DaVinci Resolve’s Massive Version 18.5 Update is Finally Available

After announcing it in April, Blackmagic has finally released the mammoth DaVinci Resolve version 18.5 update that adds more than 150 new features to the popular video editing platform.

DaVinci Resolve 18.5 has been in public beta since April but is now finally being released as complete and ready for full public launch.

The update, which is free to existing customers, is now available to download from Blackmagic’s support portal and adds a host of new features that are poised to dramatically change how editors use the platform.

Blackmagic says that it has made multiple cut page improvements (including multiple timeline display and improvements, edit actions, and a reorganized toolbar), added support for Blackmagic Cloud Presentations, and leveraged the DaVinci Neural Engine to create subtitles from audio as well as provide the ability to perform text-based editing in Studio.

Version 18.5 also adds support for Universal Scene Description based workflows in Fusion along with a new Fusion multi merge tool for compositing multiple layers. Blackmagic says that it has also made multiple remote monitoring imprvoements, added support for fast per-timeline backups and per-timeline Resolve Color Management. It also adds support for edit and mix groups in Fairlight and artificial intelligence-based audio classification in Studio.

A full breakdown of all the new features can be found in PetaPixel‘s original coverage.

“This is a major new release with tools that have been specifically designed to speed up workflows,” Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO said in April when the update was announced.

“The AI tools such as Resolve FX relight which adds light source tools for colorists, Universal Scene Descriptor files for improved collaboration with VFX artists, AI audio classification for audio engineers and speech to text editing all speed up project workflows and allow customers more time to be creative. The new menus on the cut page, also make it faster and simpler to use. I can’t wait to hear how customers have used these new tools to work not only faster but also more creatively.”

Of note, the DaVinci Resolve installer now includes a new standalone application called Blackmagic Proxy Generator Lite. Additionally, the DaVinci Resolve Studio installer includes the new Blackmagic Proxy Generator and the new DaVinci Resolve Monitoring app. Finally, a new version of the DaVinci Resolve Project Server can be downloaded for Mac OS and Windows from the Blackmagic Design Support page.

Image credits: Blackmagic