[Michael Gissing]

The version 16 database can’t be read by the previous version 15. This is a typical ongoing issue when going backwards in any NLE software. The older can’t read the newer versions files. That is true of the database and the individual saved project files.

I regularly backup my database and project files. I am about to play with Version 16 so I can jump back to an earlier version but any new work I do in 16 can’t be opened in any earlier version. But I can go back to where I was with 15.

[Michael Gissing]

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion

Scroll down to find earlier versions of Resolve & Fusion. Bear in mind that your database will have been changed by installing 16 so you will need to go back to your backed up database (the one you made before installing 16)

[Michael Gissing]

[Greg Janza] “…there would appear to be very little motivation to abandon a fully developed ecosystem.”

It’s true that Adobe got a gift with the EOL of FCP Legend. But they have had to develop the product to keep customers with a subscription model. Blackmagic have developed Resolve in ten years to be a rival and of course they have to combat the inertia of entrenched ecosystems as they have come from behind in the edit area. But they have the same advantage that Adobe had. Resolve is already entrenched in many facilities to do grade & finish much like Adobe had a foot hold with AE & Ps. So both had their NLEs in by stealth when the vacuum was created. It would only take Apple or Adobe to drop the ball and those facilities will realise that they have an alternative NLE already in their system and it solves the big issue of transference from edit to grade & audio finish by starting in Resolve.

So I see that the switch could be faster than Pr taking over FCP7 seats. Outside of big facilities, the fact that Resolve is free or dirt cheap and cross platform is turning many individuals away from X & Pr. I’m seeing it in the freelancers who run their own suites and feed work to me. I think 16 might accelerate further this drift.

[Michael Gissing]

I’m going to look at it tomorrow. I have to be sure I’m able to jump back if necessary so I have some database and project backups to mange before that is possible.

I did see someone’s YouTube that showed how to install 16 on a Mac and keep the two versions & databases running. I might try that on my WIN PC so I can easily have current projects safeguarded but play with 16.

[Michael Gissing]

[Eric Lindahl] “Well even if BMD had their SDK out the same day they released their RAW-format, no major NLE supports it, do they?”

I think it is fair to say Resolve is a major NLE so it’s just like ProResRAW when it was launched and only one NLE supported it – FCPX. That was the case for ProResRAW for a year. BRAW has not been out for that long so it will be interesting to see if other NLEs take it up within a one year time frame.

Blackmagic have made it available from day one unlike ProResRAW so it will be possible to have a faster uptake. Add to that the number of BM cameras in the field that now have BRAW and it will be harder for NLEs to ignore. When ProResRAW launched it was a codec with one recording device and no cameras. It still isn’t inside cameras but available via an external recorder. So in terms of the capacity for BRAW to be adopted by other NLEs, it has been released in such a way that it is easier for other NLEs to adopt. A week ago ProResRAW was only in one NLE and one external recorder.

So to be fair we need to see how quickly the two formats gain acceptance. So far ProResRAW has moved very slowly and it has been subject to an exclusive deal. My point was that when you compare the two, the tech development and the openness of each format has been approached very differently. From my perspective BRAW is more developed, more open and has the potential to be more widely adopted. So give it at least a year before we can make any comparison to ProResRAWs adoption.

[Michael Gissing]

I found it interesting that Apple & Atomos went public with ProResRAW a year before they had developed SDKs and with an exclusive deal. Blackmagic went public when their format was ready to go and had the SDKs out the next day for all to use.

Even with ProResRAW’s year head start, it strikes me that BRAW is more advanced technically and is likely to get the same bunch of post software companies onside. So it might boil down to Apple vs BM on this. Will X support it? Will BM support ProResRAW? It would be stupid if they both dug their heels in. I don’t see this as Atomos vs BM however. Atomos looks like a bit player. The real decisions will be made by camera manufacturers and post software vendors and Blackmagic has much more influence in both those areas.

[Michael Gissing]

With Fusion lite inside Resolve, the need for a free Fusion standalone has probably disappeared. Your fear that Fusion would not get an upgrade has been addressed and the fact that it is Fusion 16 Studio only certainly makes sense to me.

I have only been using Fusion in Resolve since they ported it and I just haven’t opened Fusion free for a long time so I have no problem with them dropping free Fusion. I see no indication that free Resolve will go. It is a critical part of BM’s strategy to get people into the eco system and then drop some money for the Studio version. Increasingly the Studio version is getting the killer features but the free version is the entry point and BM would be mad to drop that. They have probably been monitoring the downloads of all software and I bet the drop in demand for Fusion free is why they have dropped it with 16. Not worth the extra dev time to make that version. BM is increasingly seeking out user input and I’m sure they are taking note of what is not needed as much as what is.

[Michael Gissing]

Thanks for the user feedback Oliver. And it answers yesterdays questions about whether it is coming but frankly I am disappointed given the control ergonomics IP that they inherited from Fairlight & dSP.

[Michael Gissing]

[Andrew Kimery] “A keyboard with a bunch of soft-keys that are OLED screens (so you don’t have to manually label them) would be much more useful and much closer to being worth $1025.”

Hmm. This is my first eyes on this controller and it’s a hard no for me too. Compared to what I’m using with stand alone Fairlight, this is a hybrid ASCII with a jog shuttle. Certainly not what I was expecting and not something that I would buy. It needs self labeling (preferably user programmable) keys like the Fairlight Xynergi panel.

[Michael Gissing]

[Tim Wilson] “For grading, absolutely. It’s insanity to think otherwise.”

And yet for most of my career working on dSP and Fairlight DAWs I had NLE editors drooling over my dedicated ergonomic controllers when they watched me cutting dialog, music & FX. Whether they were cutting on Avid or FCP Legend the comments were always about how much faster and ergonomic my controller was compared to computer keyboard & mouse. They all wanted it. Even just for a jog wheel that was supper accurate down to sample level, or to be able to use the jog wheel as a zoom control.

The reason most editors have no idea how much better it can be is because no-one has been making decent ergo controllers for them. I tried a few a still use the jog transport on my Tangent wave when driving Resolve on the edit & Fairlight pages but the controller has to get the jog shuttle feel right. Without that working right and a good layout of button functionality, it’s not worth it.