If you took any time to evaluate color grading tools at NAB 2012 then you must have seen DaVinci Resolve 9 running at the Blackmagic Design booth. If you were familiar at all with Resolve then you probably did a double-take as the Resolve 9 interface had gotten an overhaul from the previous version.

Now that new interface is finally available for all of us to try in the form of both the DaVinci Resolve software and DaVinci Resolve Lite betas being available for download. There are way too many new features to list here (other than the updated interface), so check out the version 9.0 Read Me pdf for lots and lots of bullet points.

If you're new to Resolve and color grading in general, then be sure and download the newly written Resolve 9 manual. It's nearly 600 pages and goes into great depth on not just how to tug the wheels and sliders but how to get started with Resolve. The manual's author has also posted Six New Features in Resolve 9 that is worth a read.

I'm still amazed that Resolve Lite is available for free.