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DaVinci Resolve

How to Get Audio to Stop Being Choppy — DaVinci Resolve

• 4 mins read

Choppy audio can turn an otherwise polished project into a frustrating challenge in DaVinci Resolve. However, the usual culprits behind choppy audio are often straightforward to identify and correct. By adjusting a few settings and checking your system’s performance, you can smooth out these audio disruptions and ensure your final product sounds as good as it looks. 

Summary

  1. Getting the Basics Right — How to Get Audio to Stop Being Choppy in DaVinci Resolve
  2. DaVinci Resolve Settings
  3. Wrapping Up

Getting the Basics Right — How to Get Audio to Stop Being Choppy in DaVinci Resolve 

If you’re wondering how to get audio to stop being choppy, DaVinci Resolve is less likely to be the cause than your hardware is. For this reason, firstly make sure that your hardware meets DaVinci Resolves demands — think CPU, GPU, RAM, and the quickness of your storage solutions. Sometimes, an upgrade is what it takes to leap from laggy to lightning-fast.

If you’ve got a lot of apps running, each one will munch on your system’s resources. This diverts power and processing capability away from DaVinci Resolve, resulting in choppy audio. So, close out anything you don’t need before gearing up your project, especially if it’s swallowing RAM like it’s hungry (looking at you, Chrome).

Using the latest version of DaVinci Resolve and keeping your system’s drivers up to date, especially graphics and audio drivers, can also solve compatibility issues and improve performance.

DaVinci Resolve Settings

Optimizing your Media

To improve playback performance, one helpful step is adjusting your Media and Render Cache formats. Here’s exactly where to go:

  1. Go to the File menu at the top-left corner and select Project Settings.
  • Alternatively, you can quickly open Project Settings by pressing the shortcut Shift + 9.
  1. In the Master Settings tab, scroll down to find the Optimized Media and Render Cache section.
  2. For Optimized Media Format and Render Cache Format, you can select lighter codecs like DNxHR SQ or ProRes 422 LT if you’re working on a Mac.

Smart Rendering

Another powerful tool for getting at how to get audio to stop being choppy DaVinci Resolve is Smart Rendering. To use it, at the top of DaVinci Resolve, locate the Playback menu. It’s in the menu bar, along with File, Edit, and others.

Click Playback, then go to Render Cache and set it to Smart. This allows Resolve to automatically pre-render any parts of your timeline that are more demanding, ensuring smoother playback.

Adjust Playback Resolution

If you find that your timeline is still feeling a bit overloaded — kind of like a subway during rush hour — try reducing the playback resolution. Look at the very top of the DaVinci Resolve window where you see options like File and Edit. Click on Playback, and in the dropdown menu, you should see Timeline Playback Resolution. Once you click on it, you’ll have options like Half Resolution and Quarter Resolution, which let you lower the playback quality so things run smoother.

Adjusting playback resolution in DaVinci Resolve

Tune Your Audio Settings:

For those audio glitches, tweaking the buffer size can be a lifesaver. Click on DaVinci Resolve in the top left corner, hit Preferences, and then go to the Video and Audio I/O tab. Adjust the Playback Buffer Size to Auto, allowing Resolve to dynamically manage the buffer based on your project’s needs.

After adjusting these settings, don’t forget to hit ‘Save to apply them. Give your project a test run, and hopefully, you’ll notice that your audio plays back much smoother.

Tuning your audio setting in DaVinci Resolve to fix choppy audio

Keep DaVinci Clean

Just like keeping a clean workspace makes everything more pleasant, regularly clearing out old databases and cache files can keep DaVinci Resolve running smoothly. It’s a good practice to clean these files out once in a while to prevent the software from slowing down.

And there you have it! With these adjustments, your DaVinci Resolve sessions should be more fluid, letting you focus more on your creative edits and less on technical snags. 

Wrapping Up

Optimizing your setup for DaVinci Resolve is not just about fiddling with settings — it’s about making sure everything from your hardware to your workflow is geared toward getting the best performance. By handling resources wisely, adjusting settings smartly, and handling media efficiently, you’ll see a marked improvement in your editing experience.