Should I wait for Lightworks?

[dioxholster]

There isnt a good free NLE that I know, at least one that compares to vegas which I have used in the past. But right now im looking for something that is free or open source, as I only need to do simple videos for the web and nothing complicated. Even though I have no idea how prominent Lightworks is, it seems to be the most ambitious professional editing tool that is free so I'm interested in it. Do you think it measures up to vegas? And should I wait for Lightworks or just get vegas instead?

Also the lightworks site says I need the Matrox codecs and Quicktime, are these really necessary?

[poisondeathray]

There is a free version and a pro version. The "pro" version requires annual subscription fee ($60 /yr). Have a look on their website if you need any of those missing "pro" features

The first few public betas were very unstable. Practially unusable. It's dramatically improved now, but still lots of bugs remaining to fix. I wouldn't use it for anything important now

A bit of a learning curve, it's not as inutitive to edit with as vegas

Matrox codecs (free) are almost mandatory, because you need an intermediate format to edit with (there is very little support for native formats right now, you can't just open any video and start editing)

[dioxholster]

There is a free version and a pro version. The "pro" version requires annual subscription fee ($60 /yr). Have a look on their website if you need any of those missing "pro" features

The first few public betas were very unstable. Practially unusable. It's dramatically improved now, but still lots of bugs remaining to fix. I wouldn't use it for anything important now

A bit of a learning curve, it's not as inutitive to edit with as vegas

Matrox codecs (free) are almost mandatory, because you need an intermediate format to edit with (there is very little support for native formats right now, you can't just open any video and start editing)

The site lists these codecs: FORMATS AND CODECS
DPX, RED R3D, ProRes, DNxHD, AVC-Intra, DVCPRO HD, DV50, DV25, XDCAM, P2, AVC Intra, AVI, Quicktime, MXF


Does it support others like MJPEG for instance? And whats the output like, I'm guessing its not as full ranged as vegas. And how much of a learning curve is it? Is it similar more to FCP than vegas? I'm wondering why the beta is so buggy, dont they already sell a pro version that the industry uses, how hard is it for them to just do the same?

[poisondeathray]

Does it support others like MJPEG for instance? And whats the output like, I'm guessing its not as full ranged as vegas.

I'm not sure about the most recent release, but the one a couple months ago didn't. Very few formats are supported IN or OUT

And how much of a learning curve is it? Is it similar more to FCP than vegas?

I don't want to make it sound impossible, but things are done slightly differently. If you're already familar with any NLE, you'll be able to use it after playing a bit with it . It just takes some time to learn how things are done (i.e. you won't be zipping along as if you were a veteran FCP/Premiere/Vegas/Avid MC / NLE of your choice editor)

I'm wondering why the beta is so buggy, dont they already sell a pro version that the industry uses, how hard is it for them to just do the same?

My understanding is they are re-writing parts of the code base, and are in the process of making it "open source", but are far from being close. That's very tricky situation trying to integrate open source code with existing code (instead of re-writing from the ground up) and so a lot of bugs are expected .

Take a quick browse at their forum and you will see the multitude of issues people are having. I think the deal breaker, "showstopper" bugs like random crashes mostly have been fixed - it's usable now

As for fees, the justification is "licensing" fees for pro codecs. Other NLE suites supposedly have that included in the retail price. (my question is why no DNxHD free support when the codec is available free from Avid....and integrates into other editors for free... anyways....)

[dioxholster]

I really want Lightworks to be a great alternative though, and its hard to adapt to something different but i'd be willing to try if the software is worth it.

[filmboss80]

Interesting article here: http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/124120

There appears to be a lot of muscle behind the development of the open source version of Lightworks. I've been keeping an interested eye on it for quite some time. Progress seems awfully slow, and I am unsure whether all the hurdles can be cleared. (I'm certainly not holding my breath.) Still, you never know. You can always download the latest Beta and start tinkering--and then report back to us.