View Individual Pixels in DaVinci Resolve Viewers

The Pixel Microscope

3 Simple Ways to Inspect Pixels in DaVinci Resolve

Have you ever needed to inspect an image closely in a DaVinci Resolve viewer, only to find that when you zoom all the way in, the image just looks blurry? This is due to pixel filtering that DaVinci Resolve applies by default. If you need to see the crisp, distinct edges of the actual pixels, here are three simple ways to disable that filtering and get a crystal-clear, pixel-perfect view.

Fusion Page Viewer

The DaVinci Resolve pipeline begins on the Fusion page, so let's start there. When you zoom into the viewer on the Fusion page, you'll notice the image becomes blurry.

• How to zoom: Hold CMD or CTRL and use your mouse wheel to scroll in. The view will zoom in on your cursor's position.

• How to disable filtering: To remove the blur, go to the three-dot options menu in the upper-right corner of the viewer and disable "Smooth Resize".

Once unchecked, you will immediately see the distinct edges of the individual pixels. A great feature of the Fusion viewer is that it displays a floating-point value for the red, green, and blue channels of the pixel at your cursor position, which is visible in the lower-left of the interface.

To set this as the default for a specific viewer, simply right-click in the viewer, go to Settings, and select "Save Default." Keep in mind that Fusion has four potential viewers (two viewers, each with an A/B buffer), and you will need to save this default setting for each one you use.

Edit and Color Page Viewers

The process for the Edit and Color pages involves changing a project-wide setting. The filtering on these viewers is linked, so one change will affect both. Just like in the Fusion page, zooming in reveals a soft, blurry image due to viewer filtering.

• How to zoom: On the Edit page, simply use the mouse wheel over the viewer to zoom in on your cursor's position.

• How to pan: Middle Mouse click on the viewer

• How to disable filtering: This setting is located in the Project Settings.

  1. Click the Project Settings cog in the lower-right corner.

  2. In the Master Settings tab, navigate to the Video Monitoring section.

  3. Find the Monitor Scaling option and change it from "Bilinear" to "Basic".

  4. Click Save.

You will now be able to see every single pixel clearly in the Edit and Color page viewers.

Gang Viewer Zoom

If you use an UltraStudio or Decklink I/O card to send your video signal to a calibrated broadcast reference display, this powerful feature is for you. You can "gang" or link the zoom of the Color Page viewer to your external display, allowing clients or collaborators to see the pixel-level detail on the main monitor.

• How to enable: On the Color Page, click the three-dot options menu above the viewer.

• Navigate to Video Output Options and select Gang Viewer Zoom.

Now, any zooming you do in the Color Page viewer will be mirrored on your external broadcast display, sending the magnified pixel information directly out of your I/O card.

Displaying Pixel RGB Values on the Color Page

To take your pixel inspection one step further, you can display the exact color value of any pixel.

1. On the Color page, select the Qualifier tool (the eyedropper icon).

2. Right-click anywhere on the image in the viewer and select Show Picker RGB Value.

3. By default, this shows 8-bit code values for the red, green, and blue channels under your cursor.

4. For more precision, especially with 10-bit footage, you can switch to a 10-bit display. Go to the three-dot options menu in the viewer and select Show RGB Picker Values in 10-bit.