How to use DaVinci Resolve with HuffYUV or Lagarith AVI files?

[stevevid]

There have been a few suggestions in various threads on DF that DaVinci Resolve is good for color correction. I have had pretty good success with avisynth and VirtualDub on most of my video clips, but there are a few clips I can't seem to get the color to come out the way it should be.

I just installed the free version of DaVinci Resolve 15 on a Win 10 based laptop. Resolve is up and running without crashing, but I am unable to get it to recognize my videos. I have tried a couple of different avi videos. The first video is originally from a highly butchered and compressed film capture that is now stored as a Lagarith YUV 4:2:0 video. The second video is straight from a VHS capture that MediaInfo shows as "YUV 4:2:2 as for UYVY but with different component ordering within the u_int32 macropixel". This came from a USB 600 capture device.

Seems like the video formats need to be changed for Resolve--true? The Blackmagic forum had very little information on videos compressed with something like Lagarith. What there was seemed to indicate a conversion is needed and software from HDCinematics would be good to use. HDCinematics software seems like a frontend for ffmpeg.

Anyone have success usiing Resolve with avi-based lossless videos?

[ELinder]

Resolve is very limited when it comes to AVI codecs, even if they are installed on your system, and you can't add codecs to Resolve. Here's the current list. http://documents.blackmagicdesign.co...Codec_List.pdf

Grab Virtualdub2, which has FFMpeg file support built in. With that you can export your avi's to the FFMpeg version of QT ProRes of whatever flavor and quality you'd like to use for the final color grading. The free Windows Resolve can import those file formats.

Erich

[stevevid]

Thank you very much! It looks like I'm off to use uncompressed or QT. It's interesting that Resolve can decode QT ProRes but it can't encode it in Windows.

[sanlyn]

DaVinci isn't likely to be the color correction cure-all you think it will be. Using it and similar apps involves a considerable learning curve, extensive color theory knowledge, and patience. Anyone who uses advanced color apps the same way they would use a $50 budget editor is kidding themselves and wasting the technology. You seem to be the conscientious type who would figure out how to put something like DaVinci to good use, so don't get me wrong. Buy you'll need to know a lot about color, both technically and intuitively, or you'll be driving yourself up the wall. DaVinci's app will tell you how to twiddle with the controls, but it won't teach anyone about color.

You'll need this: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Correct...language=en_US

[lordsmurf]

Like anything else video, color correction has a learning curve, and requires patience and trial&error.
And many ways to interpret success.

[ELinder]

Yes, Resolve, especially the new version 15, is a huge program that can have a steep learning curve. Blackmagic Design is putting out a Learning Series of books which cover many parts of the program. The first 2 books are already available and in Kindle form with downloadable practice media and only cost $5.99 and $2.99, which is a steal.

The Definitive Guide to DaVinci Resolve 15
Fairlight Audio Post with DaVinci Resolve 15
Advanced Editing with DaVinci Resolve 15
Color Correction with DaVinci Resolve 15
Fusion Visual Effects with DaVinci Resolve 15

[stevevid]

Thanks for the additional information.

Yeah, I'm still a noob when it comes to color correction. I've studied various short tutorials on the subject and I'm a bit better than I was, but I have a long way to go. Using Color Sampler helped quite a bit. I wish my father was still around. He could have shown me the way. He spent over 50 years as an amateur and professional photographer shooting thousands of photos and winning many awards for his prints at photo salons across the country. After I finish digitizing family 8mm & 16mm film and VHS tapes I hope to digitize the thousands of slides my dad took. Wow, the wall of work seems very large again with my slow progress.

Thanks for all the help I have been getting,
Steve

[ELinder]

Blackmagic Design now offers the books as a free .pdf download from their website. They also just relasesd the next book, the Collor Correction book.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/pro...solve/training

Erich

[ELinder]

BMD has released the free Advanced Editing with DaVinci Resolve course book.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/pro...solve/training

Erich