Best way to convert MKV for use in DaVinci Resolve?

[Beber]

I use Shutter Encoder to encode to Prores so that it's easier and smoother to work on stuff.

Ok I must be doing something wrong I end up with a .mov file that's 4 times bigger than the original .mkv and it won't open in DaVinci.

ProRes does generally go in a .mov container and is going to be much bigger than H.264 in an .mkv but I don't know why you can't get it to work in Resolve

Right. Larger size and mov are to be expected. However you should be able to open that in DaVinci. Maybe try a different kind of Prores. I believe I use high quality 4.2.2 amongst the choices.

[Hitcher]

Maybe try a different kind of Prores. I believe I use high quality 4.2.2 amongst the choices.

I only have Apple ProRes.

[Beber]

Maybe try a different kind of Prores. I believe I use high quality 4.2.2 amongst the choices.

I only have Apple ProRes.

Me too, but in the type selection right next to it, you have more: I think I use 422 HQ.

[Hitcher]

I'm an idiot! The HDD became full during the encoding so it probably wasn't a complete video file.

[Beber]

I'm an idiot! The HDD became full during the encoding so it probably wasn't a complete video file.

I see. Yes, you did not expect the output to be that big. Make some space before you launch the conversion. To give you an idea, when I converted Silence of the Lambs Criterion BD, it came out as a 193 GB "ProRes_422_HQ.mov" file.

[Hitcher]

Just odd that Shutter Encoder never threw up an error and made it look like it had done it's job.

[Hitcher]

Ok got it all working correctly now and have started to learn how to edit videos but have a few follow up questions.

What options do you use when you render your finished project?
And do you run it through Shutter Encode again to make the final MKV?

Thanks.

[pipefan413]

Ok got it all working correctly now and have started to learn how to edit videos but have a few follow up questions.

What options do you use when you render your finished project?
And do you run it through Shutter Encode again to make the final MKV?

Thanks.

I'm currently using Cineform, if you're on Mac you might want to use ProRes, or you could use DNxHR or similar. That'll be 10-bit. I then choose to dither it in AviSynth to get to 8-bit which might be overkill (I don't think most people bother with that) but ultimately it gets run through an encoder like x264 or maybe x265 for delivery. There are threads with encoder settings on Fanres. If you feed an encoder a 10-bit video but use an 8-bit profile it'll convert automatically but I don't think it'll bother dithering so you might theoretically see banding here and there, I have once or twice but a lot of the time it's fine even without the dither. I dunno anything about Shutter encoder, I'm quite cynical about using anything that obfuscates what's happening behind the scenes so always prefer using command line stuff and learning what to tell it to do precisely to control the output.

You could encode directly to H.264 in Resolve but the Resolve H.264 encoder is a bag of spanners so I would not recommend using it if you want your video to look good.

[Beber]

Ok got it all working correctly now and have started to learn how to edit videos but have a few follow up questions.

What options do you use when you render your finished project?
And do you run it through Shutter Encode again to make the final MKV?

Thanks.

Trick question. I have yet to do that final step properly. I have used the x264 encoder included in Resolve, but its reputation is not great. So we have to find a lossless rendering format and the x264 encoding software that will accept that format as an input. I'm a GUI guy who doesn't understand squat about command line.

[pipefan413]

Trick question. I have yet to do that final step properly. I have used the x264 encoder included in Resolve, but its reputation is not great. So we have to find a lossless rendering format and the x264 encoding software that will accept that format as an input. I'm a GUI guy who doesn't understand squat about command line.

The only *actually* lossless export from Resolve would be "uncompressed" which would be ridiculously huge (even for a standard def LaserDisc capture it's something like 100 GB for one film, imagine how big a 4K video master would be) but the codecs I mentioned (ProRes, DNxHR, Cineform) are all "visually lossless" proxy codecs that should not reduce the quality of the end product, particularly considering that the x264/x265 encoding is going to do more "damage" than any proxy/mezzanine codec will. So as I said, I'd suggest either Cineform, ProRes or DNxHR for export, then encode in whatever delivery x264/x265 encoder you want to use.