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DaVinci Resolve includes a Proxy Media workflow to provide a playback optimization option that makes it easier to exchange projects online, work on projects remotely, and work with external media asset management systems. It creates a simple and flexible system for editing collaboration that can be custom configured to your specific requirements.
Creating and Using Proxy Media
Proxy Media is essentially more highly compressed (and potentially lower resolution) versions of your source media that are linked to your source media in DaVinci Resolve via metadata. This is done in such a way as to make it easy to switch back and forth between the original and proxy media as your needs require.
Typically, this lets you use lower bandwidth proxy media for increased real-time effects performance and full speed playback while editing, while easily reverting back to more bandwidth and processor- intensive source media for color correction, finishing, and final output. In addition to enabling better performance, these proxy files are fully portable, which lets you move your whole project easily from workstation to workstation, and even across the internet, accompanied by much more compact proxy media.
You set the resolution and format of your proxies in the Optimized Media and Render Cache section of the Master Settings panel in the Project Settings. There are two settings that control the actual media files created by the Generate Proxy Media command.
— Proxy Media Resolution: Choose “Original” to keep proxies the same resolution as the source media. If you prefer, reduce the resolution of the proxy media files by choosing Half, Quarter, Eighth, or Sixteenth to save bandwidth. The “Choose Automatically” option balances visual quality with efficiency by only reducing the resolution of media files that are larger than the currently selected Timeline resolution, using whatever reduction ratio best matches the Timeline resolution.
— Proxy Media Format: Lets you choose the specific QuickTime format and codec that the proxy files will be created with. There are several ProRes and DNxHR varieties to chose from, as well as H.264 and H.265 options. Which format you chose will be determined by the bandwidth and quality tradeoffs that you need for a particular project. For example, if you simply want better playback speed from RAW media while preserving image quality, you may want to pick a high- quality codec like ProRes 422 HQ, or DNxHR HQX. If your goal is to send your media across the internet to another editor, you may want to chose a more compressed format, such as ProRes Proxy, or even H.264 or H.265, to keep file sizes small.
The Proxy Media Resolution and Format settings