Super-white and sub-black values aren't preserved in renders

DaVinci Resolve used to support rendering of super-white and sub-black values using video data levels for several different codecs. For example it was specified for ProRes 4444 in the release notes for v12.5.4 and it worked as advertised.

Now it seems it only works using floating point-capable formats like DPX and EXR. Tested on Windows and Mac.

I regularly receive ProRes files rendered in Premiere which contains super-whites (shot on Canon cameras) and it would be nice to have the same capability in Resolve once again. Has this been removed by design or is it a bug?

Issue persists in Beta 2.

This time I also tested the Media Management > Transcode feature. That's a case where it is essential that super-white and sub-black values are preserved if present like in Adobe and Apple applications.

In earlier versions H.264 rendering included super black and whites I can confirm this is broken/modified in release 15.

I think the best solution is to add a check box to the render settings saying "include super whites and blacks", this setting would obviously only apply if the data levels are video.

Easy to reproduce, create an SMPTE color bar in a compound clip and render H.264 at video levels. Load back in Resolve and the "pluge" is clipped. In earlier versions it was not clipped.

In addition to a checkbox in the render setting the same would be useful for optimized media and transcoding functionality.

While super whites and blacks should obviously not exist in destination codecs some cameras produce video containing super whites, also there may be a need to retain those values for instance for intermediates and processing or archiving of legacy videos.

A workaround I have always used is to apply an unclipped full-to-legal scale using DCTL in a track node, and then render as Data levels instead of Video.

A workaround I have always used is to apply an unclipped full-to-legal scale using DCTL in a track node, and then render as Data levels instead of Video.

+100

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My full to legal DCTL is posted here.

Thanks! I tried it and it works as intended. Good to have in the toolbox.

I don't see any way of using DCTLs in the Media Management feature though. I guess I have to force Data Levels to "Full" in Clip Attributes on those clips.

But the main issue is I can't deliver back to the client what they have given me. If I have done some VFX on shots and Resolve is somewhere in the pipeline they expect to receive a ProRes file that behaves exactly like the one they gave me. I would gladly give them EXRs instead but that's not what they or their colorist want. They don't need super-whites just for the sake of it, it's just because all the other shots on the show are shot with cameras delivering super-whites. So it's mainly for consistency in their workflow.

Here is the solution, in Resolve 15 beta 3:

super-white-black.jpg (58.73 KiB) Viewed 3616 times

Yes, I just saw it in the release notes. Will try some codecs!

Wow. It works for almost all the codecs I've tried. And more importantly, it also works from the Media Management tool. Well done!