- Posts: 84
- Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2019 12:13 pm
- Location: Ireland
- Real Name: Robin Parmar
Related threads have got me thinking of how Blackmagic might enhance functionality on platforms other than MacOS. Let me begin by outlining some facts.
1. Apple systems, with their integrated memory usage, can allocate as much RAM as needed to graphics functions. The result is that these computers can easily edit high resolution (above 4K) files without a problem. So long as you have 16 GB, you are good to go.
2. Windows users regularly get "Your GPU memory is full" errors if they do not have enough memory on their Nvidia [edit] graphics card. For example, 64 GB RAM might well go mostly unused, while 8GB on the GPU limits editing to 4K. Since you cannot easily add more GPU memory, this is a "hard limit" that forces users to upgrade to (very) expensive hardware.
3. The Studio version might improve performance in certain cases, but doesn't change the basic architectural problem.
4. I don't known anything about Resolve on Linux, but I imagine it's the same situation as Windows.
5. Other NLEs use the CPU for graphics functions and hence are not limited in the same way. This can make Resolve look bad by comparison, depending on the task. (A recent thread reports that even Shotcut, a free program, performs tasks Resolve cannot handle.)
6. Admittedly, performance on the GPU is faster than performance on the CPU, given today's hardware. But sometimes speed isn't everything. A slow render is better than a failed render.
Now my conclusion.
Blackmagic should innovate their code base, allowing graphics functions, especially those that are GPU accelerated by default, to use system RAM if there is not enough GPU RAM. Resolve would then lose its disadvantages vs. other software, and non-Mac systems would be on par with Apple computers regarding this functionality.
The cost barrier for high resolution editing would disappear. User frustration would decrease. All those tech support calls about "memory is full" errors would be a thing of the past.
This could be a huge marketing win.
1. Apple systems, with their integrated memory usage, can allocate as much RAM as needed to graphics functions. The result is that these computers can easily edit high resolution (above 4K) files without a problem. So long as you have 16 GB, you are good to go.
2. Windows users regularly get "Your GPU memory is full" errors if they do not have enough memory on their Nvidia [edit] graphics card. For example, 64 GB RAM might well go mostly unused, while 8GB on the GPU limits editing to 4K. Since you cannot easily add more GPU memory, this is a "hard limit" that forces users to upgrade to (very) expensive hardware.
3. The Studio version might improve performance in certain cases, but doesn't change the basic architectural problem.
4. I don't known anything about Resolve on Linux, but I imagine it's the same situation as Windows.
5. Other NLEs use the CPU for graphics functions and hence are not limited in the same way. This can make Resolve look bad by comparison, depending on the task. (A recent thread reports that even Shotcut, a free program, performs tasks Resolve cannot handle.)
6. Admittedly, performance on the GPU is faster than performance on the CPU, given today's hardware. But sometimes speed isn't everything. A slow render is better than a failed render.
Now my conclusion.
Blackmagic should innovate their code base, allowing graphics functions, especially those that are GPU accelerated by default, to use system RAM if there is not enough GPU RAM. Resolve would then lose its disadvantages vs. other software, and non-Mac systems would be on par with Apple computers regarding this functionality.
The cost barrier for high resolution editing would disappear. User frustration would decrease. All those tech support calls about "memory is full" errors would be a thing of the past.
This could be a huge marketing win.
Last edited by robin0112358 on Sat Jan 22, 2022 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Robin Parmar
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robinparmar.com | theatreofnoise.com | stolenmirror.com