DaVinci Resolve 19 Beta 3 released with Snapdragon X Elite processor support

Blackmagic Design has released Beta 3 of DaVinci Resolve 19, introducing support for new Snapdragon X Elite processors.

Support for Windows on ARM is gaining ground, and more computer systems are being released onto the market with ARM based processors. One of the most exciting new releases is Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor. In the guise of Dell's latest XPS 13 laptop, the Snapdragon X Elite equipped machine boasts multi-day battery life of up to 27 hours, and processing power that equals, and in some cases eclipses Apple's M3 Pro.

Hot to the table in terms of support for the new chip, Resolve users can now utilise the power of the X Elite processor with the release of DaVinci Resolve 19 Beta 3. According to Blackmagic Design, the Neural Engine AI Engine on Snapdragon X Elite machines will run processes up to 4.7 faster than none Windows ARM devices, and 2x faster performance for Smart Reframe functionality.

Neural AI Engine tools

AI based tools in Resolve are increasingly being used to drastically speed up effects that would have previously been hugely processor intensive. For example, new AI based tools in Resolve 19 include UltraNR spatial noise reduction and IntelliTrack AI. The latter can track objects easily and quickly, and while it can be used for things like image stabilisation, it can also be combined with the Fairlight audio page for automatic audio panning.

Windows ARM users can now utilise the full power of Resolve's Neural AI Engine tools. Image: Blackmagic Design.

Transcription in Resolve 19 is also Neural Engine powered, with the ability to automatically detect multiple speakers in a video. Transcription also now lets users edit videos directly from the transcribed text. It isn't quite up to the refinement of Premiere Pro's text to video editing, but it's getting there, and it makes sifting through interview footage a lot easier. For example, you could go through a long interview's transcription and quickly highlight each section of interest and create sub-clips from them.

Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO, said of the new release, “We’re excited about our customers being able to do their creative work with lightweight machines with long battery life running on Snapdragon X Elite and Windows that are optimized for many of our AI processes. We look forward to seeing how our customers will use the new computer and to even better performance from future generations.”

DaVinci Resolve 19 Beta 3 can be downloaded now from the Blackmagic Design website.