Blackmagic Design today announced DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard, a new premium keyboard for DaVinci Resolve that dramatically improves the speed of editing because it allows the use of 2 hands while editing so transport control and selecting clips can be done while performing edits. DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard will be available in August from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$995.

The DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2019 booth #SL216.

More than just a simple keyboard, the DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard has been designed as an alternative way to edit that’s much faster than a mouse because customers can simultaneously use both hands at the same time. Customers also get an integrated search dial built right into the keyboard.

The all metal design is more robust because it’s been designed for professional editors who spend hours each day editing and demand a premium keyboard solution. Unlike modern keyboards with flat keys, the keys have a tiered profile so it’s easy to feel their way around. The key switches are the same type used by eSports keyboards and each key is certified for over a million operations. The integrated search dial is machined from solid metal and allows very precise transport and trimming control. Plus the keys caps, hand rest and key switches are all available as spare parts so the keyboard can be refreshed and repaired over time.

The reason the DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard is so fast is customers can use both hands when editing. Unlike a mouse, customers can use their right hand to control the position in a clip, while their left hand is setting in and out points as well as applying edits. This means customers can move, mark in and out points, apply an edit, then move again, repeatedly, one after the other, again and again. It’s an extremely fast way to work, using both hands at once.

The integrated search dial is machined metal with rubber coating so it feels very nice to use and customers always feel they have solid control over DaVinci Resolve’s clip or timeline. There's an integrated electronic clutch that creates end stops when used for shuttle and position, all under software control. With multiple roller bearings, the search dial is very smooth and it can be spun in jog mode to allow a natural timeline scroll.

Entering edit points is one of the most used functions in editing, so we designed the in and out point buttons larger in size, and to include a small space above to allow locating them by feel. That helps customers when doing transport control with their right hand and punching in and out points using their left hand. Then once the in and out points are set, they just reach their fingers up to the edit buttons.

The editing functions are located just above the in and out keys, to allow a simple movement of their fingers to activate the edit customers require. Because editing with a keyboard is quite different to editing on a computer’s user interface, the editing functions have been optimized to take advantage of the speed of a keyboard. Most edits can be performed on the source clip without needing to place edit points on the timeline itself. That's much faster as it eliminates time wasted switching between source and timeline. The edit points can automatically locate the nearest timeline edit, or even match timecode. A good example is smart insert, which locates the nearest edit and inserts at that point.

With a high quality search dial built in, customers get an extremely accurate and fast way to do trimming of edit points. Using roll trimming is easy and is operated by pressing and holding one of the roll buttons, depending on the type of trim customers need to do, while then rotating the search dial.

The cut key will remove any transition on an edit point and leave it as a simple edit between the 2 clips. Pressing dissolve will add a 1 second dissolve between the two clips, and using roll duration will set the desired transition length. There's also a smooth cut button to allow jump cuts to be removed at the press of a button.

The new DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard also includes a revised qwerty key layout that’s been updated using feedback from professional editors. However customers still get all the traditional editing features for both the cut and edit pages in DaVinci Resolve, so the core qwerty part of the keyboard still operates in a familiar way. All the standard edit modes are included on the main keyboard. But customers still get new features in the revised layout, such as a viewer button to allow instant change to full screen view, and it’s even possible to edit from the keyboard in full screen view.

When entering edit points and durations numerically, there's a keypad specifically designed for timecode entry. The F/TC button allows switching between timecode or frames. Just press the F/TC button and entry changes to frames. When typing longer timecode values, there's also a double zero button so customers don't have to press the standard zero key as often. The plus and minus keys allow time values as offsets to current values vs absolute entry.

"We think this is an incredibly exciting product as it has such dramatic workflow ramifications," said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. "For years, linear editing was considered old fashioned, and now we have harnessed these benefits for modern linear editing for the first time. I cannot believe no one else has thought about this before and we have been shocked at the speed we can perform editing when using 2 hands on the new DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard!"

All metal design for increased strength.

Enables faster editing than possible on NLE software.

Integrated search dial control.

Source tape allows faster clip searching.

Buttons to instantly re-sort bins.

Large trim in and out buttons.

New keyboard modes for intelligent editing.

Buttons to allow search dial to live trim.

Buttons to change transition type.

Improved DaVinci Resolve keyboard shortcuts.

Keypad for direct timecode entry.

Can be installed into a hole cutout in edit consoles

DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard will be available in August for US$995 excluding duties from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Product photos of the DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.