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XAVC S and DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is the world's first solution that combines professional offline and online editing, color correction, audio post production and now visual effects all in one software tool. Blackmagic have announced on Friday the 13th the immediate availability of DaVinci Resolve 21 Beta 4, which adds universal app support for M1 powered Macs. It includes over 300 new features and improvements.
XAVC S is a consumer-grade subset of the pro-level XAVC video codec, which was developed primarily to retain better image quality for 4K resolutions, high frame rate video, and 10bit video. XAVC S has a higher maximum data rate (around 50Mbps). XAVC S video is wrapped in the MP4 file container format to enable viewing and editing on the vast majority of devices, so conversion from XAVC S to MP4 is not required - all XAVC S files should automatically be stored as MP4s.
Blackmagic Design has improved XAVC S support in recent DaVinci Resolve 21 updates, including export in some configurations, but support is not equally reliable across all frame rates and encoding settings. The more important distinction is between Resolve Studio and the free version: Resolve Studio offers fuller XAVC S support, while the free version on Windows has limitations with 10-bit XAVC S media, especially 10-bit 4:2:2 footage. That limitation—rather than a lack of native XAVC S support in Resolve overall—is the real scenario where transcoding to an intermediate format such as DNxHD or ProRes is useful.
That's why you always get the "generic error" message when you tried to get DaVinci Resolve to recognize XAVC S files from Sony AX43, Sony AX53, Sony FDR-AX700, Sony a7S III, Sony ZV-1, Sony a6100, Sony a6600 and more XAVC S cameras. Below are the frequently asked questions quoted from Blackmagic official forum:
"Can you import Sony 4K XAVC S movies to DaVinci Resolve to edit XAVC S footage in DaVinci Resolve 21? I have some 4K XAVC S collections and would like to import these XAVC S videos into DaVinci Resolve but I was told that DaVinci Resolve only accepts video files. Can I import the MP4 files from Sony AX53 to DaVinci Resolve for editing? If not, how can I import XAVC S to DaVinci Resolve? Please help me with this. Any advice would be appreciated."
"A client gave me footage last minute shot by the Sony a7S III. I am using DaVinci Resolve 21 and when I go to import the footage I get the error "codec missing or unavailable". What am I missing? How do I get the footage to read properly?"
As you see, when importing 4K XAVC S to DaVinci Resolve 21, 20, 19, it shows codec missing or unavailable. To quickly solve the issue, you'd try transcoding XAVC S to something you're comfortable with editing using DaVinci Resolve.
According to the official DaVinci Resolve site, you need to make sure your source video files are in the below file formats and codecs:
Therefore, if you need to edit video files in DaVinci Resolve, make sure you have your source video files in these file formats and codecs. Obviously, your XAVC S videos are not accepted by DaVinci Resolve natively. For importing and edit any XAVC S files in DaVinci Resolve, you'd better transcode XAVC S to DaVinci Resolve supported video format.
Acrok Video Converter Ultimate is a professional yet easy-to-use tool to help users to make the XAVC S to DaVinci Resolve editable format conversion on Windows (including Windows10/11). With it, you can easily convert 4K and 1080P XAVC S to a format such as MOV/MP4 H.264, DNxHD MOV or Apple ProRes MOV. These formats can be well compatible with DaVinci Resolve. H.264 files can preserve image quality with the smallest file size. Both DNxHD and ProRes can preserve the best image quality and provides better performance when editing in DaVinci Resolve 21, 20, 19. For Mac OS X users, please get Acrok Video Converter Ultimate for Mac, you can transcode XAVC S to any video format on Mac OS X (including macOS Sequoia).
Free download XAVC S Converter for DaVinci Resolve
100% Safe & Clean 100% Safe & CleanInstall and launch the best XAVC S to DaVinci Resolve Converter and load source .mp4 clips to this best 4K Video Converter. This is a smart tool specially designed for 4k users to preview and convert 4K recordings to your wanted video and audio formats, so as to smoothly add them into Premiere Pro, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer and Vegas Pro to do further editing.
When transcoding XAVC S for DaVinci Resolve, the output format should match how you plan to edit. For smooth timeline performance, choose an intermediate codec such as DNxHD/DNxHR (MOV) or Apple ProRes (MOV). These formats are designed for editing: they decode with low CPU overhead, so scrubbing, trimming, and color grading stay responsive even with 4K or 10-bit footage.
H.264 MP4 is a reasonable alternative only when file size is the priority—for example, when you need to move footage between machines or archive it. H.264 files are small and widely compatible, but they are heavier to decode during editing, especially at high resolutions. If you are working on a longer project or applying effects, DNxHD/ProRes will give you a noticeably smoother experience.
In short: DNxHD/ProRes for editing performance, H.264 for file size and compatibility. Acrok Video Converter Ultimate supports both, so you can pick the format that fits your workflow rather than converting twice.
You can cut and trim and cut your 4K XAVC S video, crop, merge, rotate, etc. to make some easy video edits in a linear manner with XAVC S to DaVinci Resolve Converter. In case the default settings do not fit your requirement, you can click "Settings" button and enter "Profile Settings" panel to adjust video size, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate and audio channels. 1080p would be the best settings. Of course, if you wanna get 4K XAVC S workflow in DaVinci Resolve, you can keep the original video resolution.
After that, tap "Convert" button to start converting XAVC S files to H.264 MP4 or H.264 MOV for DaVinci Resolve 21, 20, 19 under Windows or Mac. Once the conversion is done, click "Open" button to locate the converted videos. You can simply import converted footage into DaVinci Resolve for further editing.
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