Guides › Sync external audio in Resolve · Updated October 25, 2026

How to sync external audio to video in DaVinci Resolve

Recording sound on a separate device gives you far better audio, but the camera's clips and the recorder's files have to be lined up. Here's how to do it in DaVinci Resolve.

What you need

• Camera clips with scratch audio from the camera's own microphone. This is what the recorder's sound gets matched against.
• The audio recorder's WAV files (Zoom, Tascam, Rode, Sound Devices, lav packs, and so on).

Option 1: Auto Sync Audio in the Media Pool

1. Import the camera clips and the audio files into the Media Pool.
2. Select a camera clip and the matching audio file.
3. Right-click and choose Auto Sync Audio › Based on Waveform. To keep the camera's own sound as an extra track, choose Based on Waveform and Append Tracks.
4. Drag the clip to a timeline. It now plays the recorder's audio in sync.

This is quick for a handful of clips. With dozens of clips, or one long recorder file that covers many short camera clips, it can be slow to set up and may miss matches.

Option 2: Sync everything at once

When there are many clips, or several cameras plus several recorders, sync the whole shoot in one pass:

1. In Resolve, put the clips on a new timeline with each camera on its own video track and each recorder on its own audio track.
2. Export it with File › Export › Timeline… as AAF.
3. Load it into SyncNut together with your footage folder and click Sync.
4. Import the synced AAF with File › Import › Timeline…

Each camera clip lands where it belongs on the recorder's timeline, even when the camera stopped and started many times during one long audio file.

Common problems

The camera recorded four channels and some are silent

Pro cameras such as the Sony FX6 or FX9 often record several channels where only one carries a microphone. Resolve may analyse the wrong one. SyncNut checks every channel separately, skips silent or hiss-only ones, and tries each microphone on its own if the mix doesn't match.

The audio slowly drifts out of sync on long takes

Cheap recorders and cameras run at very slightly different speeds. Over an hour this can add up to a few frames. Sync at the start, then check the end of the take; if it has drifted, split the clip and resync the second half, or conform the audio speed.

One clip has no sound at all

A clip with no audio can't be matched by waveform. Line it up by its recording time or by eye. SyncNut places such clips using the camera's clock and flags them so you can check them.

Questions

How do I sync audio from a Zoom recorder in DaVinci Resolve?

Select the camera clip and the Zoom WAV file in the Media Pool, right-click and choose Auto Sync Audio, Based on Waveform. For many clips at once, export the timeline as AAF and sync it with SyncNut.

Why won't DaVinci Resolve sync my audio?

The camera needs scratch audio for waveform sync to work, the sound must overlap in time, and the right audio channel must carry the microphone. See the troubleshooting guide for more fixes.