To reconnect an edit made from downloaded proxies, use Reconform From Bins to match the timeline to camera originals. If your project already has originals with attached proxies, relink the missing original files, then verify playback with proxies disabled.

This guide covers an existing DaVinci Resolve edit on a Mac, with the original media now available on a connected drive. The steps follow Blackmagic Design’s September 2026 DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual, particularly Chapters 8, 17 and 22. Use the reference manual for your installed version if its menus differ. DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual

Which reconnection method fits your project?

First identify what your timeline actually references. A downloaded file described as a proxy may have been imported as an ordinary source clip, or it may be attached to an existing original-media clip. Those arrangements need different operations.

Blackmagic distinguishes relinking, which connects Media Pool clips to files on disk, from conforming, which connects timeline clips to source clips in the Media Pool. Its manual explicitly identifies reconforming as a way to replace transcoded editing media with camera originals. Relinking and conforming explained in Chapter 22

Your starting point Appropriate route What you are changing
You imported downloaded proxy movies and edited those movies directly Reconform From Bins The source clips used by the timeline
You received a Resolve project that already references originals, but those originals are offline Relink Selected Clips The original files’ locations
Originals are online, but their attached proxy files have moved Proxy-linking command The attached proxy files’ locations
Both originals and attached proxies are online Playback → Proxy Handling Which files Resolve uses for playback

The table is a decision aid derived from Blackmagic’s documented workflows. Start with the first row if you dragged downloaded proxy movies into an empty project and built your edit from them. Start with the second row if you received an existing project whose original-media paths point to another computer.

Check one proxy–original pair before changing the edit

Save a separate working copy of the project before reconnecting media. Keep the downloaded proxies available until you have checked the result. Then choose one recognizable shot and compare its proxy with the corresponding original in the Media Pool.

Check the filename, frame rate, starting timecode and available duration. For attaching externally generated proxies, Blackmagic requires identical timecode, matching filenames excluding extensions, the same frame rate, and a supported format and codec. A smaller resolution is expected; different identifying metadata needs investigation. External proxy requirements in Chapter 8

Also check that Resolve can read an original before attempting a batch operation. The current macOS codec table lists support by format, container and codec, including decoding for Blackmagic RAW and ProRes RAW. Use the table for your installed release rather than assuming that every file with a familiar extension will work. The September 2026 document identifies itself as the Resolve 21.1 codec list. Supported Formats and Codecs, macOS section

Why matching timecode matters

Consider this illustrative pair: an original begins at 01:00:00:00, while its downloaded proxy begins at 01:00:00:04. Both run at 24 fps, and corresponding pictures retain the same timecode. The files have different starting boundaries, but the original can still contain the frames used in the edit. A reconform should identify those frames by timecode rather than assume that the files’ first frames represent the same instant.

A different problem occurs when the proxy’s timecode has been reset to 00:00:00:00. Matching filenames alone cannot establish which original frame belongs at an existing edit point. Blackmagic documents that manually forcing a conform without matching timecode can align the replacement’s first frame with the timeline clip’s first frame. That can produce the correct duration with the wrong picture. Manual conform behavior in Chapter 22

Reconnect an edit built directly from downloaded proxies

Use this route when the proxy movies themselves were the source clips you edited. Blackmagic documents Reconform From Bins for replacing offline-quality media with online-quality media, including switching transcoded clips to original camera RAW clips. Reconform From Bins, pages 491–494

1. Put the originals in a separate bin

Create a clearly named bin, such as Camera Originals, and import the original media into it. Keep it separate from the bin containing downloaded proxies. Blackmagic recommends separate bins for the old and replacement versions so that you can explicitly control which sources participate in the reconform. Organizing replacement media in Chapter 22

For an initial test, use a small set with unambiguous filenames. If several folders contain a clip called Clip001, narrow the replacement bin to the correct group before attempting to match it. This reduces the number of plausible candidates you must inspect.

2. Unlock the timeline clips you intend to replace

Open the timeline and select the affected clips. For a whole-timeline operation, Blackmagic specifies Command-A; for a first test, select only a few representative shots. Right-click the selection and disable Conform Lock Enabled for the clips being reconformed. This allows Resolve to consider replacement sources. Preparing clips for reconforming

3. Choose the originals bin and matching criteria

In the Media Pool, right-click the timeline and choose Timelines → Reconform From Bins. In the dialog, choose Selected Clips or All Clips as appropriate. Expand the bin list, enable the bin containing the intended originals, and disable bins containing proxies or other candidate versions. Reconform dialog procedure

Choose matching criteria based on the metadata you checked. Blackmagic enables Timecode by default and offers additional criteria, including filename, frame rate, total duration, resolution, file format and codec. For a normal proxy-to-original replacement, use matching identity information; requiring identical resolution or codec would defeat a replacement in which those properties deliberately differ. This selection advice follows from the manual’s documented criteria. Available conform criteria

Click OK, then inspect the test shots. When they match correctly, repeat for the remaining clips. Blackmagic states that unmatched clips are left unchanged, so a partially successful operation can leave some timeline clips referencing proxies. Check the whole affected edit before treating the reconform as complete. Reconform matching behavior

Restore originals in a project with attached proxies

Use this route when the project already knows which original belongs to each clip, but those original files have moved or arrived on a different drive.

  1. Connect the drive containing the originals and locate the relevant folder.
  2. In the Media Pool, select the clips with missing originals.
  3. Right-click and choose Relink Selected Clips.
  4. Select the directory containing the original files and confirm.
  5. If Resolve cannot locate everything, use its offered deeper search or choose another relevant directory.

Blackmagic documents filename and timecode as the primary matching criteria for this command. It can search a selected directory’s subfolders and offers a deeper search when the initial pass misses files. Relink Selected Clips, Chapter 17

If only a parent folder or drive location changed while the internal folder structure stayed intact, Change Source Folder is another documented option. Select the affected Media Pool clips, choose that command, browse to the replacement location, and confirm with Change. Change Source Folder procedure

When should you relink the downloaded proxies themselves?

Only use the proxy-linking command when you need to attach or restore the smaller files alongside original-media clips. Chapter 8 of the current manual calls this Link Proxy Media: select the source clips, right-click, choose the command, then locate the proxy file or directory. The manual also uses relinking terminology for moved proxies. Follow the label shown in your installed version. Linking clips to proxy media

To inspect attached proxies, switch the Media Pool to list view and enable the Proxy and Proxy Media Path columns from a column heading’s context menu. The proxy status indicates whether an attachment is absent, offline or available at a stated resolution. These columns describe the proxy attachment; they do not by themselves confirm that the original is online. Proxy status and path columns

Verify the originals before exporting

For a project with attached proxies, choose Playback → Proxy Handling → Disable All Proxies. Blackmagic documents that this forces original-media playback and displays Media Offline when an original is unavailable. Prefer Camera Originals allows fallback to proxies, making it less decisive for this check. Proxy Handling options

For an edit reconformed from directly imported proxy movies, also confirm that each checked timeline shot now references the intended original-media clip. Disabling attached proxies cannot reveal a downloaded proxy that is still being used as an ordinary source clip. This follows from Resolve’s distinction between source clips and proxy attachments.

Review the following before exporting:

  • Compare the first and last used frames of representative shots.
  • Inspect shots near transitions and any speed changes.
  • Check framing, crops and transforms after the resolution change.
  • Listen to the intended audio channels and check synchronization.
  • Inspect clips containing Fusion work at several points in their duration.
  • Investigate unchanged clips and any remaining conform conflicts.

Blackmagic notes that multiple matching sources can produce a conflict badge. Verify the selected source before enabling Conform Lock Enabled again; locking the clip preserves its current source choice. A conflict-free timeline is useful only after the picture matches the edit you intended. Conform conflicts and locking

On the Deliver page, leave Use proxy media unchecked when you want original-source output. Blackmagic documents that delivery normally reverts attached proxies to originals, while that checkbox explicitly permits proxy output. This setting does not replace reconforming an edit that still references proxy movies as its source media. Using proxy files for delivery

What if some clips still will not reconnect?

Work through the mismatch in order: confirm that the original imports, verify its identity and frame rate, compare timecode, and check that it contains every frame required by the edit. Then narrow the replacement bin and review the conform criteria. Repeating a broader folder search will not correct incompatible matching metadata.

If you know the exact replacement for one shot, Blackmagic documents Conform Lock with Media Pool Clip: select the intended source in the Media Pool, then right-click the timeline clip and choose that command. Use it carefully when timecodes differ, because the documented first-frame alignment may require manual correction. Conforming an individual clip

Do not apply another editor’s relink requirements as Resolve instructions. For example, Apple’s Final Cut Pro guide requires replacement media to cover the referenced clips, have the same media type and frame rate, and have similar audio channels. That is relevant when a Mac handoff also involves Final Cut Pro, but its commands and acceptance rules belong to that application. Final Cut Pro relinking requirements

Finish by checking the source used by the timeline, the frames at your edit points and the export settings together. Once those agree, you have a verified path from the downloaded-proxy edit to the originals—and can keep the smaller files available for subsequent editing.

Sources