Everyone who creates something to share online wants it to look amazing for everyone who’s going to view it, but what you export and what you see online after uploading can be vastly different sometimes. The image might appear washed out, overly bright, crushed, or inconsistent. A lot of the issue is not your colour grade. It is that your luminance levels fall outside the legal range expected by most delivery platforms. Thankfully, there are some ways you can reduce the amount of quality lost during the upload process using a Feature in DaVinci Resolve called Broadcast Safe Levels.
Takeaways:
- What is the Broadcast Safe Levels in DaVinci Resolve? And is it worth using?
- The best Broadcast Safe levels to use in DaVinci Resolve.
Table of Contents
What Does the Broadcast Safe Levels Option Do in DaVinci Resolve?
Every video platform and display has limits on how bright highlights can be and how dark shadows can be before image information starts getting clipped or altered. There are also limitations and requirements in place for audio as well. However, sticking with video quality, when parts of your image exceed those limits, platforms such as YouTube typically automatically adjust the video during processing.
If your project has been created properly, you will see very small differences between what your export looks like when viewed locally and what it looks like after it has been uploaded. However, if you're new to editing and how all of this stuff works, you can use Broadcast Safe Levels, which place a ceiling and floor on your signal, helping ensure that your video remains within acceptable delivery standards. This reduces the chances of unexpected changes when your content is viewed outside of Resolve.
How to Enable Broadcast Safe Levels
- Open Project Settings by clicking the gear icon in the very bottom right corner of DaVinci Resolve.
- In the new window, go to the Colour Management tab.
- Scroll down until you find Broadcast Safe Levels.
- Enable Broadcast Safe and set the range to 0-100.
- Save your settings before exporting your project.
- This range represents the standard legal video levels used by most online platforms and consumer displays.
Why 0-100 Is Recommended
The 0-100 range is generally the safest option for content destined for YouTube, Vimeo, social media platforms, and mobile devices.
- 0 represents legal black
- 100 represents legal white
Keeping your image within these boundaries makes sure that blacks remain clean, whites retain detail, and your overall contrast stays consistent across different devices. For most people, this setting provides the best balance between image quality and compatibility.
Note: Don't forget that the device you are viewing the content on plays a major role in how things look as well. Newer screens are going to look 100x better than older ones, and content edited on older screens might look weird on newer screens if you are making adjustments to make things look good on the old one.
Should you Always Use Broadcast Safe Levels in DaVinci Resolve?
This setting becomes particularly valuable when:
- Creating content for YouTube
- Exporting videos for social media
- Working on client projects viewed across multiple devices
- Learning colour grading and exposure control
- Creating content without a dedicated broadcast monitoring setup
Basically, it will keep you within safe ranges so your content looks good on as many devices as possible.
