M1 Max Issues in Resolve and FCP

[jonpais]

While the M1 Max MacBook Pro is remarkable in a lot of ways, including noiseless operation and a chassis that remains astonishingly cool even when performing demanding tasks, apps that open with lightning rapidity and blazingly quick rendering times, its suitability as a video editing workstation leaves a lot to be desired. When editing PQ HDR footage in DaVinci Resolve Studio 17, the picture is much more contrasty on our LG OLED 55CX than it appears in the viewer of the NLE, as is the rendered footage. When working in Final Cut Pro, the picture is brighter on the OLED than it appears in the viewer of the NLE, as is the rendered footage. Uploading the clips to YouTube and watching on an iPhone 12 Pro Max only confirmed our observations: there is a mismatch between what the miniLED is displaying when compared to the actual footage. In the past, when grading on an Intel Mac and monitoring with an LG OLED connected via Blackmagic UltraStudio 4K Mini, the picture on the TV looked identical whether working in Resolve or Final Cut. It seems as though the i/o is doing what it’s supposed to do: bypassing macOS color management and faithfully transferring what is in the files to the television set.

Below is the clip as seen in the NLE of Final Cut Pro (L) and on LG OLED 55CX (R). Picture is much brighter on TV, as well as the actual rendered file.

Below is clip as seen in DaVinci Resolve Studio 17 on M1 Max (L) and on LG OLED 55CX (R). The picture is much more contrasty on the TV, as is the actual rendered file.

 

[Gnattu]

The true tone color will apply to both internal an external screen at the same time if you are using both screens at the same time, so this might be the cause of color differentiation, but probably not this case. From your two photos, the brightness mapping is definitely wrong for the internal monitor, it looks like displaying HDR content on a non-HDR screen.

 

[jonpais]

Thanks for taking the time to reply! It turns out, after two sleepless nites of testing, that I had to change the data levels in Resolve. I’d still recommend using an external monitor connected with an i/o box to bypass macOS color mgmt for HDR mastering.