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Eventually, as you add more and more effects and corrections, you’ll reach the limits of available performance, forcing DaVinci Resolve to either drop frames, or play video at a slower speed in order to maintain high image quality, shown by the red FPS indicator.
When real time performance falls short, DaVinci Resolve provides a variety of controls and options that let you enhance real time playback and effects. Each is useful for different situations, and all can work together so you can choose the best trade-off between image quality and performance while you work. All of these methods can be set up to have no effect on your delivered output.
Prioritizing Audio or Video Playback in the Edit Page
When available processing power is insufficient to play the clip or clips at the position of the playhead due to the grade, transforms, or effects that are applied at that moment in the Timeline, you have the ability to choose exactly how performance in DaVinci Resolve degrades, by turning the “Show All Video Frames” on or off in the Option menu of the Edit page Viewers.
— Show All Video Frames off: The default setting, ideal for video editing. Prioritizes audio playback at the expense of dropping video frames when processing power is tight, resulting in a more conventional playback experience.
— Show All Video Frames on: An alternate setting that’s ideal when you’re doing effects work, for which you need to see every single frame play back, sequentially. Audio quality is compromised while every frame of video plays in slower-than-real-time, if necessary, to maintain playback.
Keep in mind that this setting only affects playback when GPU performance is lacking. In areas of the Timeline where performance is adequate, playback remains uncompromised.
Performance Mode Improves Overall Performance
Performance Mode, which is found in the Playback Settings of the User Preferences, analyzes your computer’s configuration, the CPU, GPU, connected video interface, and so on, and automatically tunes DaVinci Resolve’s under-the-hood image processing settings to provide the best interactivity on your machine. It’s set to Automatic by default, although you can choose to adjust its effect manually, or disable it altogether. When enabled, Performance Mode dramatically improves the experience of editing, mixing, and grading on less powerful computers.
While Performance Mode is turned on, DaVinci Resolve still outputs to video, renders in the Delivery page, and processes via the Media Management command at the highest quality. As a result, using Performance Mode makes no compromise in the quality of your output, so creative editors and audio mixers can leave this setting on always.