Is Auto Sync Audio available in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?
Yes. Waveform-based audio sync and multicam clips are part of the free version, not only Resolve Studio.
Free · runs in your browser
How to sync audio in DaVinci Resolve
Resolve can match a recorder to a camera by waveform in the Media Pool, in the timeline or while building a multicam clip. Here is each route, the common failures, and a browser fallback that hands Resolve a finished timeline.
To sync audio in DaVinci Resolve, select the camera clip and its recording in the Media Pool, right-click and choose Auto Sync Audio › Based on Waveform. Resolve compares the two and attaches the recorder’s sound to the video clip, so every time you use that clip it arrives with the good audio already in sync.
Choose Based on Waveform and Append Tracks instead if you want to keep the camera’s own sound as extra channels; newer versions may word that option differently. Clips already sitting in a timeline can be lined up there, and several cameras can become one multicam clip synced by sound. The free version of Resolve includes waveform sync.
When Resolve can’t find a match, or you are working on a machine without it, the tool on this page lines the files up by their sound in your browser and writes an FCPXML timeline Resolve can import. For the general method and its limits see the multicam hub; for the same job in Adobe’s editor, the Premiere guide.
Sync audio with Auto Sync Audio in the Media Pool
For a camera clip and a separate recording of the same take. Menu wording below is from the Resolve manual; recent versions keep the same structure.
Import both into the Media Pool
Bring the camera clip and the recorder file into the same bin on the Media or Edit page. The camera clip needs its own sound for waveform sync.
Select the pair
Click the video clip, then Ctrl-click (Cmd-click on a Mac) the audio clip, so both are selected.
Run Auto Sync Audio
Right-click either clip and choose Auto Sync Audio › Based on Waveform, or Based on Waveform and Append Tracks to keep the camera audio too.
Check it in a timeline
Drag the video clip into a timeline and play a few words. The recorder sound now travels with the clip wherever you use it.
Three ways to sync by sound in Resolve
In the Media Pool: Auto Sync Audio
Best for many takes, each with its own recording. You can select a whole bin of camera clips and recorder files and run Auto Sync Audio once; Resolve pairs each video with the recording that matches it. The sync is stored with the clip, not with a timeline.
In the timeline: Auto Align Clips
If the clips are already on a timeline, select the video clip and the audio clip, right-click and, in recent versions, choose Auto Align Clips › Based on Waveform. Resolve slides the selected clips into line within that timeline only. This is the route people mean when they search for syncing audio in the timeline.
For several cameras: a multicam clip synced by sound
Select every angle and the recorder in the Media Pool, right-click and choose the option to create a new multicam clip from the selected clips. In the dialog set Angle Sync to Sound. Resolve analyses the audio, aligns the angles and makes a multicam clip you can cut between in the Edit page. Every angle needs some sound of its own for this to work.
When Resolve won’t sync
- One clip is silent. A camera with its microphone off can’t be matched by waveform; mark a visible clap with an In point on each clip and sync by In points instead.
- The clips overlap too little, or only in music, wind or crowd noise that looks the same at many positions.
- A recorder was left running for hours. Trim or split the long file near the take so there is less unrelated sound to search.
- The pair synced but slips by the end of a long take. The clocks drifted; Resolve’s sync places the clip once and doesn’t stretch it. You can change the audio clip’s speed by a tiny amount by hand, or use a tool that corrects drift.
- Phone footage with a variable frame rate can lose sync inside the clip itself. That is a problem with the file, not the pairing: fix the audio sync first.
Lining up in the browser and opening the result in Resolve
- Drop the camera clips and recordings onto the tool at the top of this page. Each file is matched by its sound and marked Sure match, Likely match or Unsure.
- Open More options and press FCPXML (Final Cut, Resolve).
- Put the FCPXML in the folder with the footage, then in Resolve use File › Import › Timeline and choose it. Each clip arrives on its own track at its offset.
Resolve relinks the clips by file name, so keep the names as they are. Steady drift found during matching is corrected in this site’s own exports but can’t be written into an FCPXML; Offsets (CSV) lists it in parts per million. If you would rather have one finished file with the recorder sound, choose Replace the camera sound and press Export video instead. Mac users with Final Cut Pro can open the same FCPXML: see syncing on a Mac.
Questions about syncing audio in Resolve
What does Append Tracks mean?
It keeps the camera’s own sound and adds the recorder’s as extra channels on the clip. The plain Based on Waveform option replaces the camera sound with the recording.
How do I sync audio that is already in my timeline?
Select the video and audio clips in the timeline, right-click and use the waveform option of Auto Align Clips. That lines them up in that timeline only.
Why does Resolve say it can’t sync my clips?
Usually one clip has no sound, or the two share too little clear sound. Check that the camera audio is present and audible, trim long recorder files near the take, and try again, or sync by a marked clap.
Does Resolve fix drift between a camera and a recorder?
Not automatically. It places the recording at one offset. If a long take slips out by the end, the audio clip’s speed has to be changed slightly; this site measures and corrects that drift in its own exports.
Can I prepare the sync in a browser and finish in Resolve?
Yes. Line the files up on this page, download FCPXML (Final Cut, Resolve), keep it with the footage and import it as a timeline in Resolve.