ClipCatalog vs DaVinci Resolve
Find footage across your archive with ClipCatalog, then edit it in DaVinci Resolve. This comparison explains the scope of Resolve 21 IntelliSearch and a standalone Windows video index.
Key official vendor sources reviewed for this page
The links above highlight the main public sources used for this comparison. Product details can change, so recheck pricing, plan limits, and feature scope on the vendor's live site before you buy.
- Free trial
- 500 videos / 10 hours of footage
- Full library access
- An email unlocks 14 days, once per installation or email
- License terms
- 2 activations + 5 years of free updates
- Free version
- USD 0; editing and finishing up to UHD 60 fps
- Studio search
- IntelliSearch and audio transcription
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
Public US price checked September 2026. Verify current purchase, activation, and upgrade terms; no future-upgrade entitlement is assumed here.
Detailed feature comparison
This comparison is about search scope and workflow. Resolve's documented AI search includes visual content, dialogue, and faces; it is also the editing suite.
| Capability | ClipCatalog | DaVinci Resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Primary orientation | Standalone Windows AI video catalog and retrieval tool. It finds footage without creating an editing project. | Editing, colour, Fusion visual effects, and Fairlight audio in one suite, with project media management. |
| Search scope | One persistent index across all added folders, external drives, and NAS volumes. | IntelliSearch analyzes imported Media Pool clips. The documented scope is all bins or selected bins in the project. |
| Visual search | Built-in description-based semantic video search with strictness controls and relevance sorting. | Studio IntelliSearch searches analyzed visual content for objects and other scene content. |
| People and faces | Automatically groups detected video faces into people, with person filters and a find-more-videos workflow. | Studio IntelliSearch can identify faces. Its gallery finds shots of a person; Manage Faces supports naming and correcting groups. |
| Dialogue and transcripts | Local multilingual transcription, spoken-word filters, and TXT/SRT transcript export across the indexed library. | Studio provides audio transcription and transcript search. Auto or selected languages and an extended language package are documented; text and SRT export are supported. |
| Metadata and filters | Combine AI tags, words, people, path, volume, technical metadata, footage type, and highlight ranking. | IntelliSearch metadata mode searches clip properties and metadata, including custom fields, filenames, and timecode. |
| Saved searches | Reusable search and filter presets across sessions. | IntelliSearch criteria can create a Smart Bin inside the project. |
| Where results appear | A standalone search view with thumbnails, playback, and file handoff to an editor. | The Media Pool displays matching whole clips or segments, keeping results next to the editing workflow. |
| External drives and NAS | Indexes accessible local and network folders, with volume tracking and disconnected-drive awareness. Playback needs access to the source file. | Project clips link to source media on disk. Missing-media tools show original volumes and locate or search for replacement paths. |
| Moved source media | Missing-folder warnings and moved-folder relinking preserve the existing catalog workflow. | Relink Media, Relink Selected Clips, and Change Source Folder are documented recovery tools. |
| Platforms | Windows desktop application. | DaVinci Resolve runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. |
| AI setup and processing | AI tags, faces, embeddings, transcription, and search run locally; the database uses SQLCipher encryption. | Download IntelliSearch models through Extras Download Manager, then run AI Clip Analysis. Faster and Better modes trade analysis time and model size for accuracy. |
| Editing and finishing | Finds, previews, and hands off source files. It is not a timeline editor or colour/audio finishing suite. | Full editing and finishing tools, with Fusion and Fairlight; Studio adds further AI and professional features. |
Based on Blackmagic's Resolve 21 pages and the 21.1 reference manual, checked September 2026. Studio-only search features are identified explicitly.
Project media and a persistent archive
Resolve's IntelliSearch workflow starts with clips in the Media Pool: download a model, analyze clips, then search all or selected bins in the project. Results can show whole clips or matching segments, and search criteria can become a Smart Bin.
ClipCatalog adds folders to a persistent catalog and searches the whole indexed library across drives and NAS. You can find footage before deciding which editing project will use it, then copy or drag accessible files into Resolve.
Both tools find people and dialogue
Resolve Studio offers face identification, a face gallery, naming, and correction of grouping results. It also supports multilingual audio transcription and dialogue search, with text and SRT export. These are documented capabilities, not missing features.
ClipCatalog groups detected video faces automatically and combines people with transcript, visual, metadata, and path filters across the library. TXT and SRT export make transcripts reusable outside the app.
Drives, relinking, and analysis setup
Resolve documents missing-media volume information, Relink Selected Clips, and Change Source Folder. This comparison does not imply that it lacks external-drive recovery. The reviewed IntelliSearch documentation does not establish a guarantee for searching disconnected source media.
ClipCatalog tracks archive volumes and disconnected drives, warns about missing folders, and supports moved-folder relinking. Its catalog persists while a drive is disconnected; playback and new source analysis require access to the files.
Find the footage, then finish the edit
ClipCatalog is the retrieval stage: index the archive, narrow a search, preview a clip, and hand off its file. There is no ClipCatalog Resolve plugin or automatic project synchronization.
Resolve is the production stage, with editing, colour, effects, and audio together. If the footage is already analyzed in a Studio project's Media Pool, IntelliSearch keeps discovery inside that same environment.
Where ClipCatalog stands out
These strengths help retrieve footage independently of editing projects.
Search all indexed folders, drives, and NAS volumes together without organizing them into an editing project.
Combine automatically grouped people with visual descriptions, spoken words, and metadata to find useful clips across the library.
Volume tracking, disconnected-drive handling, missing-folder warnings, and relinking support a library spread across portable and network storage.
Transcribe locally in many languages, search spoken words across the library, and copy or export transcripts as TXT or SRT.
Where DaVinci Resolve may be the better choice
These are clear reasons to choose Resolve for the next stage of the work.
Resolve combines timeline editing, colour, Fusion effects, and Fairlight audio. ClipCatalog retrieves footage and hands files to an editor.
Studio IntelliSearch displays project results in the Media Pool as whole clips or segments and can save criteria as Smart Bins.
The free Resolve version supports editing and finishing up to UHD at 60 fps. IntelliSearch and audio transcription require Studio.
Resolve supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. ClipCatalog is currently a Windows desktop app.
Frequently asked questions
ClipCatalog searches one persistent index across added folders, drives, and NAS. Resolve Studio IntelliSearch searches analyzed Media Pool clips within a project. Use ClipCatalog to find archive footage, then Resolve to edit it.
The Resolve 21.1 reference manual labels IntelliSearch as Studio-only. It also labels audio transcription as Studio-only. The free editor remains available; Studio costs USD 295 one-time.
Yes. Studio IntelliSearch offers visual, transcript, and metadata modes. Face identification, a gallery, naming, and corrections let you find shots featuring a specific person.
The documented scope is analyzed Media Pool media, with All Bins searching the project's bins and Selected Bins narrowing that scope. ClipCatalog instead searches all folders added to its persistent catalog.
Yes. The manual documents missing-volume information, Relink Media, Relink Selected Clips, and Change Source Folder. Searching previously analyzed disconnected media with IntelliSearch is not guaranteed by the reviewed documentation.
Yes. ClipCatalog transcribes locally and exports TXT/SRT. Resolve Studio supports auto or selected transcription languages, an extended language package, text export with speakers/timecodes, and SRT import/export.
Index folders in ClipCatalog, search and preview the footage, then copy or drag accessible source files into Resolve. This is file handoff, not a plugin or automatic synchronization of projects or metadata.
Comparison note
This comparison uses public vendor documentation, not hands-on testing. It does not imply affiliation or endorsement. ClipCatalog and DaVinci Resolve are trademarks of their respective owners.
Relevant comparisons
If you are evaluating this workflow against other tools, start with these side-by-side pages.
See if ClipCatalog fits your video archive
Index a real archive folder in ClipCatalog, find a useful scene, spoken phrase, or person, then try handing the source clip to your Resolve project.
License terms and installer availability