Proxies
Proxies are light, lower-resolution copies of your video files that let you edit smoothly. You work with those light versions, and on export the program switches back to the original quality. So your edit runs smoothly, even on a less powerful computer.
If your computer struggles with heavy 4K or RAW files, you generate proxies and link them to your clips. In DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro you switch between proxy and original with one button. When rendering, the program automatically uses the source files again, so you lose no quality. Tip: keep your originals and proxies neatly together, because if the link breaks you'll have to relink.
Related terms
Prefer a look in one click?
The presets on this site set these adjustments up for you as a starting point, which you then fine-tune to taste.