Resolve: washed-out blacks and color changes during playback

Locate the image change before adjusting the grade

Identify whether the symptom appears in the source, Resolve viewer, reimported render or delivery player. Use the same frame and file for comparison; two screenshots taken under different settings do not establish a cause on their own.

Record the Resolve version and build, Free/Studio edition, operating system, camera and format where documented, monitor/profile and application showing the difference. Preserve the color science, input/timeline/output spaces, applied CSTs or LUTs and Deliver settings. If only one destination differs, prepare that comparison before changing the program grade.

The 20.3 manual, pp. 226–228 distinguishes clip levels, monitoring output and rendering. Tag controls, p. 4069 are a separate decision. For file frame rate, mix and effects, also see the export guide.

Full is not automatically better: use a range the destination can interpret

Advanced Controls, p. 4069 states that Data levels defaults to Auto and chooses the range appropriate to the output codec. Video and Full force the selected range for all outputs. The manufacturer describes Auto as the normally preferred behavior, not as an automatic check of every player or setup.

The delivery section, p. 228 allows Full for interchange with applications that can receive it, such as certain VFX workflows. It also requires the recipient to interpret that range correctly. Do not choose Full because it sounds like higher quality, or Video simply because the event will be viewed online: agree on the format and destination with the editor or playback operator.

Keep the initial settings and export a short sample with Auto as the documented baseline when no different range is required. If you need to compare Video or Full, change only that control and create a separately identified output. Reimport the files into a comparison copy and record how they are interpreted, then review the same frame in the agreed player.

Check source interpretation and the monitor separately

Internal Image Processing and Clip Data Levels, p. 226 explains that Resolve processes internally at full range in 32-bit floating point. Conversion of each source depends on Levels in Clip Attributes. Auto is based on the codec; a previous transcode may require checking the assignment. Internal processing does not require every export to use Full.

If the source already looks different on import, select a shot in Media or Edit, open Clip Attributes and record Levels before changing it. Find out how the file was created or transcoded, then compare a copy with the original reference. A change that merely makes the picture look more pleasing does not verify correct interpretation; retain both settings to review the data.

For an external monitor, Video Monitoring Data Levels, p. 227 requires the range sent by the video interface to match the range the display receives. The manual states that this setting does not change the Resolve viewer or rendered files. Check this path when the monitor differs; changing it does not demonstrate that the render has been corrected.

Color Space Tag and Gamma Tag describe output: also check the processing

Color Space Tag and Gamma Tag, p. 4069 write color and gamma metadata into the rendered file. The QuickTime section, p. 249 relates the tags to the timeline color space when RCM is disabled, or the output color space when it is enabled, and allows them to be selected in Advanced Settings for compatible formats.

Record the tags and the conversion that produced the image separately. Selecting a gamma name in that menu does not demonstrate that the intended color transform was applied to the shots. Avoid switching to P3, sRGB or Rec.709-A just to imitate one application without checking what the delivery contains and what the recipient expects.

Do not treat a numeric tag mapping or an ACES/CST setup as a universal recipe. Check that the metadata describes the processing applied and that the output meets the conditions agreed with the recipient.

On macOS, check the scope of the QuickTime viewer controls

Preferences > General, manual 20.3, p. 111 documents Use Mac Display Color Profile for viewers: it allows the viewers to use the profile selected in macOS through ColorSync. Record its setting and the display profile before comparing with another application.

On that same page, Viewers match QuickTime Player when using Rec.709 Scene is limited to that context. Automatically Tag Rec.709 Scene Clips as Rec.709-A is described for Rec.709 QuickTime files and web versus broadcast delivery. Keep the full control names: leaving out Scene changes the scope of the explanation.

To test those controls, capture the initial settings and record whether the project actually uses the documented context. Compare one option at a time using the same file and frame. A match in QuickTime alone does not verify a venue player, LED display or client platform; those outputs need their own review.

The manual is for 20.3. If the control is absent or the project uses a different gamma, record that difference before applying the procedure.

Record the sample and its acceptance destination

Prepare a range containing skin tones, shadow detail, a gradient and delivery text or a logo. Keep the source, edit reference, initial export and variants in a new destination. Record the comparison frame and change only one variable per sample.

In the comparison copy, record interpretation of the reimported file before inspecting the scopes and viewer. Then open that same file in the agreed application and display. A scopes reading alone does not verify the whole display path; a similar-looking screenshot does not establish the file content, range or tags either.

Complete the levels and color worksheet with versions, settings, observations and unresolved checks. Use the delivery guide to identify the file, range and destination accepted by the person responsible. If there are also dropped or black frames, continue with file and playback comparison.

Retain preserves available signal: distinguish files from monitoring

If super-whites change in optimized media or cache, compare the original with each derivative. Record the camera, codec, version and level settings before attributing the difference to a stage in the process.

The levels sections, pp. 225–226, state that Resolve retains out-of-range signal internally and allows it to be adjusted in Color. If the source still contains detail above reference white, you can try bringing it into the required range. This does not recover information already clipped in a camera, transcode or derivative.

Retain sub-black and super-white data appears in both Video Monitoring and Deliver Advanced settings. These are separate controls. The 20.3 manual, p. 226, describes its use with Video levels; Advanced Controls, p. 4069 makes file retention conditional on format and codec support. Enabling it for monitoring does not demonstrate that the render preserves those data.

Before enabling it for delivery, ask whether the recipient needs headroom for further grading or a file that meets specific signal limits. Export two samples of the same range with Retain off and on, leaving other settings unchanged. Record format, Data levels and interpretation on reimport. Inspect shadow and highlight detail in the scopes and viewer; if both samples already come from a clipped derivative, compare with the original again.

A derivative clipped the highlights: check its format before export

To locate clipping, compare the same frame from the source and derivative in a project copy. First record Optimized Media Format and Render Cache Format. In Playback, Use Optimized Media if Available and Render Cache > Off let you prepare a comparison with originals. Change one path at a time and record the setting; you do not need to delete cache files to set up the test.

Blackmagic recommends 16-bit float, ProRes 4444, ProRes 4444 XQ or DNxHR 444 on p. 200 for optimized media and on p. 204 for cache to avoid clipping when grading those derivatives, especially in HDR. Check which formats are available on your platform and version. The recommendation concerns the derivative format; it does not establish that every DNxHR HQX file fails or that concert footage is HDR.

In Deliver, Use optimized media, Use proxy media and Use render cached images separately determine media used in the render (pp. 4070–4071). For a reference sample from originals, record all three options and disable use of derivatives. If you need them for performance, first verify their format and the comparison. The export guide covers these controls.

If lowering exposure reveals texture in the original while the derivative remains flat, record the difference and frame. If both are flat, the source and its interpretation still need checking; changing Retain in Deliver does not establish that recoverable detail exists.

Broadcast Safe limits luma and chroma: compare bars and program content

The official description, pp. 156 and 3076 places Broadcast Safe in Project Settings > Color Management. It limits luma and chroma and offers three presets: –20 to 120, –10 to 110 and 0 to 100. Make Broadcast Safe enables or disables it. Choose the preset from the recipient’s quality-control requirements; 0 to 100 does not certify a broadcast delivery on its own.

The manufacturer also states that the limiter’s clipping does not have a smooth roll-off by itself and recommends using it with Soft Clip in Color or a Soft Clip LUT. Keep the original processing and compare highlights, shadows and saturated colors before adopting it. Adjust Soft Clip to the signal and delivery requirements; check its effect on the material before applying it to the full program.

In Color, View > Display Broadcast Safe Exceptions shows areas exceeding the level selected in Color Management in blue (p. 3024). Use it to inspect that condition while working. Its state does not replace checking the delivered file, every range or the other QC requirements.

To develop a workflow involving Avid, you need the manual for the exact version and the recipient’s requirements; this guide does not provide a conversion sequence for that application.

To evaluate your delivery, save the initial project and prepare a copy with bars, titles and a range of event footage. Record the preset and limiter setting. Compare the same frames with it off and on; export identified samples and record interpretation on reimport. If the bars change, document the difference and review lineup requirements with the recipient before approving the file.

The super-whites and Broadcast Safe worksheet separates sources, derivatives, out-of-range signal and acceptance criteria. It is blank: fill it in as you run the comparisons. Also use the delivery guide to identify the file, reviewed ranges, person responsible and unresolved checks.