You can reduce the size of your DaVinci Resolve timeline by adjusting the timeline resolution within the project settings.
Here's a detailed breakdown of how to do this, along with other considerations:
1. Adjusting Timeline Resolution:
- Go to File > Project Settings.
- Navigate to the "Master Settings" tab.
- Locate the "Timeline resolution" section.
- Choose a lower resolution from the preset options (e.g., from 1920x1080 to 1280x720). Alternatively, you can manually input a custom resolution.
- Click "Save" to apply the changes.
Important Considerations:
- Rendering: Reducing the timeline resolution doesn't automatically reduce the resolution of your rendered video. You will need to adjust the render settings separately when exporting your final video (Deliver page). The timeline resolution affects the playback quality within DaVinci Resolve and can improve performance on less powerful machines.
- Footage Quality: Decreasing the timeline resolution doesn't alter the resolution of your source footage. However, if your footage is significantly higher resolution than your timeline, reducing the timeline resolution can improve playback performance. DaVinci Resolve will then scale the footage down for previewing and editing purposes.
- Cropping: If you reduce the timeline resolution while retaining a higher render resolution, you might need to reframe or adjust some of your shots to avoid unwanted cropping in the final rendered video.
Other Methods to Improve Performance (which can indirectly feel like reducing timeline size):
While reducing the timeline resolution is the most direct method, consider these options for improving overall performance:
- Optimize Media: Use optimized media (rendered versions of your footage in a lower resolution or codec) to improve playback performance during editing.
- Use Proxy Media: Generate proxy media, which are smaller, lower-resolution versions of your source footage that DaVinci Resolve uses during editing. You can switch back to the original footage for final rendering.
- Close Unnecessary Programs: Free up system resources by closing other programs that are running in the background.
- Upgrade Hardware: Consider upgrading your computer's hardware, such as your RAM, graphics card, or storage drive. A faster storage drive (like an SSD) will significantly improve performance.
- Optimize DaVinci Resolve Settings: Adjust DaVinci Resolve's preferences, such as memory allocation and GPU processing mode, to optimize performance.
In summary, reducing your DaVinci Resolve timeline resolution is done in the Project Settings under Master Settings. This directly impacts playback performance. Remember to adjust render settings accordingly for final output and consider other optimization methods for smoother editing.
