DaVinci Resolve export settings, per platform.

What DaVinci Resolve lets you set

Bitrate control

Yes, in Kbps

2-pass encoding

No

Profile / level

Profile only

Keyframe interval

Yes, in frames

HEVC (H.265)

Yes

HDR export

Yes

Frame rate

Choose on export

The free version exports up to UHD 3840 x 2160 at 60 fps; DaVinci Resolve Studio goes higher.

Official export help Release notesLabels checked 2026-10-25

The export, step by step (example: YouTube, 1080p, 30 fps)

1. 1Open the Deliver page (rocket icon at the bottom of the window).
2. 2In Render Settings choose Custom Export, then set Filename and Location, and choose Single clip.
3. 3Video: Format MP4, Codec H.264. Pick the hardware encoder if your GPU offers one, else Native.
4. 4Resolution 1920 x 1080, Frame rate 30.
5. 5Quality: choose Restrict to and type 8000 Kb/s (Resolve takes kilobits, so 8 Mbps = 8000).
6. 6Encoding Profile: High. Key Frames: choose Every and type 15 frames.
7. 7Advanced Settings: Data Levels Auto, Color Space Tag and Gamma Tag Same as Project (Rec. 709 (BT.709), 8-bit 4:2:0, limited (TV) range).
8. 8Audio: Codec AAC, Data Rate 384 kb/s, Sample Rate 48000.
9. 9Click Add to Render Queue, then Render All.

For HDR

• Use H.265 with a Main10 profile (or ProRes 422 HQ) so the file stays 10-bit.
• In Advanced Settings set Color Space Tag to Rec.2020 and Gamma Tag to Rec.2100 ST2084 (PQ) or Rec.2100 HLG to match the grade.
• HDR10+ and Dolby Vision metadata need DaVinci Resolve Studio.

DaVinci Resolve pitfalls

• Restrict to is in Kb/s, not Mb/s: 20 Mbps is 20000.
• Key Frames are counted in frames, not seconds: multiply seconds by the frame rate.
• Changes to a built-in preset are lost unless you save them as a new preset from the three-dot menu.
• On Windows and Linux, GPU H.264 / H.265 encoding is a Studio feature; the free version encodes on the CPU there.

Shinel Studios

Rather send the footage and get upload-ready edits back?

Our editors cut, caption, colour and export to each platform's spec, with 2 revision rounds. Shorts come back in 48-72 hours, long videos in 5-10 days.