DaVinci Resolve BEST Export Settings Explained! 18.6 UPDATE

DaVinci Resolve 18.6 is here, and it brings a CRUCIAL new feature for exports! So it's time to finally go over EVERYTHING you need to know about #resolve export settings!
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SAMPLE EXPORT - • Render Test (Mac H265 ...
Timecodes:
00:00 Resolve 18.6 is AMAZING!
00:42 Cache, Scratch & Export Locations
01:55 Project Settings Optimizations
02:50 STOP USING MP4
03:30 Container/Format Choice
04:13 Codec Choice
05:12 Resolve 18.6 Free Encoder Selection Issues?
06:03 KZbin takes ANY codec!
06:39 Quality Settings!
07:08 Mac Quality Optimization
07:27 Network Optimization?
07:55 10-bit!
09:43 Multi-pass encode?
10:28 Advanced Settings
11:12 Subtitles & Chapters
11:58 STOP uploading 1080p to KZbin!
13:04 Vertical & Square Formats
13:26 NEW Audio Exporting MAGIC
15:18 Where to Export renders
16:25 Free Downloads!
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[@orangespill]

Brilliant. Finally someone making an export video with some genuine knowledge behind it. Thanks so much...

[@keishakikilafleur]

THIS WAS AWESOME. I Watched a million videos and not one person gave the these export setting in such a way that made you feel like you understood the what and why for most of the features.

[@ShravanParthasarathy]

As someone who just transitioned from Premiere to Resolve, this video is SUPER useful. Thank you!

[@livinghero]

Thank you! I always look forward to your deep dives on programs I use!

[@davidpikedesigns]

I was working on a video for my KZbin channel, and I wanted to say thanks for creating this video. It is so easy to just click the EposVox preset I created in DaVinci Resolve when I'm ready to export my video. Your video was so helpful. Thanks again!

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

those are some nice features! Looks like I’m gonna upgraded to the studio version. Between the subtitles, transcription stuff, and these export settings, it’s worth it.

[@TheChartreuseLeprechaun]

Thanks for this! Been waiting to upgrade! So much good stuff! Again, thanks for the coverage!!

[@mystifyingentity]

Hey, I was checking out Davinci Resolve again after using it a few times before. I didn't really know what all the extra settings did, but your explanation was super clear! I realize now that I wasn't using the export features to their full potential.

[@AndieNow]

Whoaaaa thank you!!! seeing an instant change upload speed and quality. Subscribed!!

[@no_categories]

oh wow. I've been jonesin' for an easier way to normalize audio for KZbin for EVER! I never even knew that feature was added and I'm so happy to have it now. Thanks for the demo of all these good settings.

[@IchBinDerJesko]

This is all I was looking for. Great video...finally I know what to set everything with a good reasoning behind it

[@hareblix]

I tried your export settings and they've made such a huge difference. File sizes are way down and upload speeds are up. Thanks for this fam!

[@unfriendme8236]

r u using mac or no?

[@hareblix]

@@unfriendme8236 Nope

[@adam_tarantino]

Looking forward to using these suggestions on my next video! Definitely interested in the audio normalization. I typically would upload a test render and compare the content loudness dB to more popular creators so I know my loudness is on par with those.

[@TwinzEdiTz]

if you find it easier, in resolve, you can export everything on your timeline, in the fairlight page, as one audio file, once that file is rendered then you can right-click, analyze audio, to get the respective LUFS and Truepeak you are looking for, which youtube is -14 LUFS and -1 dbTP

[@michellelynnmartin]

Thank you for this! I just made my first ever KZbin video and this was so helpful to understand the export settings and get my video out there. Thanks for sharing!

[@ForesightJo]

Thank you for communicating this stuff so well!

[@HVYCHKNRADIO]

Thanks for the video I’ve been using Resolve after the update and you explained the export settings impeccably.

[@GamerHeavenOfficial]

Very helpful, thank you.

[@ImnotAbelsuni34]

Thank you so much! I just started learning Resolve, and this helped a lot.

[@caveman3703]

Such a great video, super in depth and exactly what I need. I am just as obsessed as you are with quality :D

[@BenjaminBjurstrom]

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for a making the preset available. Just used it and it turned out great!

[@collinausbury]

Insanely helpful thank you brother. Subbed.

[@tripparian8913]

Amazing video! Thanks for explaining the whys! Great content!

[@tailaihaha]

thank u sir! Very informational! Helps me a lot on what these settings exactly are! Appreciate it!

[@rickclise.creative]

Wow! Excellent content and tutorial. Thanks very much for sharing.

[@AranFever]

Excellent explaining, thank you!

[@jeromelightbody5155]

This is such a beautiful video definitely, will be sharing this

[@travflame]

Thank you a lot, this helped me to maximize the quality of my videos. Good stuff!

[@Eddy04tv]

I will definitely going to try this out. Thank you Adam.

[@gster109]

Perfect information as always !!

[@CrashGame]

Thank you! These give me great results!

[@EnCoreLabTV]

Thank you very much for your tips. I will apply them right from my nearest rendering.

[@Eofold]

This video helped me so much! Thank you so so much in return. I really appreciate your work.

[@Redfoetus]

Thank you so much for this video dude ! 🔥

[@joshuau.]

Very helpful! Thank you!

[@BigThingsTour]

Thanks Heaps Great Video Lots of great info!!

[@Helio4k]

Great Video as Usual, Thank you for the presets :)

[@_fluxreversal]

YES!!!! So timely for me as I am dealing with this right now!

[@timothybolden9955]

Thanks for the vid! In the transition from premiere to Davinci. This helps a lot!

[@TheHeruJourney]

Man, that was so helpful. Subscribed and liked, highly deserved! Keep'em coming please.

[@EposVox]

Thanks, will do!

[@TheHeruJourney]

@@EposVox Can I ask what settings do you recommend for KZbin, in Project Settings > Color Management? Thanks!

[@RogerEngland]

Wow, impressive video! Thank you.

[@Hazardteam]

This is a very useful video. And concise.

[@AxeRugby]

Mate this was class. thankyou, would pay for your tutorial when it comes out.

[@RandomPatDunn]

awesome tips with the storage locations! SUBBED UP!

[@EposVox]

Thanks for the sub!

[@YoPeteyYoPetey]

Amazing and super useful thank you so much for this 🤩🤩🤩🙌🙌🙌

[@PatchRowcester]

Thank you very much for this. I appreciate it.

[@CharonFaustinus]

Network Optimization is basically faststart option in ffmpeg, it'll move "moov atom" to the beginning of the file. So having moov atom at the beginning of the file have a benefit with no impact of file size and quality. For example, when you upload it to KZbin, your video will get process instantly *while you're still uploading* This is because moov atom contains information about your video such as resolution, frame rate, and other information that require mp4 or mov container to function. (There are a lot of details about how mp4 container works. I'm not going to write it all in here.) This is the same reason why OBS said when you choose mp4 for recording format that the file will corrupt if there's BSOD or power outage. Because moov atom usually write at the end of the file in the finalizing process when you press stop recording. When there's BSOD the moov atom didn't finalize and result in the corrupted file.

[@EposVox]

Yup

[@Sopotastic]

Best video ever super informative 🎉🎉🎉 thanks man

[@ElieHaykal]

Very informative video. Thank you for giving great tips for us who upload videogame content.

Great tutorial!

[@marcinkochanowski2955]

Thanks, this is very useful

[@Ishimuro]

So much great information! Going to try the switch from Premiere to davinci next year and will come back to this video xD

[@KRLAs]

really helpful video. thanks

[@steviehowie]

This is GREAT info! Thank you thank you :) I might suggest turning down some of your film grain and the extreme blue hue on the video, but tons of great knowledge in here.

[@madkingalger]

Hey Epos, great video as always! Been a long time viewer (just subscribed on this account, as I didn't even realize I wasn't already), and I wanted to touch base with you regarding some information you have in this video and an older video of yours. To preface, I currently stream on twitch and don't do much editing, but use DVR to cut up my streams into slightly smaller videos to upload as VODs to YT. In your previous OBS 29.1 BETA video, you stated with the new lossless audio encoders, you would be recording using Fragmented MOV (once it works), Nvidia NVENC HEVC, and 32 bit PCM. I have been using these settings to record/ stream at the same time and the quality has been superb and great for editing in DVR, but due to me streaming 5+ hours twice a week, it generates MASSIVE file sizes (some being 100+ GB), and storage has been rough. To get to the point of my comment, you mention in this video that you should render your videos in 1440p or 4k due to how YT encodes/renders 1080p footage. Are the settings you listed in your OBS video the best settings necessary to ensure that the final upscaled render quality has the least amount of issues (artifacting, noise, etc.)? Or are those settings extreme overkill for doing something like recording at the same time as streaming? To add to this, I currently stream at 936p (as I've seen many videos stating it is less resource heavy for single PC set ups and is more optimal for fast paced content) and record at 1080p with your above preset. I understand that I could easily set my OBS recording video encoder to the stream encoder in order to save resources as I am on a single PC set up, but I am unsure how to physically test the pros/cons of each encoder, and what that would mean for my overall work flow. Without having to make you pool over my pc specs, how would you go about optimizing the video quality to system intensity ratio from recording/streaming in OBS to upscaling in DVR? Is having separate streaming/recording settings completely suboptimal for my use case? Sorry for the long essay, I am sure you are very busy and hope this long comment doesn't come across as too much, but thank you again for the video and any insight you may have! (P.S., I would love to know if you have any recommendations for programs/systems that can help compress these massive file sizes, as my external hard drive can only handle so much lol)

[@L0rDLuCk]

thank you so much!!

[@RedTheCactus]

Ty, this helped!

[@meronmountains7052]

Thank you so much for making this video! I'm very new to Davinci. I've spent two weeks learning how to edit my project and now I am finally ready to export it! I've watched soooo many KZbin tutorials on the correct export settings that my head is spinning! I just want to make simple videos for KZbin using Iphone 15 camera. (No ProRes or Raw footage) I am not worried about mega quality, just want it to be decent and keep the file small and render time fast. (I'm using a MacBookPro.) Thanks for the extra tip about Audio Normalization: KZbin Mode....got that box checked! Hoping your setting will work for me.

[@JordanKobeVideos]

thank you so much!

[@SEEK2FLY]

New subscriber here, This is gold dude thanks so much.

[@EposVox]

Thanks for subscribing!

[@BrandonBurch]

This is super useful 🎉 DR 18.6 FTW!

[@beyond_xen]

Thanks!

[@JoshuaTreeWorkshopsVideos]

Thank you!

[@SpitfireSpud]

This was a great video. When you say Automatic for best results etc... Is this the same for HDR content too?? As I normally set my Encoding Profile to Main 4:4:4 10 or Main 4:2:2 10, I can't remember off the top which one. Cheers! Also, when you are not using the inspector, you normally have 2 preview windows, which one is the best for getting an idea of what it will look like after render? or is the Render/Deliver page the best place to get a real preview of what it will look like. Thanks.

[@silveresquire]

Very informative

[@ShishaWG]

Unfortunately i dont have the AV1 on my Mac but i am able to export Quicktime h265 with Main 4:2:2 10 - going to try that - Thank you for all the work you put into this :)

[@zombecreative]

thank you for explaining 18.6, I've put it off until now

[@ProducerMode]

thanks for this post

[@cliffotv]

That audio part is great. But if you go into project settings, fairlight, you can change the loudness level to the -14 there before exporting so all your levels are already what KZbin has

[@footballtalk4857]

Yes you can but with this is just easier instead of going into Fairlight and than doing it that both are great, I've use to go into Fairlight and do it but now I got an easier way.

[@AGuyCommenting]

Right on! That’s pretty cool how much ya can do to ensure your videos are in best quality. For the exporting in 10-bit, I’m curious to wonder if there’d be any quality difference if the source footage was recorded in 8-bit? Other than that though, really nice tips!

[@goshorts]

There won't be any quality increase since the original clip was 8-bit. 10-bit export will only create a larger file.

[@MoChuang343]

Thank you

[@Camo_Corey]

Great video thanks! I have a question that's a bit off topic, but I was wondering should we also save our OBS gameplay etc as QuickTime as well and what birate do you recommend recording 2560x1440 60fps at? Thanks in advance.

[@MathNerdGamer]

I typically export DNxHR and then use ffmpeg to encode after-the-fact. It's actually very easy to set up all the latest and fanciest ffmpeg features using the media autobuild suite, and this completely bypasses any export issues I used to have with Resolve.

[@EposVox]

Sounds good for the free version, but would be mostly wasted effort for Studio users

[@Drakoviche]

First off great video very informative! Just wondering for my case I am doing gaming content / live streams and I was wondering if when I edit it, should I do 4k 30 fps or 2k 59.9 fps or 60 fps? Mostly high motion action style games through obs

[@mstgames7572]

nice info

[@quietlyworking]

👏Always a great day when you show up in my feed! Plus I always learn something new. 💪👊🙏

[@__Nicholas__]

These are the best by far

[@0_demented_0.]

thanks for audio tips its useful for noobs who dont know how to work with sound!

[@metacouture]

Thank You 🙏 for this work 🙏🙏🙏 ~ stefan

[@theirregular013]

These are good tips. I'm using DaVinci for color grading and Vegas for rendering. I uploaded both a 4k h264 and 4k h265 video to test on youtube and they came back visually identical. Note I'm editing anime and gameplay footage captured in 1440p. Gonna stick to h264 for speed/efficiency tradeoff for the same results. Will however be switching to flac instead of aac for maximum uncompressed input for yt.

[@itskraz3yivanhere850]

Great video - well informative - enjoyed it. Tweaked a setting or two as a result. One question - if I want Davinci to be part of my projects pipeline i.e. its output is going back to be used by another program ( in this case AVISynth) would I be best served with sticking to mov and ProRes (and equiv) since I know they work? i definitely want no quality loss. I probably need to have a think about the process tbh as its a bit tennis like from those two programs right now. I start from literally pictures (video exported to 16 bit TIFFs) as I need to photoshop some individual frames. Doing AI upscaling work with 90s SD content is a pain - but getting solid results. Also I really hope Resolve get a proper Rec 601 -- Rec 709 path - having to jump hoops to solve that one (yes there is a difference) Its one thing I would like them to add. Cheers again dude

[@EposVox]

Yeah ProRes or just a lossless/uncompressed AVI export would work. Also Resolve has Color Space Transform effects that should do what you need

[@kayla_b_fit]

Thanks for the great content, watched countless videos that were not nearly as straightforward and actually made my exports worse

[@seraphin01]

Thanks for this video is was perfect, got me subbed first try! Although there is one thing I don't get with my resolve studio: whenever I click generate proxies I noticed everything is done by the cpu, not the gpu for some reason, which is a total bummer especially since I upgraded to a 7800xt and was hoping to get really fast encoding but it's definitely not the case Thanks!

[@JeremyLeech]

I started exporting my 1080p videos to 4k and the quality is way better. The bitrate, everyone says to crank it but automatic does seem to work well. I’ll have to test it some more

[@umushi]

thankyou thankyou thankyou!

[@jbach]

This is fantastic info. I'm no render expert but the only setting I might question is the choice of H.264 for Proxy media format. If using proxies on the timeline won't this cause precision issues at frame level edits? ie is it possible to accurately scrub H.264 or H.265 video?

[@joanharmonize]

The one export setting video that I will be keeping for future reference for sure. Thanks for this buddy! Quick question regarding baking subtitles into the video in the export setting, doesn’t this mean that your video will always have the subtitle when in reality some people may prefer the option to have it turned off? Or have I missed something obvious here?

[@EposVox]

It's still a separate track, just to have in the master. Doesn't show on KZbin - user still has to turn that on in the player

[@adimology]

Hi Epos, I have a question Up until now, I use my SSD to store my footage and put the cache/optimized files on the HDD. it's because I never use a cache because I think it's double the storage usage Why using cache if I can directly edit from my footage on my SSD? and why transcode to DNxHQ from my sony 8bit mp4 footage? is it necessary? Thanks before!

[@GreggMcLachlan]

Fantastic video! I've updated to these settings. One question: what setting do you use for Render > Key frames. I set mine to be Every 1 Frame

[@EposVox]

1 is good

[@oslthom]

All great points. I'll note one point where I'll dare to disagree, specifically exporting final audio in 24bit. 16bit for masters is perfectly sufficient and indistinguishable in audio quality from 24 bit. On the raw recording and processing side you always want 24bit or more for maximum headroom and flexibility, but for the master 16bit is plenty, because everything already sits where it needs to. Please disagree if I'm missing a good reason to export in 24bit.

[@youtubewatcher6933]

6:41 your face and your beard is just like stoicism statue. Experienced and wise. I like it.

[@Delbs1]

Damn, this is dope! I would love to have a similar kind of video for Premiere, as I kinda need it to edit my multi-audio track videos and use Audition integration to delete silences... But nonetheless, this is a great video

[@MaximoJoshua]

great video, learned a ton. quick question, is the grain added for stylistic reasons, or does it help avoid compression blocks? just curious

[@EposVox]

Both!

[@demon6937]

Thank for this i was using the H264 and the rendering time was 3hrs for a 5hr video once I used the H265 the rendering time was drastically lowered to 30mins

[@jaymurray6051]

Great video where’s the export settings located ?

[@GespachoGrande]

Awesome. I've been using Adobe Audition for loudness. Having it included in the rocket panel of DR eliminates that cumbersome extra step.

[@EposVox]

Yup!!

[@EposVox]

Now we just need presets for VSTs etc to save :/

[@digitalcity1]

The Fairlight page in Resolve has had loudness metering for years with all the standards. You didn't need Audition.

[@EposVox]

@@digitalcity1 It had *metering*, not an easy way to automatically normalize the whole mix that way

[@bsv01]

Thank you for this settings. I am not only make better video quality but alsow make faster render because it starts utilising my graphics card for free Davinci!

[@ryantrab]

you're awesome

[@GastonTheStallion]

Appreciate the video. After having recently moved to DVR, I find it less than intuitive for many reasons.. but already knowing the technical baseline helps. I'd love to see a follow-up on AV1 and hardware accelerated encoding for the free version in general. Little bit of a bummer to get that downgrade in 18.6

[@EposVox]

Seems like both AMD and Intel still show it, just some sort of bug for it not to show for Nvidia

[@GastonTheStallion]

@@EposVox I hope you're right ☺️

[@poweroflumens]

saved my life, I had a linear pixel issue after rendering, not anymore

[@jasonzdora]

I was waiting to comment about the lack of PCM audio in MP4. I made a video showing the differences and Im so glad you mentioned that! side note: Why they limit the AAC format to 192kbps on Windows (even on the Studio version) is a mystery to me.

[@GespachoGrande]

I have DR 18.5 Studio on Winbloze and it goes up to 320. Relatively recently though.

[@EposVox]

My Studio still only has 192. Odd

[@Jonathan_Elizer]

same here@@GespachoGrande