Blackmagic Design has just unveiled DaVinci Resolve 18.5, a major update packed with over 150 feature upgrades and new AI tools that the company is hoping can continue to make their users’ creative projects pop. We’ll admit, the new feature list looks impressive, and will be helping video editors say goodbye to tedious tasks and hello to a world where automatic subtitling, speech-to-text editing, and AI audio classification are at their fingertips.
This significant update to its video editing and post-production software includes new AI tools, over 150 feature upgrades, and major improvements to the Cut page.
Speech-to-text Transcription and a lot more
Key innovations in DaVinci Resolve 18.5 include four new AI tools powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine, which can analyze and automatically sort audio clips based on classification. The software now supports automatic speech-to-text transcription, enabling users to search for media based on narrative content and generate subtitles for timelines quickly.
Colorists can use the new Resolve FX relight tool to add virtual lighting to a scene, while VFX artists can collaborate more efficiently with support for USD files and the multi-merge tool.
Remote monitoring is now more accessible, with users able to initiate sessions using a Blackmagic ID and a session code. DaVinci Resolve 18.5 also introduces the Presentations feature (currently in public beta), which allows multiple users to review a timeline, leave comments, and engage in live chat, with comments appearing as markers on the DaVinci Resolve timeline.
Some standout Audio processing features
Audio engineers are now able to combine related audio tracks or mixer channels into groups, enabling shared mix automation or editing operations. Groups can be nested, or temporarily suspended to quickly switch focus to smaller groups or individual tracks. The DaVinci Neural Engine can now classify audio clips based on their content, making editing choices faster when reviewing unfamiliar materials. After analysis, audio clips appear in bins categorized for dialogue, music and effects with detailed sub categories such as explosions, water or insects.
When using elastic wave processing to retime audio clips, the new ‘voice’ option offers natural sounding, high quality results when changing the speed of dialogue or singing, even when using more extreme keyframing.
Features to help the TikTok workflow
Other notable features include support for vertical aspect ratio output, making it easier to create content for social media, and the ability to upload videos directly to TikTok. The OpenTimelineIO (OTIO) format streamlines importing and exporting timelines from other NLE applications, while the updated Fusion now supports Universal Scene Descriptor files for easier collaboration between VFX artists.
Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty emphasized that the new release is designed to speed up workflows and allow users more time for creativity. DaVinci Resolve 18.5 public beta is available for download from the Blackmagic Design website, with the final release to be demonstrated at NAB 2023.
Full List of New DaVinci Resolve Features
- Multiple Cut page improvements.
- Support for Blackmagic Cloud Presentations.
- DaVinci Neural Engine based subtitles from audio in Studio.
- DaVinci Neural Engine powered text based editing in Studio.
- New Resolve FX relight tool for adding virtual light sources
- Support for Universal Scene Description based workflows in Fusion.
- New Fusion multi-merge tool to composite and manage multiple layers.
- Multiple remote monitoring improvements.
- Support for fast per timeline backups.
- Per timeline Resolve Color Management.
- Support for edit and mix groups in Fairlight.
- Support for AI based audio classification in Studio.
