Video noise and grain can compromise the quality of your footage, but you have several pathways to cleaner video in DaVinci Resolve.

Depending on the version of Resolve you're using, the complexity of the noise and the nature of the video, you can choose from basic approaches, more sophisticated built-in tools, or a specialized plugin that can handle pretty much any kind of video noise, grain, flicker and other imperfections. This guide explores three distinct options, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Option 1. Remove Noise (RN) - DaVinci Resolve - Free Version

The free version of DaVinci Resolve is a powerful editing and color grading post-production tool. However, when it comes to dedicated, advanced noise reduction, its capabilities are very limited.

What can you do in the free version?
The Remove Noise (RN) tool available in the free version only allows reducing video noise by subtle blurring the grain of the video noise. As a result, it often leads to soft images and can be very time-consuming for modest results.

Here are the steps to follow:

• Switch to the Fusion page of DaVinci Resolve.
• Select the Media node and click Shift+Space. Find the Remove Noise (RN) tool and click A. Now you have the new Remove Noise node right after the Media node. 

• Drag-n-drop the Remove Noise node into the viewer. This has opened the Remove Noise tool Controls/Settings into Inspector.

• Select the Color or Chroma as the Method you are going to use. Here are some details
  • Color Method: This approach involves adjusting "softness" and "detail" parameters for the individual Red, Green, and Blue color channels. When adjusting Softness for each color channel, you soften the image in the channel. Then when you increase the Detail sliders, you are bringing back details as well as noise. 

• Chroma Method: This method on the other hand focuses on luminance and chroma adjustments, which can help addressing video grain and color splotching in chrominance (color) and luminance channels separately. 

Pros:

• Cost-Effective: You are working within the free version of the software.
• Basic Adjustments Possible: For extremely minimal noise, some very subtle manual adjustments might suffice for non-critical projects.

Cons:

• Detail Loss: This method softens entire frames without the distinction between video noise and details softening the image throughout.
• Limited Effectiveness: Manual workarounds are often ineffective for significant noise and can ruin image quality.
• Time consuming: very time-consuming for modest results.

Option 2: Neat Video (Third-Party Plugin)

For the most demanding noise reduction tasks, or when achieving the cleanest possible result while preserving maximum detail is critical, a dedicated third-party plugin like Neat Video is a highly recommended option. Neat Video is renowned for its advanced algorithms and precise control.

Workflow: Neat Video is used as an FX Effect within DaVinci Resolve. You apply Neat Video’s Reduce Noise to a node, then open the Neat Video interface to prepare a noise profile and adjust filter settings.

Step 1. Add Neat Video to the clip

1. Go to the Color page.
2. Select a frame with a large flat featureless area; the selected frame will be used for analysis in the next steps.
3. In the FX Effects panel, navigate to Library > Neat Video > Reduce Noise v6. Drag-n-drop Reduce Noise v6 to the node of the clip in the Nodes editor panel. 

Step 2. Configure Neat Video

1. Switch to Settings panel and click Prepare Noise Profile to open the Neat Video window. 

2. At this point Neat Video will ask to specify the scan type, select Progressive.
3. Click Auto Profile to build a noise profile for the clip: 

Neat Video will automatically find an area without details and will analyze noise in that area to build a new noise profile:

4. Visually inspect the selected area. It should contain no visible details, only noise; otherwise the noise profile and subsequent noise reduction may be inaccurate.
Note: If the selected area does contain any details, draw a new selection over an area without any details and then click the Build Profile button.

5. Switch to the Noise Filter Settings tab to check the preview and see if any additional adjustments are needed. In most cases, you will find a nice and clean image, but if you want to play with some settings, you can explore the Temporal and Spatial filter settings.
Note: If you see less controls in the filter settings than shown in the screenshots, switch to Advanced Mode using the Tools > Advanced Mode menu command.

6. You can also take care of the flicker if it’s present in the video. 

7. You can also use a complementary Sharpening Tool in the Spatial filter settings.

8. When happy with the look of your clean and sharp image, click Apply.

Pros:

• Exceptional Noise Reduction Quality: Often considered industry-leading for its ability to clean up very noisy footage while retaining detail.
• Excellent Detail Preservation: Its primary strength is keeping details intact.
• Effective Flicker Removal: Suppresses flicker helping noise reduction to be more accurate.
• Custom Noise Profiling: Tailors the noise reduction to each individual clip.
• Professional Grade Results: Ideal for high-end productions and when image quality is paramount.
• GPU Accelerated: Leverages your system's GPU for faster processing compared to CPU-only solutions.
• Cross-Platform: Once you learn how to use Neat Video in Resolve, you can easily apply these skills in Neat Video plug-ins designed for other applications (like After Effects, Premiere, Final Cut, Nuke, Flame, Baselight, Scratch, Mistika, etc.), because the GUI and filter settings of Neat Video are the same in each of those cases.
• Works in Both Versions of Resolve: in free Resolve and in Resolve Studio alike.

Cons:

• Cost: It's a paid plugin, representing an additional investment.
• Requires Powerful Hardware for Best Performance: high-quality noise reduction requires a lot of computation power and takes an appreciable amount of processing/render time, so it’s advised to check the system requirements.

Try it out for yourself and see what you think!

Option 3: Motion Effects in DaVinci Resolve Studio (Paid Version)

DaVinci Resolve Studio (the paid version) includes additional built-in noise reduction tools compared to the free version. And if you have an easy denoising job on hand without much movement happening in the video, it should be enough.

To access it, switch to the Color page and click on the Motion Effects icon.

The primary tools for noise reduction are separated into two groups: Temporal NR and Spatial NR. It’s recommended that you start with Temporal NR and try fixing the noise using the settings available in this section before proceeding to the Spatial NR.

Step 1: Temporal Noise Reduction

Temporal NR works across multiple frames to reduce noise in static or low-motion areas of your footage. This is typically your first step because it preserves more detail than spatial filtering.

How to Use Temporal NR:

1. Choose the number of frames you want to average. Select between 1 and 5:

• More frames = better noise reduction, but slower rendering. 

2. Set Motion Estimation Type to help Resolve to detect motion in the image. The default, Faster, is less processor-intensive, but less accurate. Better is more accurate but slower and more processor-intensive. None disables motion estimation completely. 

3. Then choose the Motion Range, which tells the filter which speed of motion to expect in the video. Small assumes slow-moving subjects with little or no motion blur. Large assumes fast motion with blur occupying a larger area of the frame. 

4. Adjust the Luma and Chroma Temporal Thresholds:

• These determine how much luminance and chroma noise is removed.
• Start low, and increase gradually until noise begins to disappear in the still areas.

5. If you notice more color speckles than luminance grain, unlink the sliders and raise the Chroma Threshold separately to target color noise more aggressively.

6. Fine-tune the Motion Threshold if needed:

• Lower it to exclude more motion from the noise reduction.
• Raise it to apply NR to more of the moving image. 

Stop when you’ve found a balance between clean visuals and preserved detail — avoiding motion blur or ghosting.

Step 2: Apply Spatial Noise Reduction (Spatial NR)

This filter operates on an individual frame, targeting noise patterns within the frame. It is recommended to use Spatial NR only if temporal filter wasn’t able to remove enough noise as it is more aggressive to the details. How to Use Spatial NR:

1. Choose a Mode from the drop-down:
   • Faster – lightweight, suitable for quick previews or when processing power is limited.
   • Better – balanced quality and performance.
   • Enhanced – best detail retention, slow render. 

2. Start with linked Luma and Chroma Thresholds. Slowly raise them to reduce noise while preserving sharp edges and detail.

3. If you notice excessive color speckling, unlink the thresholds and raise Chroma Threshold separately.

4. Adjust the Radius:

• Small – faster processing; useful with low Luma and Chroma thresholds.
• Medium – balanced quality and speed.
• Large – best for preserving fine details at high NR levels. 

Step 3: (Optional) Use UltraNR

UltraNR is Resolve’s newest denoising tool.

How to Use UltraNR:

1. In the Spatial NR > Mode drop-down, choose UltraNR.
2. Click Analyze and Resolve will auto-detect an area of the frame and use it to calibrate the Luma/Chroma thresholds. 

3. If you want to make some adjustments or see what area Resolve has selected for analyzing the noise, enable the Show Patch icon.

• You can manually reposition and resize the patch. Resolve will re-adjust the Luma/Chroma settings.

4. If the automatic thresholds aren’t ideal, you can manually adjust the Luma and Chroma sliders for finer control.

Step 4: Blend for Natural Results

After applying noise reduction, you may find the image looks too polished or artificial. Use the NR Blend control to dial it back and regain some of the lost texture.

• NR Blend (Spatial or Temporal) lets you blend between:
  • 0% = full effect of noise reduction
  • 100% = original image
• Adjust this slider until the image looks best to your eyes.

Pros:

• Integrated Solution: No need for extra plugins if you own DaVinci Resolve Studio.
• Basic Noise Sampling Available: UltraNR introduces some noise analysis in the Spatial NR that tries to adjust noise reduction based on the noise profile.
• GPU Accelerated: Leverages your system's GPU for faster processing compared to CPU-only solutions.

Cons:

• Requires Studio Version: Not available in the free version of DaVinci Resolve.
• Can Soften Fine Details: If pushed too hard or not configured optimally, it can lead to a loss of fine image detail.
• Steeper Learning Curve for Optimal Results: Understanding the interplay of various settings is needed for the best outcome.
• Can be Time Consuming with No Guaranty: More difficult cases can require substantial time for adjusting the filter, but a good result is not guaranteed.
• Requires Powerful Hardware: High-quality noise reduction modes require a lot of computation power and take an appreciable amount of processing/render time.
• May Struggle with Extreme Noise/Complex Detail: For the most challenging footage with heavy noise combined with intricate details or fast motion, it might not match the performance of specialized plugins.
• Poor Performance in High-Speed Scenes.
• Resolve-Specific Solution: You cannot use the same noise reduction filter in any other video editing application, so your Resolve-specific denoising skills and experience are not reusable in other software.

Conclusion:

Choosing the right noise reduction method in DaVinci Resolve depends on your specific needs, the version of Resolve you have, and the nature of the footage. While the free version of Resolve offers limited direct solutions, DaVinci Resolve Studio (from $295) provides more powerful and convenient built-in tools that can be enough for simple noise-reduction tasks. For the most challenging noise problems or when perfect image quality and detail preservation are required, Neat Video Pro plug-in for Resolve ($179.90), being a specialized niche plugin offers a superior, professional-grade solution, available in both free version of DaVinci Resolve and in Resolve Studio.