Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve is without question one of the most popular video editing, compositing, audio processing and color-grading solutions currently available on the market. It is widely used by production houses, broadcasters and Hollywood studios alike to create stunning movies and TV shows.
What’s New with DaVinci Resolve Studio 17?
For DaVinci Resolve Studio 17, Blackmagic asked MainConcept® to develop the first-ever codec plugin. The goal: seamless integration of MainConcept’s industry-leading video and audio encoders.
Professional users expect a wide range of export profiles for rendering their project timelines. The MainConcept Codec Plugin not only adds existing codecs and formats to DaVinci Resolve Studio, but it also introduces a completely new collection of ready-to-use presets.
How Can MainConcept Help?
A major pain point for professional editors is that—depending on their workflow or target format—they need to switch between software tools to perform certain tasks such as rendering or transcoding. For a specific use case, they often must work with a different application. Depending on the project requirements, the MainConcept Codec Plugin can rescue the editor from this burden. Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Studio already comes with many Formats, Codecs and Types for rendering a project, but it misses some that are widely requested by users, such as AS-11 UK DPP. Right now, this popular format is not natively available in Blackmagic Design’s high-end software production tool.
The MainConcept Codec Plugin for DaVinci Resolve Studio fills this gap. It enables rendering of your project using predefined profiles for AS-11 UK DPP SD (MPEG-2) and HD (AVC/H.264) for broadcast production workflows. It is as simple as selecting a MainConcept MXF (AS-11) Codec and then the actual SD or HD preset Type.
What About the Metadata?
A mandatory AS-11 UK DPP DPT (XML) metadata file that contains all descriptive metadata required for your project must be specified. A sample template file comes with the MainConcept plugin and can be edited with a common text editor. You only need to take care of the descriptive metadata. The MainConcept Codec Plugin for DaVinci Resolve Studio takes care of the rest.
Most of the metadata for the Video and Audio XML elements will be added automatically during rendering of the timeline, such as Codec, Bit Rate, Picture Format, Sampling Frequency, and Bit Depth. If a client requires it, you can also generate an optional XML metadata sidecar file that contains all the information from the rendered project. Using the MainConcept Codec Plugin, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Studio is now able to create the AS-11 UK DPP compliant content that many broadcasters require.
Can the MainConcept Codec Plugin Handle Broadcast Workflows and OTT Content Creation?
The MainConcept Codec Plugin for DaVinci Resolve Studio is built to handle the most challenging of broadcast workflows and OTT use cases. It contains ready-to-use presets, fully compliant with professional recording formats from Sony and Panasonic, such as Sony XAVC, various flavors of Sony XDVAM and Panasonic P2 AVC Ultra (powered by MainConcept’s renowned AVC/H.264 and MPEG-2 codecs). The plugin even deploys several generic HEVC/H.265 presets with AAC audio in an MP4 container up to Main 10 8K. Now, you can add the right codec for OTT content creation to DaVinci Resolve Studio 17.
What’s Next for the MainConcept Product Line?
At MainConcept, our team is already working on porting the plugin to run natively on the latest Apple Macs using the M1 chipset based on ARM architecture. Having this universal solution available will allow the huge community running DaVinci Resolve on macOS to work with the MainConcept Codec Plugin on future generations of Apple computers.
Want to learn more? Read the datasheet or download the free demo today.
