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Editor guide · DaVinci Resolve

Add a telemetry overlay in DaVinci Resolve

Resolve has no built-in way to read a GPX, FIT or GoPro GPS track. GaugeReel turns that recording into animated speed, heart rate, pace and map gauges, then hands Resolve a layer that sits above your footage. You keep editing, grading and delivering in Resolve exactly as before.

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Build and sync the overlay first

Every route below starts the same way. Do the timing in GaugeReel, where you can see the numbers move against the picture.

  1. Open the clip you are editing in Resolve as the reference video, then choose Add GPX / FIT / GoPro MP4 in the data panel. A GoPro that recorded GPS already carries its telemetry in the MP4; for heart rate, power or cadence add the watch or bike-computer file too. The file export guide covers Garmin, Wahoo, COROS, iGPSPORT and Strava.
  2. Add your gauges and check each gauge’s Source when you imported more than one recording.
  3. Line up the data with a moment you can see, such as rolling away from a stop, using the source’s Sync offset. Check a second moment near the end of the clip.
  4. In the Export tab, set the range to the part of the clip you will use and set the frame rate to match your Resolve timeline (Timeline → Timeline Settings, or File → Project Settings → Master Settings). Set the size to your timeline resolution where your plan allows.

Keep the overlay the same length as the clip section you synced. If you start the overlay at the same frame as that section on the Resolve timeline, it stays in sync without any further nudging.

Four ways into Resolve

All four put the gauges on a track above your footage. They differ in how the transparency gets there and how much you do by hand.

ExportPlanWhat you getBackgroundWhen to use it
Transparent PNG framesFreeFolder of numbered .png filesReal transparencyBest Free choice for Resolve. Set the clip frame rate to match your timeline.
Green-screen MP4FreeOne H.264 .mp4Keyed out in FusionOne file to manage, but you key out the background yourself.
Transparent ProRes 4444BasicOne .mov with alphaReal transparencyDrag it onto V2. Use this rather than WebM: Resolve does not decode VP9 WebM.
Send to DaVinci ResolvePremiumClips placed on your open timelineReal transparencyGaugeReel renders and places each gauge on its own track for you.

Free covers up to 1920 × 1080 at 30 fps; Basic raises that to 60 fps; Premium has no size or frame-rate cap. Compare plans.

Import a transparent PNG sequence

  1. In GaugeReel, choose PNG frames, pick an empty folder and export. You get one numbered image per frame, such as ride_00001.png, ride_00002.png and so on.
  2. In Resolve’s Media page or Media Pool, browse to that folder. Resolve groups numbered images into a single clip as long as Show Individual Frames is turned off in the Media Storage options menu. Drag that one clip into the Media Pool.
  3. A PNG sequence has no frame rate of its own. Right-click the clip, open Clip Attributes and set Video Frame Rate to the rate you exported at, which should be your timeline’s rate.
  4. Put your footage on V1 and drag the PNG clip onto V2, starting on the same frame as the section you synced.
  5. The transparency should show straight away. If the background is black, set Alpha Mode to Straight in the same Clip Attributes window.
One transparent PNG frame exported by GaugeReel with Free speed and heart-rate gauges
One frame of a Free PNG export from synthetic sample data. The checkerboard shows where the frame is see-through. Download this frame to test alpha in your Resolve setup.

Key out a green-screen MP4

One file instead of a folder of frames. You remove the background in Fusion.

  1. In GaugeReel, choose Green screen MP4 and keep the default solid background color, or pick a color that does not appear in any gauge. Avoid green gauge colors on a green background.
  2. Put the MP4 on V2 above your footage, then open the clip on the Fusion page.
  3. Add a Delta Keyer between MediaIn and MediaOut and click its background-color eyedropper on the solid color. Raise the matte threshold until the edges of the gauges are clean.
  4. Go back to the Edit page and play the clip over a bright and a dark part of your footage to check the edges.

Thin lines and small text key less cleanly than they render as PNG. If you see fringes, switch to the PNG sequence.

Drop in a transparent ProRes 4444 file

The simplest manual route: one file with real transparency.

  1. In GaugeReel, choose Transparent video with the ProRes 4444 (.mov) codec, at your timeline’s size and frame rate.
  2. Import the .mov into the Media Pool and drag it onto V2. The frame rate is stored in the file, so there is nothing to set.
  3. If the background shows black, open Clip Attributes and set Alpha Mode to Straight.

GaugeReel can also export transparent VP9 WebM, which is much smaller, but Resolve does not decode it. Keep WebM for web players and other editors, and use ProRes 4444 for Resolve.

Send the overlay straight to your Resolve timeline

GaugeReel renders the gauges and places them on new video tracks above your edit, sized and timed to the open timeline.

Desktop app

  1. In the Export tab, set Destination to DaVinci Resolve and click Install bridge. This copies a small script into Resolve’s scripts folder.
  2. In Resolve, open the timeline you want, then run Workspace → Scripts → GaugeReel. GaugeReel shows that Resolve is connected and reads the timeline size and frame rate.
  3. Choose Per gauge to get each gauge on its own track, or One overlay for a single full-frame clip. Leave Match timeline on so the gauges land exactly where they sit in the GaugeReel designer.
  4. Choose whether the clips start at the timeline start or the playhead, then send.

Browser editor

  1. Open the GaugeReel web editor in desktop Chrome or Edge, choose DaVinci Resolve as the destination and click Choose shared folder. GaugeReel saves a GaugeReel-Browser.lua script there.
  2. In Resolve, open Workspace → Console, select Lua and run dofile([[full path to GaugeReel-Browser.lua]]).
  3. Open your timeline and send from the browser. Keep the browser tab and the script running until the clips appear.

Keep the media where it is

The rendered clips are saved in a GaugeReel-Resolve folder and Resolve links to them. Moving or deleting that folder makes the clips show as offline media. Sending the same overlay again reuses the existing files instead of rendering them twice.

Formats are handled for you

PNG and WebM are switched to transparent ProRes 4444, because Resolve wants one clip per track and cannot read WebM. A green-screen MP4 stays on its solid color for you to key. Works in free Resolve and Resolve Studio.

Troubleshooting

Does this work with the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

Yes. Every route on this page works in the free version of DaVinci Resolve. Send to DaVinci Resolve uses a small Lua script that runs from Resolve’s Workspace → Scripts menu, not the Studio-only external scripting API, so it works in both free Resolve and Resolve Studio.

Why is the overlay background black in Resolve?

Resolve is ignoring the alpha channel. Right-click the clip in the Media Pool, open Clip Attributes and set Alpha Mode to Straight, which is how GaugeReel writes its transparency. If you exported a green-screen MP4, there is no alpha to read: key the green out in Fusion instead.

Can I import a WebM with transparency into Resolve?

Not reliably. DaVinci Resolve does not decode VP9 WebM, so use transparent ProRes 4444 (.mov, Basic and Premium) or a PNG sequence (Free). Send to DaVinci Resolve switches WebM and PNG to ProRes 4444 automatically.

The gauges drift out of sync by the end of the clip. Why?

Usually a frame-rate mismatch. A PNG sequence has no frame rate of its own, so Resolve plays it at the rate set in the clip attributes or project settings. Export from GaugeReel at your timeline’s frame rate and make the clip match. If the frame rates match and it still drifts, adjust the data Speed (stretch) in GaugeReel and export again.

Can I edit the gauges inside Resolve?

No. The overlay arrives as rendered video, so you can move, scale, crop, fade and grade it like any clip, but changing a gauge’s design or numbers means editing it in GaugeReel and exporting again. Send to DaVinci Resolve renders each gauge as its own clip, so you can still move or hide gauges one at a time.

Which plan do I need for 4K timelines?

Free and Basic export up to 1920 × 1080 (or 1080 × 1920 vertical). For a 4K or larger timeline without scaling the overlay up, use Premium, which exports up to 8K and can match your timeline size automatically when sending to Resolve.

Using Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or iMovie instead? See telemetry overlays in Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. Questions about a file that will not import: zoniixyt@gmail.com.

Try the Free PNG route on one clip.

Export a short speed and heart-rate overlay, drop it on V2 and check the timing at the start and end before you build a full edit.

Download GaugeReel freeSee every gauge