Move a Premiere project to Resolve and check the result

Start with the Premiere .prproj and the original video and audio files. Convert the project to a Resolve DRP, open it in Resolve, relink the media, then check the edit against your source. You do not need Premiere installed to convert the project file.

This walkthrough follows that process and shows exactly what we verified on a real course project. The handoff page has the current prices and the complete evidence table. Above the free cap, a single project is $7; ongoing handoffs use the existing Pro or Studio plans.

1. Gather the project, media and a reference

Keep a copy of the original .prproj. The project records edit decisions and file references; it does not contain all the footage.

Ask the sending editor for the media used in the sequence, including separate audio, graphics and any rendered effects. A reference export from Premiere is useful for checking the final picture and sound. A burned-in sequence timecode makes individual differences easier to locate.

If you only have the project file, you can still inspect and convert its edit structure. You cannot confirm the picture or sound without the source media.

2. Preview the edit and read the warnings

Open the Premiere-to-Resolve converter and choose the .prproj. Review the sequence preview and select the edit you need. A bins-only project with no edited sequence has nothing to convert.

Read the kept-and-changed information before downloading. Pay particular attention to speed changes, titles, nested edits, audio routing and effects. A warning is a specific review task, not something to ignore because a file was generated successfully.

Choose the native DRP route for a new Resolve project. If the source contains timelines with different frame rates or dimensions, keep the separate DRP outputs together. The converter groups those timelines into compatible projects and reports the split.

Website conversion runs locally in your browser. Your original media stays in its files; the DRP refers to it by path.

3. Import the DRP into Resolve

Open Resolve's Project Manager. Right-click in the project area, choose Import Project, and select the downloaded .drp. Open the imported project and its timeline.

Keep this separate from any working Resolve project until you have checked the handoff. If you need to bring a timeline into an existing project, the XML route uses File → Import → Timeline instead. The routes have different fidelity limits; switching routes is something to test, not a guarantee that a warning disappears.

4. Relink missing media

If Resolve shows Media Offline, open the Media Pool, select the missing source clips, and choose Relink Selected Clips from the context menu. Point Resolve at the folder containing the original media. Repeat for other source folders if necessary.

Check that a linked clip shows the intended footage and plays the intended sound. A filename match alone is not enough when different camera cards contain identically named files.

If a source codec cannot be decoded, identify that file and prepare a compatible media copy while retaining the original. Do not replace an entire project's media blindly to make an offline warning disappear.

A real example: six clips, with a clear validation boundary

We converted the corpus's Course project, build a sequence (save 2). Its edited sequence contains three picture clips and three audio clips on three video and three audio tracks at approximately 23.976 fps.

The one-hour start is Resolve's default when the decoded source does not specify a start timecode. It is disclosed separately; an unspecified source timecode is not assumed to be zero. Other files in the corpus have additional source-trim and transition metadata differences; this simple example does not establish that those edits are equivalent.

We recovered the media from Adobe’s original exercise download. Filenames, dimensions, frame rates and frame counts matched the three source clips. Resolve rendered all 422 frames. Comparing each decoded frame at 160 × 90 resolution gave a maximum average RGB difference below 0.535 on a 0–255 scale, within our stated 3/255 content-check tolerance.

Both stereo channels matched their source content in the checked interiors, excluding 100 ms at each edit edge. The second and third clips have a one-sample offset in the native output. We disclose that difference rather than calling the audio sample-identical. These checks establish source content and edit order for this simple exercise, not full-resolution pixel parity or an independent Premiere reference render. No other corpus file inherits this render result.

The per-file evidence table separates metadata read-back, native import and known limitations. The corpus includes related course-project versions. It should not be read as a count of independent customer projects or as a claim of perfect transfers.

5. Check the actual edit before delivery

With the original media online, compare the imported timeline with the sending editor's reference:

1. Cuts and source frames: check the first and last frame of representative clips, several middle edits and the last edit. Include mixed frame rates and any speed changes.
2. Picture: check framing, crop, opacity, titles, nested edits and every effect named in the conversion report. Compare transitions at their beginning, midpoint and end.
3. Sound: listen to each intended channel, check sync at several points, and inspect level changes, fades and overlapping clips. A visible audio clip does not prove that its channel is audible.
4. Markers and timing: compare marker positions and notes, sequence start timecode and the end of the edit. A matching number of markers is not enough.
5. Save and render: save, close and reopen the project. Render a short section containing a cut, a transition and audio, then compare that rendered section with the source reference.

Keep the source project and conversion report with the delivery. Record any effects or other details you recreated manually so the next editor knows what changed.

If something differs

Identify the sequence, timeline timecode and the specific expected behavior. Check the report for a matching limitation. If the DRP route cannot represent the required feature, test an alternative route on a copy or recreate that feature in Resolve.

Use Tell us about your project to describe the problem and your destination-editor version. The form records your note; it does not upload your project.

FAQ

Does importing successfully prove that everything transferred?

No. A project can open with missing media or changed effects. Check playback with the original media and compare it with a source reference.

What did the six-clip example prove?

The converted project imported into Resolve, retained the inspected track and clip structure, and had stable native metadata after save and reopen. Its recovered Adobe exercise media was relinked and rendered. The scoped frame-content and stereo checks passed, with the stated comparison limits and one-sample audio offset.

Do my project files leave my machine?

Website conversion runs locally in your browser. The DRP references media files; it does not upload or include their video and audio.