Native H.264 workflow in Resolve

[Marc Wielage]

Not a problem, Paul — and I get that there are budget-challenged projects and small shorts with which people are just learning and having fun. Those are fine for DSLRs. I would recommend you avoid clipping the highlights, shoot color charts if possible, and consider transcoding to ProRes (on Mac) or DNxHD (on Windows) for post. You should also shoot camera tests and know the limitations of 8-bit color up front.

I’ve been dealing with that for the past couple of weeks on a project that’s pretty well-shot, but the stock footage is mostly 8-bit H.264. I’m a little stunned to find that some of this material is 3840×2160!

[Paul Campbell]

Curious what camera was used to shoot 4k with H.264, but from what I’ve learned here there are a ton of things out in the world that acquire with H.264, and not just DSLR’s.

Buy hey, since you brought it up, would you mind describing briefly your workflow with this project you mention? Are you transcoding the H264 stock stuff to PR so that it will play nicely in your timeline without giving your processor a migraine? How was the other footage compressed that isn’t H264? (Or maybe it was shot with a serious rig, and there was no compression to begin with??)

This is what I love about the Cow. Just when you think you’re done, something new pops up and pulls you right back in. I feel like Michael Corleone from Godfather III ???? Thanks again, Marc.

[Hector Berrebi]

H264 at its highest variants can support 4:4:4 and 12 bits (and even 14 bits though I don’t know of any application/device using it), on the other hand, many cameras (DSLR included) shoot 4K, 8 bit 4:2:0 video, from iPhones to much more expensive cameras.

and considering HD h264 in long GOP is processor demanding… you can imagine how “fun” it is to work with 4K material of the same kind. So transcoding to some 4:4:4 I-frame codec not only ensures no color data is lost (4:4:4) but also goes a bit easier on your system.

again… it will not make anything look better. that extra data is forever lost by some cheap chip-set/camera brain’s internal process.

[Paul Campbell]

I’ve not worked with 4k material so far, but I imagine the file size of a transcoded h264-to-PR422 must be ginormous. But hey, drive space is cheap nowadays.

So, for now the workflow will probably be h264 footage -> MPEG Streamclip/transcode to pr422 -> import/cut in Resolve -> export to Compressor -> crunch to mp4 (most of the time for me, anyway).

I suddenly find my focus shifting to cameras that can stream directly from their hdmi ports to one of those Ninjas to avoid acquisition compression. I know the t5i can do this, but the hdmi output isn’t true 1080p, so it would be a waste of $. But this is a discussion for another forum ???? Thanks again. I’m glad I started this thread, it’s been enlightening!

[Ole Kristiansen]

“So, for now the workflow will probably be h264 footage -> MPEG Streamclip/transcode to pr422 -> import/cut in Resolve -> export to Compressor -> crunch to mp4 (most of the time for me, anyway).”

First, try to import your H.264 to Davinci Resolve and use Generate Optimized Media and see how it goes with the editing
and then switch to the original footage before starting to color grade !

Or do like this and then switch to the original footage before starting to color grade !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2rojooy0D0

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[Paul Campbell]

So is the point of this to do the edits with file copies that behave better in the timeline, like proxies? You edit the proxies, these edits get carried over to the original files, and then I go in to grade?

[Ole Kristiansen]

Yes !

It is easy to switch between Optimized Media and original footage in Davinci Resolve ! Just uncheck: Use Optimized Media if Available !

[Paul Campbell]

Very slick, thanks for pointing me in that direction!!

[Marc Wielage]

If the transcodes lose no quality of the original, you can use those for final color. That’s a big “if.”

Bear in mind I’m not a fan of 8-bit color, and I think that puts a huge limitation on how hard you can push the image in Resolve (or any other color correction program). Not enough bits.

[Paul Campbell]

I’ve used this analogy before, but transcoding H.264 to PR would be the video equivalent of converting an mp3 back to wav, yes? You can’t get the original uncompressed information back, all you’re doing is creating a larger file size, but it’s a necessary step if you want to color grade since you’ll at least be grading in 10-bit space, yes? This of course is with the big “if” you mention. I guess all I can do is transcode and compare, and hope the transcode preserves the original. I’ll have to shoot some tests and do an A/B.