Are there any and what are the advantages of Premiere over DaVinci Resolve?

[Takeone.Digital]

I have accumulated about 500 hours of editing on three different softwares including Adobe Primere in which I underwent 60 hours of training. Until now I edited as a hobbyist but the business I am establishing is starting to gain momentum and I have to make a decision. This is not the (big) cost difference with the subscription model. If things were working smmothly I wouldn't be looking for a replacement.
I got lots of frustration with Primere as a beginner and it's clear that learning a new Editing software will take valuable time. Perhaps it's a corporate logic according to which the user needs to experience the ecosystem and instill loyalty to the design language on the platform (Like Google, FB ads systems) The bottom line is that this is the most unintuitive interface among all the editing programs I've come across as a hobbyist alongside the glitches and complications I've experienced. What I do want to understand - espcialy from you - the more experienced, is whether there are any advantages (beyond popularity and sharing projects with other editors) in which Premiere is better?
The reason I'm asking here and not on general editing FB group / da Vinci forum/  is because there is a chance to find die-hard fans here who will provide arguments and reasons that I hadn't thought of.

[John T Smith]

>I use dr cause its free

Premiere Pro by itself is $20 per month (the last time I looked, could be more now) and when you stop paying it stops working

[Mike28794481yxy2]

And you get charged 50% of your TOTAL yearly subscription.  

[Warren Heaton]

I think a Post Production plan for $20 to $25/month with Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, After Effects, Photoshop, Audition, and Adobe Fonts would be very popular - something similar to the current Photography plan for $10/month that includes Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe Fonts.

[SinhVTruong]

I recently started using Davinci Resolve Studio and life has improved dramatically. I don't have to run proxies, turn off FX, or do anything with my Sony S-Log footage. It scrubs so smooth and I can preview my timeline without any hiccups or noticeable lag due to a motion graphic. Lastly, in addition to Davinci's superior color grading and node structure, the export times are night and day. An edit I just did on both Resolve and Davinci exported in 30 seconds on Davinci vs 20 minutes on Premiere Pro. 

I am running a Mac Studio with the M1 Max and 64gb Ram 2TB. 

Why is Premiere so much slower? This is the latest version 23.1

[R Neil Haugen]

I run both daily on PCs. And work for/with/teach pro colorists, mostly based on Macs.

First, like all these pro video apps, they are coded from different perspectives on how to best utilize the computer resources for the broader user base. So there are major differences in 'parts' usage outta the box.

As a color app primarily, Resolve is coded to use the GPU more than Premiere, which as an editing app is more CPU based. If your GPU has some of the H.264/5 capabilities, Resolve can be better at using those at times than Premiere. And much S-log seems to be H.264/5 long-GOP media ... that might be the part right there.

Second, my desktop is a 24 core Ryzen 3960X, 128 GB of RAM, 2080Ti, two internal Nvme's, one for OS/apps, the other for all cache files. Premiere and Resolve work pretty identically to each other on my rig. In most any format/codec/effects setup.

My 4 year old Acer Triton laptop is loving Pr2023 more than previous ones (why, no clue) and is such a dog with Resolve 18 I uninstalled that app on it. Others get vastly different results.

For preference of working, I prefer the Pr UI. I do not like the locked-down Resolve UI at all. I can work in it of course, and yea, the color tools are deeper being as it is still primarily a grading app getting better at other parts. I don't enjoy working in it however.

And on your Mac, Resolve is clearly doing better. Great!

So as these apps are nothing but fancy hammers ... tools ... use what works for your clients & floats your boat. And get outta that room and back with the family as soon as possible.

Neil

[Takeone.Digital]

Thanks for the detailed answer, Neil. My average work process after arranging the material in directories / bins and creating a proxy:
1. Rough cutting
2. Synchronization of audio clips from an external recorder
3. Connecting sections, adjusting background music
4. Framing, polishing connections
5. Audio polishing of music and recording
6. Work on color

I shoot 8-10 bit on Sony's A7 cameras in 4K with a different image profile including Slog/h-log etc. Assuming I won't enter the hardware race and stay with my modest laptop - 8 GB RAM, SSD drive, 3-year-old Intel processor, and a simple video card - does DR have an advantage over PP?

[R Neil Haugen]

As to which works better on any kit, you gotta test. On that kit with your media.

The Sony A7 media I've worked with has all (as far as I recall) been long-GOP H264/5 stuff, even the S-log. So whichever works better with that media is a factor.

Neil

[Warren Heaton]

We can run both Adobe Premiere Pro and Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve side-by-side.   You could try Premiere Pro for 14 days for free and of course the free version of Resolve indefinately - then subcribe or purchase based on what you find better meets your needs.

A laptop with 8 GB RAM, SSD drive, 3-year-old Intel processor, and a simple video card meets the minumum system requirements for both Premiere Pro and Resolve.

We would leverage the same features in either NLE to edit 4K source footage:

• Be patient, especially if the Intel processor is i5 instead of i7 or i9.
• Use Proxies.
• To create proxies:  After importing the 4k source clips into a Premiere Pro project panel right-click the clips and choose Proxy > Create Proxies or after importing the 4k source clips into a Resolve project Media Pool right-click the clips and choose Generate Proxy Media.  In Premiere Pro, you'll be able to continue to work while the proxy files are being created, but it will likely lag too much.  Blackmagic Design recently added a separate applicaiton for creating Proxies outside of Resolve.
• Benchmark the time it takes to create proxies:  You'll want to bench mark how long it takes for each NLE to generate proxies for planning your workflow.  Try a ten minute or sixty minute clip in each by itself and use that as a reference.  If it takes ten minutes to turn sixty minutes of footage into a proxy, you can extrapolate how much time you need to allow for this on a full project.
• Enabling/dispabling Proxies:  In Premiere Pro, use the Toggle Proxies button in the Program tab or Source tab to switch between Full Resoulution media and Proxy media.  In Resolves, use the Proxy Handling option in Playback pulldown. to switch between Original media nnd Proxy media.  In both, expect lag when Proxies are not in use.
• Help with smooth playback:  In Premiere Pro set the Playback Resolution to 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 or while in Resolves set the Timeline Proxy Resolution to Half or Quarter.
• Quick color correction whle editing:  In Premiere Pro, create an Adjustment Layer, place it in the top most Video Track of the Timeline, and apply a LUT with the Lumitri Color Effect.  In Resolve, create an Adjustment Clip, place it in the top most Video Track of the Timeline, apply a LUT to the Node Grade.
• Mezzanine CODECS (Smart Rendering/Optimized Media):  The camera original from a Sony A7 is optmized for the Sony camera, not editing.  A 3-year old Intel laptop with fast storage media should handle 2160p ProRes for editing and finishing without the need for Proxies.  In Premiere Pro, this is called "Smart Rendering".  In Resolves, it is "Optmized Media".  In each NLE, ProRes source in a ProRes Timeline exports to ProRes or H264 much faster than Camera Original Source in a ProRes/DNx/Cineform/All I-Frame MPEG Timeline to H264. 

[Takeone.Digital]

Thanks Warren. as I wrote -I'm already an Adobe monthly customer (unfortunately) and have been doing all of the advice you listed. An hour ago while editing I wasn't able to copy a section to the track marked in the time -line. I had to turn to YouTube (agian) to understand that the engineers decided to change the copy-paste feature and added "Paste to same track".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb9cGEBF6Io
In the last year, since I started editing in PP, I have come across dozens of inconsiderate idiotic defects of this type. Another example - it's impossible to synchronize an external sound file with proxy files. And of course you realized that ONLY after the files were created... I don't think these are "human errors" on the part of Adobe's engineers. I used to think so. 

[Warren Heaton]

@Takeone.Digital 

I'm sorry to hear the copy and paste to the same Video Track caused confusion on your end.

That's a result of the Adobe Premiere Pro team accommodating the high-count feature request from prior Final Cut Pro classic editors.  

Do you visit the What's new in Premiere Pro section of the online user documentation?  That's what I use to keep track of things to be aware of in a new release.  The Paste to same track keyboard shortcuts option was covered in detail in the Feature summary | Premiere Pro (June 2022 release).

[Mike28794481yxy2]

I am trying to make a decision between multiple platforms and frankly they all are very lackluster both in capabilities and in particular customer support.  There is something very snobby about PPro and Filmora.  Both seem to have customer service that believes they are doing us all a favor and forget who's paying their paychecks.  I've used Movavi, Filmora, DaVinci, etc.  At least with those three, you can actually try them for free without being hooked into a "you better cancel before X date or else you will be charged a 50% cancellation fee BS.  That doesn't sit well with me. 

I've been ghosting many threads here for a while before I decided to make a posting and it's quite shocking to see this high-falutin, flipplant attitude of the "Adobe Employees" who reply to some of these so called rants.  

Regarding the softwares, Movavi was the easiest to use and can probably do 95% of what you really need to do in all honesty.  The rest of the features that Filmora, PPro and DaVinci have are for the most part unnecessary and it's like changing a tire on the side of a road with a suit on.  Do you need to wear a suit?  No but it looks nice when you are changing that tire.

[Warren Heaton]

@Mike28794481yxy2 

Yes, it's important to find a NLE that meets our creative needs.  We'll spend a lot of time using the software.

Movavi seems like a great solution for personal social media projects where templates can be used.  It looks like they offer a 7-day to 14- dail trial period depending on the program with watermarks and "may include some other restrictions".

I'm not sure how someone would put Movavi to effective use for feature film, feature film teasers and trailers, episodic shows, broadcast and streaming promos, industrial video, corporate video, and marketing campaigns - or anything that's Enterprise level.

Something that I've always appreciated about After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, Animate, Adobe Type, and Audition is that if I can imagine it then I can create it be it for my professional career for for personal projects.

- Warren

[Mike28794481yxy2]

Movavi has its limitations like certain color grading isn't available.  However, it can be used at Enertprise level even though it's not really featured as such. Their marketing is definitely towards a broader audience as they want to make as much money that way as they can.  That said, it's not cheap. Not as cheap as one would think. 

Why would you not be able to create what you imagine in Movavi? It practically does everything PPro does.

[Warren Heaton]

I just gave Movavi Video Converter 23 a try.  It does not support the full range of ProRes options which is unfortunate.  Something else:  On the Movavi web site, ProRes is listed as a supported CODEC for MP4 and MKV.  That isn't even possible and is an obvious technical error.

You may have noticed that Shutter Encoder (donation-ware) is frequently recommended in the Adobe forums.  It supports ProRes 4444, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT, and ProRes 422 Proxy under both macOS and Windows.

And of course, Premiere Pro fully supports it.