know the spec says Windows 8 now but 12.3 ran fine on Windows 7, hopefully that isn't the issue. Anyone have any ideas?

This is my first posting here, I wasn't sure if this was the place to ask. Since the panels are so new there aren't very many topics on it so far

Thanks
Greg

I'm running Win10 on a SuperMicro tower and I couldn't get it to connect via USB either (I also had Elements panel working fine on USB).

I had to get a power cable and connect via ethernet. Runs fine now.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Noel Sterrett = Thanks Noel for the report. There are two issues here, one is pre-existing and the other relates to the panel. Both are in the engineering queue for update soon. It will be a lot better after the update.

Greg = There are known USB issues with W7 which is one reason why its been on our not supported list for a while. Can you try an Ethernet connection and select it in the DaVinci Resolve Preferences?

Paul = the Mini panel will always need power from the mains, Ethernet or battery so I'm not sure from your msg if you had a power cable when you tried the USB. We have tested it with a SuperMicro on Windows 10 and Linux and its was ok.

the transports should act like [j][k][l], a double tap should do 2x and so on

Sadly the play button only plays at 1x speed...so you still need to use the keyboard to navigate the video...its a shame. Maybe they can fix this? The rest of it seems to work really nice, those rings are incredibly smooth!

Im getting really terrible lag between scrubbing through the video using the micro panel - then trying to make a change if a keyframe is added.. you need to wait about 10-20 seconds before you can start making any new adjustments. This is with a maxed out imac 5K with 32GB ram.

edit - Seems to be related to the hard drive speed, at least another project on a faster drive seems to have almost no lag between a new keyframe being added & being able to adjust something....its one incredible bit of kit!

Noel Sterrett = Thanks Noel for the report. There are two issues here, one is pre-existing and the other relates to the panel. Both are in the engineering queue for update soon. It will be a lot better after the update.

That's great news Peter.

I noticed, and you're probably aware, that the same problem occurs on Camera Raw Reset/Revert. Everything changes to Sony Default, which from the Config.xml's seems to be those of the Sony F65, rather than as set in the Camera Raw Master Preferences.

While you're at it, please consider adding Decode Using = Clip, and Version = Checked to the Project Preferences.

Thanks.

Loving the panel!!! Here are my notes:

The build and feel is fantastic. Responsiveness is perfect with ethernet, but buggy (sometimes lags or fails to respond altogether) via USB on my Hackintosh.

These are my feature requests:
1) jkl style FF and Fast reverse !!!!!
2) wipe still (right ring would be great - maybe Viewer button next to offset could turn this on?)
3) Add Outside node (I would use this 10x as much as Add Layer node)
4) Base mem
5) Toggle all nodes on and off
6) Save!!!!
7) Go to first/last frame of clip
8) Delete node
9) Set/Delete keyframes
10) Primary button should cycle through bars/wheels
11) Highlight should toggle Off/Normal/B&W or have some other way to get to B&W
12) Custom Curves (and some other areas) need an overall reset soft button
13) Custom curves: I can drag the 100% point in the interface to the left and get values over 1.0 on the panel, but cannot do the same by turning the knob. Same for moving 0% point to the right.
14) Soft buttons to enable/disable Hue, Sat, and Luma individually in the HSL qualifier
15) Ref button gives no feedback on the panel or interface, so can be confusing.

Making the User button function as a kind of Shift could allow you (or, ideally us, in a config interface) to map additional functions to every single button!

Thanks again for making really great products and iterating so quickly. I feel very confident that many of the functions I am missing here will get added in future releases!

Noel Sterrett = Thanks Noel for the report. There are two issues here, one is pre-existing and the other relates to the panel. Both are in the engineering queue for update soon. It will be a lot better after the update.

Greg = There are known USB issues with W7 which is one reason why its been on our not supported list for a while. Can you try an Ethernet connection and select it in the DaVinci Resolve Preferences?

Paul = the Mini panel will always need power from the mains, Ethernet or battery so I'm not sure from your msg if you had a power cable when you tried the USB. We have tested it with a SuperMicro on Windows 10 and Linux and its was ok.

Thanks Peter Chamberlain for the quick reply!

Im getting really terrible lag between scrubbing through the video using the micro panel - then trying to make a change if a keyframe is added.. you need to wait about 10-20 seconds before you can start making any new adjustments. This is with a maxed out imac 5K with 32GB ram.

edit - Seems to be related to the hard drive speed, at least another project on a faster drive seems to have almost no lag between a new keyframe being added & being able to adjust something....its one incredible bit of kit!

Update - Moved the project that has terrible lag with the micro panel to a SSD & it still lagged really bad when two other projects are great with real time changes. Only other difference was that the problem project is using a XML import & the other is plain pro res imported file to the Davinci time line. So if you have lag then its probably not the hard drive but could be related to importing a XML file from FCPX at least thats where mine come from...could be something else but this is the only difference I can see with the files.

Im getting really terrible lag between scrubbing through the video using the micro panel - then trying to make a change if a keyframe is added.. you need to wait about 10-20 seconds before you can start making any new adjustments. This is with a maxed out imac 5K with 32GB ram.

edit - Seems to be related to the hard drive speed, at least another project on a faster drive seems to have almost no lag between a new keyframe being added & being able to adjust something....its one incredible bit of kit!

Update - Moved the project that has terrible lag with the micro panel to a SSD & it still lagged really bad when two other projects are great with real time changes. Only other difference was that the problem project is using a XML import & the other is plain pro res imported file to the Davinci time line. So if you have lag then its probably not the hard drive but could be related to importing a XML file from FCPX at least thats where mine come from...could be something else but this is the only difference I can see with the files.

try to remove the audio

[Peter Chamberlain]

Loving the panel!!! Here are my notes:
.......

Good feedback.. some items here already on our list but also its good to see the priority of your requests.. we welcome more feedback.. its just our v1.0 so there is a lot more we can add in time.

printerlight
and copy n paste of a single node

Im getting really terrible lag between scrubbing through the video using the micro panel - then trying to make a change if a keyframe is added.. you need to wait about 10-20 seconds before you can start making any new adjustments. This is with a maxed out imac 5K with 32GB ram.

edit - Seems to be related to the hard drive speed, at least another project on a faster drive seems to have almost no lag between a new keyframe being added & being able to adjust something....its one incredible bit of kit!

Update - Moved the project that has terrible lag with the micro panel to a SSD & it still lagged really bad when two other projects are great with real time changes. Only other difference was that the problem project is using a XML import & the other is plain pro res imported file to the Davinci time line. So if you have lag then its probably not the hard drive but could be related to importing a XML file from FCPX at least thats where mine come from...could be something else but this is the only difference I can see with the files.

try to remove the audio

opened the laggy project today...Now its working great with lightning fast real time changes from the panel updating the dynamic keyframes, its back like the other projects? Ive not changed anything so what ever caused it (having dynamic keyframes update any panel changes) was not the project, hard drive or FCPX but something computer related I guess.

So I will say my "Suggestion" is that these micro/Mini panels really need the ability to go fast forward & backwards just as you can with the J & L keys...1x speed kind of makes these buttons a little pointless if you have a lot of footage to munch through..

Paul = the Mini panel will always need power from the mains, Ethernet or battery so I'm not sure from your msg if you had a power cable when you tried the USB. We have tested it with a SuperMicro on Windows 10 and Linux and its was ok.

Hi Peter,

i have the same problem as paul has. On my workstation the panel is connected to USB3 and works fine with a power cord connected but wont work without the power cable.

Because of the missing "on/off" button, the panel is always on - even with the pc shut down.
There should be a way to turn if off or put it in sleep mode OR it should detect if the workstation is powered and go to sleep if not.

At the moment i need to pull the power cable to turn it of... that feels wrong

Best regards,
Toby

[Peter Chamberlain]

printerlight
and copy n paste of a single node

The mini panel copy/paste acts on the selected nodes.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Paul = the Mini panel will always need power from the mains, Ethernet or battery so I'm not sure from your msg if you had a power cable when you tried the USB. We have tested it with a SuperMicro on Windows 10 and Linux and its was ok.

Hi Peter,

i have the same problem as paul has. On my workstation the panel is connected to USB3 and works fine with a power cord connected but wont work without the power cable.....

Best regards,
Toby

I'm confused by your statement. You need a power source, the mini is not USB powered.

Paul = the Mini panel will always need power from the mains, Ethernet or battery so I'm not sure from your msg if you had a power cable when you tried the USB. We have tested it with a SuperMicro on Windows 10 and Linux and its was ok.

Hi Peter,

i have the same problem as paul has. On my workstation the panel is connected to USB3 and works fine with a power cord connected but wont work without the power cable.....

Best regards,
Toby

I'm confused by your statement. You need a power source, the mini is not USB powered.

Ok, i didn't know that. Maybe because there ist no Handbook / Installation PDF or whatever delivered with it. And if you say it "need's a power source" why is there no cable in the box? Just a USB cable is included.

However, if it is like that it should absolutely have a "power off" button / function. At the moment it runs 24/7 if the power cable is plugged in...

Regards, Toby

The level rings are amazing. I've never felt anything quite as smooth before. The whole panel is very professional. My only disappointment is that the panel does not act as a dongle for the Studio version, at least with the mini. I have a dongle, but it would be nice to have a backup.

For me, the combination of Linux and the mini panel is fabulous. It's ground-breaking. I can't imagine how they can top this at NAB.

Cheers.

The level rings are amazing. I've never felt anything quite as smooth before. The whole panel is very professional. My only disappointment is that the panel does not act as a dongle for the Studio version, at least with the mini. I have a dongle, but it would be nice to have a backup.

For me, the combination of Linux and the mini panel is fabulous. It's ground-breaking. I can't imagine how they can top this at NAB.

Cheers.

with a new big panel......

The level rings are amazing. I've never felt anything quite as smooth before. The whole panel is very professional. My only disappointment is that the panel does not act as a dongle for the Studio version, at least with the mini.

Well, you still need a dongle (Mac/Windows or Linux) to use the full-size Advanced daVinci Control Surface, too, so they're consistent -- though in this case, the dongle comes with the $29,995 panel.

Two thoughts from someone who has not bought the panel, but as the mapping matures i would likely get one, once it's to point that i'm not losing too much from the Artist color that i have mapped for my taste and needs

1 - mapp the rings to exposure / contrast / pivot,
lose tint/temp from the rings and put them back on knobs. i cannot remember tha last time i used the tint/temp functions... actualy i can, it was the version before they were broken, when i upgraded i had to remove them all and re-grade the show, and have never gone back to touching those controls again... where i use exposure/contrast/pivot on every single shot in every single show every single time...

2 - toggle channels on/off with buttons near the rings
in a thread about L*a*b, i noted how much better the user experince is when one can toggle channels on/off on the surface quickly, but i also use this constantly in Baselight when using filmgrade to ballance a show, and toggleing on/off RGB to use exposure/contrast/pivot to ballance a shot is a huge time saver, the only (and rather slow and cludgy) workaround in Resolve is to use splitter combiner node -or- mutiple serial node in either workflow

thanks for listening

if I have to choose, for the offset mode i like

offsets (left)
contrast (middle, with rgb contrast in the ball)
highlight recover left ring, and the ball has two function: pivot point and strength.

similar to baselight film mode, i understand that it mean add a new function, the (highlight/shadow) functions are too broad at this point.

i can time a whole movie with those settings...

How about mapping the rings to shuttle, slip, slide, etc., while in edit? They don't do anything at that point.

Cheers.

if I have to choose, for the offset mode i like

offsets (left)
contrast (middle, with rgb contrast in the ball)
highlight recover left ring, and the ball has two function: pivot point and strength.

similar to baselight film mode, i understand that it mean add a new function, the (highlight/shadow) functions are too broad at this point.

i can time a whole movie with those settings...

by pivot on the left ball, i'm assumeing you mean master pivot? If these options came to be, i'd be very pleased...

just got my mini, LOVE it. moving from Elements, its a huge improvement. (and a lot quieter - clack clack clack!) Been a while since I was on the full size panels, but I feel like the mini makes more sense - does much/most of the advanced for a 10th the price.
be neat if they added a side panel with more dedicated buttons/knobs but this will do fine.

I do miss:
disable all nodes
reset / keep nodes
reset / delete nodes
add/delete node dynamic keyframes (I see you can add/delete tracker keyframes which is nice)

numbered button 1-15, user plus number chooses that node

in offset mode:
it would be great if rings/balls controlled offset/pivot/contrast while tint/temp was available on soft knobs.
having these 5 tools all up at the same time for grading log footage.

but overall such a crazy nice piece of gear. and a free travel case included!

oh and by the way, I run a mac and a pc resolve - pugged the mini into my ethernet hub and it immediately connected and I can switch back and forth between the two computers and the panel follows. that's cool.

First ... great job BMD team. This is a MUCH desired product and very well built.

Some thoughts in the first week:

Display screen brightness - would be nice to dim the screens. In a proper grading suite, they are too bright.
Apply still
Display screen auto-sleep or power off
Would be nice to be able to slide a control point on custom curves with a knob along the null point line and then make an adjustment
Primary Wheels default option rather than bars
Missing outside node - Very important and frequently use function

Future: add-on ethernet connected modular panels that would have more options like memory buttons and other popular functions that you cannot add onto the existing panel

I don't use the log controls very often (usually just to fix a shot), but I do like how easy it is to switch back and forth between primaries and log controls and being aware of which mode you're in. It's easier than on the Advanced panel.

yes the ability to select points on all curves (previous/next point) then adjust with position and amplitude soft knobs.

this is basically achievable going back and forth with the preset colors and input hue knob if you want to set up a yellow/green hue vs hue point for instance, but kind of clunky.

so add new or select existing point.
then move the point left/right - up/down (xy axis). by soft knobs, left/right arrows, even balls and rings?

I'm a bit confused on how switching between PRIMARY, LOG and OFFSET tools is supposed to work.
sometimes the trackball buttons follow, sometimes they don't, both log and offset trackball buttons can be active at the same time, but offset seems to take precedent when this happens.
from what I can tell, the trackballs offset button is the one not following rules?
happening on both mac and windows, ethernet.

I'm a bit confused on how switching between PRIMARY, LOG and OFFSET tools is supposed to work.
sometimes the trackball buttons follow, sometimes they don't, both log and offset trackball buttons can be active at the same time, but offset seems to take precedent when this happens..

I think the idea of allowing Log and Offset to be lit at the same time is to serve as a reminder that when you toggle out from Offset, you go back to Log mode. If Log is not Lit, you go back to the usual Primaries mode. I like the lit Log button, as whenever I used Log mode on the Advanced panels, I ALWAYS would forget which mode I was in. Very annoying.

i will implement tap/hold to some functions, for example:

we have copy and paste. why not just one button: hold will copy abs tap will paste...

ok I finally have to ask. what the hell does abs mean?

ok I finally have to ask. what the hell does abs mean?

*and, my autocorrector keep remind me of my flabby stomach...

Ahhhh ok. Been confusing me for weeks.
Tell your auto correct to try to find time to work out

Anyone know whether the POE on the Mini Panel is to power it, or provide power, or both?

Cheers.

Anyone know whether the POE on the Mini Panel is to power it, or provide power, or both?

Cheers.

If your switch supports POE, it should power the panel. I found out my switch doesn't.

I have a POE inserter, and it doesn't seem to power the mini.

I have a POE inserter, and it doesn't seem to power the mini.

Re-reading my answer from BMD tech support, I see that:

We have encountered some POE ethernet switches that weren't powering on the panels. To be safe, you can get a POE+ switch. These absolutely work.

So apparently it's a bit tricky and doesn't work in all cases.

Wondering if anyone knows how to use the Gallery # 1-15 that are on the common options buttons?
It would also be good on the tracker palette to have the option to switch between Stabilize/Window Tracking/FX.

Having the ability to change the colours of the panel, or the brightness would also be awesome.

But a pretty amazing unit so far.

-Scott

please add "DEB" button to RED raw settings.

oh I do miss the sort timeline mode A/C I had on the elements!
don't know where that would go though...