Anyone can now grade movies in up to 32K resolution

The free version of the popular video editing suite DaVinci Resolve now supports up to 32K video editing. All you need is a device powered by Apple's M5 chip family.

DaVinci Resolve is widely used by professional filmmakers and hobbyists, and it is typically the software of choice during FlatpanelsHD’s visits to Hollywood film studios.

 Also read: Sony sets its sights on 4000 nits as HDR's next frontier

And now, there is one less excuse to stay below or at 4K resolution when editing video.


Requires Apple M5
The paid Studio version of DaVinci Resolve already supported up to 32K editing, but this is the first time the free version of DaVinci Resolve goes beyond 4K at 60fps, now reaching up to 32K. This was added in the 20.3 update, reports RedSharkNews.

Blackmagic, the company behind DaVinci Resolve, notes that grading movies, series and other video content at up to 32K resolution requires a Mac powered by Apple's M5 chip family..

The powerful M5 chip is currently found in the 14" MacBook Pro, iPad Pro (2025) and Apple Vision Pro (2025). These relatively affordable devices are widely accessible to anyone wanting to grade video. DaVinci Resolve is available for both macOS and iPadOS, with version 20.3 also adding background render support on iPhone with M4 or newer.

M5, M5 Pro, M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips are expected to debut in additional Macs next year.


Who needs 32K?
With 4K still becoming the norm, and only muted but slowly growing interest in 8K, who needs 32K?

- "A growing number of people working with LED volumes, projector-driven domes, custom-ratio digital signage, high-end VFX and more, is the answer. Plus, obviously, reaching beyond 4K is going to be rather handy for anyone working with Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65 footage," RedSharkNews pointed out.

Furthermore, videos in the Apple Immersive format for Vision Pro are shot in 180-degree 8K 3D at 90fps.

 Also read: Warner Bros has scanned 35-40 films in 8K

Grading at higher resolution than the delivery format is also beneficial for preservation and archival purposes, and it makes future 8K or even higher-resolution releases of movies much easier. Additionally, it improves the downscaled 4K version of a movie.

DaVinci Resolve is free to download from blackmagicdesign.com here.

What's new in DaVinci Resolve 20.3
The following features have been added or updated.
- Up to 32K resolution support with Apple M5 processors.
- Improved performance for Resolve FX Noise Reduction.
- Timeline backups now allow named snapshots for versioning.
- Support for adding metadata fields as media pool bin columns.
- Media Pool metadata ALE import and export support.
- Option to create custom metadata for unknown fields on import.
- Exported metadata files now include custom metadata fields.
- Media pool views and state are now retained for each project.
- Edit menu action to insert gap at playhead.
- New assignable key shortcut in media pool to start a search.
- Assignable key shortcut for open in timeline with source viewer.
- Speed change and duration change actions now follow sync lock.
- Added 2.39 and 2.40 broadcast safe aspect ratios.
- Alpha support for film look creator, film damage and analog damage.
- Support for IMF workflow for HDR Vivid and Audio Vivid.
- Ability to embed HDR10+ metadata in QuickTime and MP4 encodes.
- Ability to set stereoscopic mode in clip attributes for MXF clips.
- Improved match frame behavior for clips with negative speeds.
- Addressed missing clip actions in subtitle caption context menu.
- Addressed intermittent lag when using stacked timelines.
- Addressed source timeline not restored when switching back to edit.
- Addressed issue tracking with high-quality deinterlace in Fusion.
- Addressed issue with immersive world pose if using Fusion tools.
- Addressed issue loading some deep OpenEXR files.
- Addressed decode issues with compressed ARW clips.
- Addressed AI Music Remixer muting audio on macOS 26.1.
- Addressed possible QuickTime decode hang on Windows.
- Addressed Remote Monitor start up issue on Windows.
- General performance and stability improvements.

Note: Starting from DaVinci Resolve 20.3, OpenCL mode for GPU processing is no longer supported on macOS.
 FlatpanelsHD
 - Source: RedSharkNews