

The Windows version of Lightworks in use

Source: EditShare

EditShare has opened the beta programme for the Linux version of its Lightworks video editor to the public. The company announced on its forum that the application is now available to download and test free of charge for users of 64-bit versions of Ubuntu 12.04, 12.10 and Linux Mint 13 and 14. A package for Lubuntu 13.04 is also available.

A Windows beta of the current Lightworks version has been available since 2010 and a Linux beta was originally supposed to be available at the end of 2011, but it took until 2012 for the company to start its closed beta programme for Linux users. EditShare had promised it would open source the program in 2010, but at the time of writing, significant source code has yet to be released. Lightworks is one of the oldest still existing video editors, its initial release dating back to 1989. The software has been used to edit a number of award-winning feature films such as The King's Speech, Mission Impossible, Braveheart and Pulp Fiction.

Users of the Linux beta will have to accept some limitations such as not having working Firewire support and not being able to export to H.264 and AVI. However, EditShare is working to give Linux users an option to buy a licence for Avid's DNxHD post-production codec in the future.

To test the beta version, users will have to register on the Lightworks web site and will also be required to fill out a form and accept EditShare's terms and conditions for the download. Following this process, the installation packages for the software can be downloaded from the Lightworks Linux Beta page which also includes more information about the beta release and the limitations of the Linux version. The beta version includes the EditShare Licensing Service (ELS) and a seven-day licence for the Pro version of the application that can be renewed for the length of the beta programme.

(fab)