DaVinci Resolve Can't Export AIFF: the FFmpeg Way Around It

DaVinci Resolve cannot encode AIFF — not on macOS, not on Windows, not on Linux. Blackmagic's own Supported Formats and Codecs document, the one with "July 2025" on the cover, lists the Audio Interchange / aiff row with a dash in the Encode column in all three platform chapters. AIFF is a format Resolve reads, not one it writes.

The working route is two steps: render a WAV out of Resolve, then let FFmpeg change the container. That second step is one line.

What Resolve can actually encode

This is the part almost nobody quotes, so here it is in full. From the audio table of the July 2025 codec list, Encode column only:

Four things go in, four are permanently out. AIFF, OPUS, AC-3 and u-law are decode-only in every platform chapter — the dash is the document's own notation.

Two limits in that table are worth reading twice. MP3 export is documented as "Constant bit rate" only — Resolve is not offering you a VBR MP3. And AAC has no encode values at all on Rocky Linux, which is also the one thing the reference manual and the codec list agree on; the manual states it more bluntly: "Codec: Lets you choose between Linear PCM (the default), AAC audio, IEEE Float, or MP3. AAC audio encoding is only available on macOS." The two documents disagree about Windows, and that disagreement is worth understanding separately.

Notice what the manual's codec dropdown does not contain either: AIFF. Both documents point the same direction.

Step 1: render a WAV out of Resolve

Resolve has a dedicated preset for this. The manual describes it as: "This preset is specifically for rendering an audio-only media file from the Timeline. Video rendering is disabled, and this preset defaults to rendering the Main 1 bus as a single clip, rendering one track per channel using the MXF OP-Atom format set to the Linear PCM codec, at 16-bits. However, the QuickTime, MP4, and WAV formats are also available, and you can also render 24- or 32-bit output."

Pick WAVE in the Format dropdown — the manual's own description is "WAVE: Generates media in the WAVE file format." If you are driving the render manually rather than through the preset, the relevant switch is documented as: "Export Video: Turn this checkbox on to render the source video. Turn this checkbox off if you want to render the source audio all by itself; this disables all video controls, and shows an Audio Format dropdown menu in the audio section of settings."

The full walkthrough of that preset lives in exporting audio only from DaVinci Resolve.

The command

With Timeline.wav sitting on disk:

ffmpeg -i Timeline.wav -map 0:a:0 Timeline.aiff

That is the whole job.

What each flag does

-i Timeline.wav names the input. Everything before the final argument describes what to read and how to treat it; the last argument is the output.

-map 0:a:0 means input 0, audio streams, index 0 — the first audio track. It matters more than it looks, because of how FFmpeg documents the option: "When -map is used, only user-mapped streams are included in that output file, with one possible exception for filtergraph outputs." That is an all-or-nothing switch. The moment -map appears, FFmpeg stops choosing streams for you, and anything you did not map is silently missing from the result. If Resolve gave you a multi-track render and you only want the first pair, this is the flag that says so.

Two more options turn up in almost every FFmpeg audio recipe you will meet elsewhere, and both are worth reading in the documentation's own words before you paste them in.

-vn excludes video. FFmpeg documents it as an input/output option, and the description in the docs covers its behaviour as an input option: "As an input option, blocks all video streams of a file from being filtered or being automatically selected or mapped for any output." For a plain audio pull it does what you expect; for anything with several inputs or outputs, prefer explicit -map, which states what you want rather than what you want dropped.

-c:a copy asks for a stream copy instead of an encode. FFmpeg's documentation defines it as "copying one input elementary stream's packets without decoding, filtering, or encoding them," and is explicit about the payoff: "Since there is no decoding or encoding, it is very fast and there is no quality loss."

Read the stated scope, though. Stream copy is "useful for changing the elementary stream count, container format, or modifying container-level metadata" — that is the whole list the documentation gives. Since the definition is packets moved "without decoding, filtering, or encoding them," a stream copy cannot change the codec, cannot apply a filter, and cannot re-encode anything. Anything outside that list, check the official documentation rather than assuming.

The output extension picks the container. .aiff is what makes this an AIFF, and it is the entire reason the command exists: Resolve will not write that container, and FFmpeg will.

If you would rather not install FFmpeg

For a one-off conversion, the same operation runs in a browser tab:

FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, running locally — the file is read from disk, processed in the tab, and handed back. Nothing is uploaded. It is the same engine behind a form instead of a shell, which is the right trade when you have one file and no toolchain. See all Clapr tools for the rest, including WAV to MP3 if that is the direction you need.

Troubleshooting

The Resolve render has no audio at all. Check the other switch first: "Export audio: Turn this checkbox on to render the source audio, or audio that you've synchronized in DaVinci Resolve, along with the media being output by DaVinci Resolve." That checkbox and Export Video are the only causes Blackmagic's documentation actually states.

You got one file per channel. That is the Audio Only preset's documented default — "rendering one track per channel." The control is described as: "Render one track per channel checkbox: This checkbox lets you specify whether you want to export each channel as an individual track in the structure of the exported file."

The WAV is enormous. Resolve writes Linear PCM at 16, 24 or 32-bit, and the manual's control is plain about it: "Bit Depth: Lets you specify the bit depth at which to output the source audio." Render at the depth you need rather than the highest one offered.

FAQ

Why is AIFF missing from DaVinci Resolve's export options? Because Resolve does not encode it. The July 2025 Supported Formats and Codecs document shows a dash in the Encode column for aiff in the macOS, Windows and Rocky Linux chapters alike.

Does DaVinci Resolve Studio export AIFF? The AIFF row carries a plain dash with no version qualifier. The Studio-only notes in that same document name other things entirely — "Encoding video resolutions >= 4K is only supported with DaVinci Resolve Studio" and "Immersive audio formats are only supported with DaVinci Resolve Studio."

What audio formats can DaVinci Resolve export? Four: Linear PCM in WAV, MP3 at constant bit rate, AAC or M4A (with no encode values listed for Rocky Linux), and FLAC. FLAC is listed as "Yes" on all three platforms with no further parameters given.

Is converting WAV to AIFF lossy? For a stream copy, FFmpeg's own documentation is the guarantee: "Since there is no decoding or encoding, it is very fast and there is no quality loss." If your command re-encodes instead, read the encoder FFmpeg names in its output before assuming anything.

Can I export Opus or AC-3 from Resolve instead? No. Both sit alongside AIFF in the decode-only group, with dashes across all three platforms. Route them through FFmpeg the same way. For more command-line recipes, see the FFmpeg guides.

Codec values quoted from Blackmagic's Supported Formats and Codecs (cover date July 2025) and the DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual*; FFmpeg quotes from the official documentation, sections "Streamcopy" and "Main options". Checked 16 September 2026 — Blackmagic notes that "Specifications format and codec support subject to change without notice."*