Lightworks

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Lightworks
Lightworkslogo.png
Lightworks Beta 10.0.3 Screenshot
Lightworks Beta 10.0.3 screenshot
Developer(s) EditShare LLC
Initial release 1989; 24 years ago (1989)
Stable release Lightworks 11.0.3 / October 18, 2012; 6 months ago (2012-10-18)
Operating system
Platform IA-32[2]
Size 93 MB
Available in English
Type Non-linear editing system
License Freemium
Website www.lwks.com

Lightworks is a professional NLE system for editing and mastering of movies in 2K and 4K resolutions as well as television productions in PAL, NTSC and high-definition formats. Lightworks was an early developer of computer-based non-linear editing systems, and has been in development since 1989.

The program is currently available for Windows. The release of an open source version, as well as ports to Linux and Mac OS X were announced in May 2010,[3] but the original release date for the Linux version of December 2011[4] was postponed to 30 October 2012 (Alpha release).[5] On 8 April 2013, a demo of the program running on OS X was shown at NAB, coinciding with the announcement of a public Beta release of version 11.1 for Linux scheduled for 30 April 2013.[6] No source code has yet been released.

Contents

Overview [edit]

Using a control interface similar to the industry standard Steenbeck flatbed controller, Lightworks was designed to be a non-linear editing system. When introduced in the early 1990s,[7] it had a number of unique features, such as “sync slip”, synchronized varispeed playback with audio scrubbing, synchronized multi-channel playback, and an object-oriented user interface with a dedicated hardware console. Some of these features are still unmatched by other competing systems.

Editors using Lightworks have produced numerous internationally renowned and Oscar and Emmy Award award-winning feature films and television programs, including The King's Speech, Martin Scorsese's Hugo and The Departed, Mission Impossible, Pulp Fiction, Braveheart and Batman.[8][9][10]

History [edit]

OLE Limited was founded in 1989 by Paul Bamborough, Nick Pollock and Neil Harris. In 1994 it was sold to Tektronix,[11] who were not successful at developing the company's products. In 1999 it was sold on to the newly formed Lightworks Inc., then owned by Fairlight Japan, and then purchased by Gee Broadcast in May 2004.[12][13]

Gee Broadcast ownership, 2004-2009 [edit]

Under Gee Broadcast ownership, new product releases resumed with the release of the Lightworks Touch range,[14][15] and the Alacrity[16] and Softworks[17] ranges for SD & HD editing.[18] Softworks offered the Lightworks User Interface and toolset in a software only package for laptops or office workstations. Softworks and Alacrity supported mixed formats and resolutions in real time and project output in different resolutions without re-rendering. Alacrity supported dual outputs while the same facility was available for Softworks users as an option.[19]

EditShare ownership, 2009-present [edit]

In August 2009 the UK and US based company EditShare acquired Gee Broadcast and the Lightworks editing platform from, along with their video server system GeeVS.[20]

At the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, NAB Show, on 11 April 2010, EditShare announced that they plan to transform Lightworks into Lightworks Open Source.[21] It was presented at IBC in Amsterdam September 2010.[22]

On November 9, 2010, EditShare announced that Lightworks would be downloadable on November 29 of the same year, at first exclusively for the users who had registered during the initial announcement,[23] but subsequently publishing the software as "public beta".[24]

Release of an Open Source version was planned for Q4 of 2011, after code review has been finished.[25] Money is to be made from proprietary plugins offered in an associated online shop, especially ones needed for access to video file formats used by professional cameras. Shortly before the scheduled release date of 29. November 2011, EditShare announced that an open source release of the software would be temporarily delayed, but a new release date had not been set. The announcement notes that they were not yet satisfied with the stability of the new version.[26][27]

Windows version released at NAB 2012 [edit]

After a 18-month beta program, EditShare released Lightworks 11 for Windows only on the 28th of May, 2012.

The non beta release of Lightworks includes a host of new features for editors, and runs on wide range of PC hardware. The software was re-designed and re-written for portability (versions for GNU/Linux and Mac OS X have been promised) and now supports many more codecs including AVCHD, H.264, AVC-Intra, DNxHD, ProRes, Red R3D, DPX, XDCAM HD 50, XDCAM EX, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K, but only for the paid Pro version. The free version supports DV, MPEG, Uncompressed and other codecs for both import and export.[28][29][30]

Linux version announced at IBC 2012 [edit]

The Linux version was demoed at NAB in Las Vegas in April 2012, and a video of it running on Ubuntu was posted on their YouTube channel.[31] At IBC in Amsterdam in September, an updated Linux demo was presented, and it was announced that the initial alpha version for Linux would become available on October 30.[32] Lightworks 11 alpha for Linux was released on the 30 April 2012, but only to a limited audience.[1] The Linux version of Lightworks was made available as a Public Beta on 30 April, 2013.[33][6][34]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Sneddon, Joey-Elijah (10 January 2013). "LightWorks for Linux Opens Alpha Access For Limited Time". OMG! Ubuntu!. Ohso Ltd. Retrieved 19 March 2013. 
  2. ^ "Tech Specs and Compatibility". LightWorks. EditShare EMEA. Retrieved 19 March 2013. 
  3. ^ Joey, Sneddon (21 May 2010). "Oscar winning Lightworks Open-Source Video editor Is Coming to Linux". OMG! Ubuntu!. Ohso Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  4. ^ Joey, Sneddon (8 September 2011). "Oscar-Winning Video Editor ‘Lightworks’ To Land On Linux In December". OMG! Ubuntu!. Ohso Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  5. ^ Joey, Sneddon (14 September 2012). "Oscar-Winning Video Editor ‘Lightworks’ Landing on Linux in October". OMG! Ubuntu!. Ohso Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  6. ^ a b "It's Here - Preview Lightworks for Mac at NAB 2013". EditShare. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013. 
  7. ^ http://learnfinalcut.wordpress.com/the-history-of-lightworks/
  8. ^ http://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=176
  9. ^ "Thelma Schoonmaker wins Oscar editing on Lightworks.". 2007-03-09. Retrieved 2012-05-04. [dead link]
  10. ^ http://www.lightworksbeta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=268[dead link]
  11. ^ "Company News; Tektronix To Buy Lightworks Editing Systems - New York Times". Nytimes.com. 1995-04-11. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  12. ^ http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/Press_Releases/First%20major%20order%20for%20Lightworks%20under%20new%20ownership.pdf
  13. ^ http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/Press_Releases/LWKS_PR_version2.pdf
  14. ^ http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/Press_Releases/PR-1_Product_launch@IBC.pdf
  15. ^ http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/Press_Releases/PR-3_editors_feel_back.pdf
  16. ^ http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/Lightworks_Alacrity_MR.pdf
  17. ^ http://www.interlab-net.com/docs/lightworks/lw_user%20doc/Softworks&Alacrity_Manual_rev_4.pdf
  18. ^ "Lightworks ships Softworks Version 1.1". broadcastengineering.com. 2006-10-27. Retrieved 2012-05-06. 
  19. ^ "Lightworks Softworks User Manual v4". Retrieved 2012-05-06. 
  20. ^ http://www.editshare.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126:editshare-acquires-geevs-and-lightworks-technology&catid=43:press-releases&Itemid=184
  21. ^ Press Release
  22. ^ Press release: EditShare previews for IBC 2010
  23. ^ Lightworks News Nov 2010
  24. ^ "Lightworks". Lightworksbeta.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  25. ^ "Lightworks". Lightworksbeta.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  26. ^ http://www.golem.de/1111/87980.html
  27. ^ http://www.lightworksbeta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=263
  28. ^ "Lightworks: Top Features". lwks.com. 2012-05-28. Retrieved 2012-05-29. 
  29. ^ "Lightworks: All Features". lwks.com. 2012-05-28. Retrieved 2012-05-29. 
  30. ^ "Lightworks: Tech Specs and Compatibility". lwks.com. 2012-05-28. Retrieved 2012-05-29. 
  31. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek5BvjHuHPg&hd=1
  32. ^ http://editshare.posterous.com/at-last-lightworks-for-linux-will-be-availabl
  33. ^ http://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=19&id=36286&Itemid=81
  34. ^ "Lightworks Linux Public Beta Is Now Available To Download". Retrieved 2013-05-01. 

External links [edit]
Free or open-source
Freeware
Proprietary
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