As Super Bowl mania consumes the US ahead of Sunday’s game, the end of the week has also been a Super Bowl of sorts for software updates.
Blackmagic dropped DaVinci Resolve 12.3 in both the standard and Studio versions with something for both Windows and Mac users.
Windows users will see decode support for HEVC/H.265 QuickTime video.
Other new features include enhanced ability to add media storage locations without having to restart Resolve, reading reel names of OpenEXR media, decode of Sony MPEG2 video, enhanced ARRI RAW support among other features.
There are various other performance improvements that can be found listed on the Blackmagic website as well as some bug fixes.
One bug fix, however, that was not documented is application stability when opening CinemaDNG files generated by a source other than Blackmagic cameras. This seriously affected Convergent Design Odyssey users recording RAW from Sony FS7/FS700 cameras. Resolve no longer crashes when opening these CinemaDNG files.
System requirements remain the same. And like all Resolve updates to this point, it is a free download from www.blackmagicdesign.com. Oh, and don’t forget to backup your Resolve database before updating just in case.
It has been a while since Apple updated FCP X and its associated applications. FCP X 10.2.3 adds support for importing Canon XF-AVC files such as those recorded by the new Canon C300 Mark II. Be certain to install Canon’s XF-AVC plug in available on Canon’s website. Other new features include assigning audio or video effect of your choice as a favorite accessible by Command-E. Other effects can be assigned to custom keys in keyboard layout. There is a 4K export preset for files destined for Apple devices. Opening files residing on a SAN is faster. Video from Apple devices no longer have random black frames and the Share function adds the latest iPhones, iPad Pro and 4th generation Apple TV. Then of course, a share of bug fixes.
Compressor 4.2.2 gains that same 4K export preset and Share functions in FCP X 10.2.3. And of course, bug fixes.
Motion 5.2.3 adds those export and share functions of FCP X and Compressor. That is logical, of course, since it is the same engine. There are no other new features in Motion but the usual bug fixes that any incremental version brings.
The FCP X, Compressor and Motion updates will appear in the updates tab in your App Store application.
We are very interested in your experiences with all of these updates and encourage you to share them in the comments below.