Blackmagic Design has done it again. After releasing its URSA Mini Pro 12K, which we reviewed, the company blew our heads back with its latest release of DaVinci Resolve 17. During a live stream event, Blackmagic detailed everything new, and while there were substantial updates to the color page, the cut, edit, and Fairlight audio pages received the biggest bumps in functionality, including new hardware that seamlessly pairs with the software. Better yet, Blackmagic has made Collaboration available for free for both DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio.  

Key Features

DaVinci Resolve 17 Features

  • Next generation HDR color correction with customizable wheels and tonal zones
  • Mesh and grid-based color warper delivers an entirely new way to transform color
  • Magic mask automatic object isolation powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine
  • Improved color management with tone mapping and color space aware tools
  • Massive DaVinci wide gamut color space for higher quality image processing
  • High-speed audio editing with new keyboard and mouse context-sensitive tools
  • Fairlight Audio Core engine with auto load balancing and support for 2,000 tracks
  • Revolutionary FlexBus architecture for audio routing without limitations
  • Automatic transient detection for beats, words, and sound effects
  • Support for massive audio projects with thousands of tracks on a single system
  • Metadata based card view in media pool on cut page
  • Precision audio trimming on the cut page timeline and graphical trimmer
  • Smart reframe powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine on cut and edit pages
  • Live effect, title, and transition previews on cut and edit pages
  • Import and edit projects from ATEM Mini Pro ISO
  • Proxy media workflows up to 1/16th resolution in H.264, H.265, ProRes or DNxHR
  • Timeline based clip syncing to create multicam and compound clips
  • Alpha support for keying and compositing on cut and edit pages
  • Render in-place command for effects-heavy clips on cut and edit timelines
  • Make source side adjustments before editing clips into the timeline
  • Portable timeline and bin files for easy sharing
  • Native interlace processing and realtime 3:2 pulldown removal
  • Node tree bookmarks, customizable Fusion toolbar, and vertical node layouts.
  • Support for growing files in media pool
  • Support for frame-based metadata for BRAW, ARRI, RED, Sony and EXR
  • Workflow integration API and third-party encoder API

Here's what's new according to Blackmagic Design: 

Resolve17_1

Color Page

HDR Tools 
The HDR grading palette lets you create new color wheels with custom roll off for specific tonal ranges, giving you more creative control to make fine adjustments. The wheels include exposure and saturation controls for each zone. They’re color space aware so you get perceptually uniform results.

Color Warper
The mesh-based warping tool lets you adjust two color parameters at once. You can adjust both hue and saturation or chroma and luma. Adjustments are made by dragging control points, with smooth falloff for clean, natural-looking adjustments. It’s an entirely new way to transform color in your images

Target Grading with Magic Mask 
Selecting and tracking people for targeted correction has never been easier! Magic mask uses the DaVinci Neural Engine to automatically create masks for an entire person or specific features such as face or arms. You get matte finesse tools, the ability to add and remove strokes and automatic tracking. 

Better Color Management 
DaVinci Resolve color management adds features to simplify your workflow and improve image quality. You get wide gamut image processing, new input and output tone mapping, and color space aware tools that provide for a more consistent response while grading and greatly improved image quality. 

Better Scopes 
You can now open multiple versions of the same scope, set customizable waveform scales, create 3x3 layouts, and open a separate scope window on a second display. You could open 3 vectorscopes, set to different tonal and zoom ranges, allowing you to simultaneously see shadows, midtones, and highlights.

Wipe Modes 
New diagonal, Venetian blind and checkerboard wipes provide additional flexibility for comparing images in different ways. A new split-screen mode for comparing up to four playheads from the timeline is useful for comparing multiple clips or for comparing different frames within the same clip.

Fairlight

Fairlight Page 

Mix 2,000 tracks in real-time 
Fairlight Audio Core is a low latency, next-generation audio engine that intelligently manages workload by using all CPU cores and threads, as well as the optional Fairlight Audio Accelerator card. You get up to 2,000 tracks, each with real-time EQ, dynamics, and 6 plug-ins, all on a single system. 

Detect and Display Transients
The new transient analysis tool automatically detects individual words, beats, or sound effects! Transient markers are displayed as vertical lines in the waveform. You can navigate between them using the arrow keys. Transient markers make it easy to identify specific parts of a sound for editing. 

Live Video Previews 
The viewer now tracks your movements around the timeline, scrolling as you slide clips, markers, or drawing ranges, which allow you to use the video as a reference. Additionally, you can draw ranges and drag clips and markers out of the viewable range with the timeline scrolling intelligently with you.

Automation Follow Edits 
Automation lets you record virtually any parameter change over time. There’s a new option that allows automation to follow edit changes. That means when you trim, move, or edit any clip, the automation you’ve recorded will follow it. You can make last-minute edits while still maintaining your mix. 

Resolve_cut

Cut Page

Trim Against Audio Waveforms
You can now see larger audio waveforms while trimming! When you click the audio trim button, large waveforms will replace the filmstrip in the lower timeline. This makes it incredibly easy to see where dialog starts and stops so you can trim exactly where you want without wasting time

Smart Reframe for Social Media
Now you can edit in 16:9 HD or Ultra HD and quickly create square or vertical versions for posting to Instagram and other apps. The DaVinci Neural Engine automatically identifies faces and repositions them inside the new frame so you don’t have to do it manually. You can even fine-tune the results. 

Updated Clip Inspector
While the viewer tool strip is great for quick adjustments, the inspector lets you access virtually all audio and video settings, metadata, RAW image controls, and more. You can quickly switch between groups of settings using the tabs at the top. Settings can be animated using the diamond keyframe buttons.

Edit

Edit Page

Easily Sync Multicam Clips
It’s now easier to create synchronized multicam clips. Simply stack clips on the timeline and use the new "auto align" tool to sync based on timecode or waveform. You can also manually move clips into position to create a sync map. Timelines can be converted into a multicam clip or a compound clip. 

Render in Place 
The render in place command lets you generate render files for any portion of the timeline. Once rendered, you can move, edit, and trim without having to re-render. Render files can be created in any format and saved wherever you want. Unlike cache files, render files are easy to manage and portable. 

Scene Cut Detection 
Scene cut analysis can now be performed on both the cut and edit pages. It’s the fastest way to cut up long clips that you need to re-edit or color grade when you don’t have the original source files. The DaVinci Neural Engine analyzes the images, finds the edit points, and cuts up the clip for you. 

Fusion-page

Fusion Page

Automatically Retime Animation 
Animation curve modifiers let you easily stretch or squish keyframes and add bounce, mirror, or loop animations that automatically change when the duration of the composition changes. When you drop Fusion titles or effects onto the timeline and change its duration, the animation adjusts accordingly. 

Customize Templates
Fusion effect templates let you create any effect imaginable and apply them to clips on the edit and cut pages. Simply build a composition, save it as a macro, define the parameters you want to make visible, and save it in the correct location. Just drag Fusion effect from the library onto any clip. 

GPU Accelerated Resolve FX
The Fusion page has 27 new GPU accelerated Resolve FX. This includes the color page’s noise reduction and sharpening tools, along with lens blur, light effects, color effects, revival image restoration tools, and more. You also get texture and stylize, temporal effects, warping, and beauty tools.

Collab

Collaboration 

In addition to the updates above the only scratch the surface of what's made available, Blackmagic Design has made Collaboration absolutely free for both Studio and non-Studio users. The tool is ideal for anyone working with teams in remote locations. With DaVinci Resolve 17, there are even more possibilities among teams and creative workflows. 

You download DaVinci Resolve 17 for free here. 

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