Lightworks review
Our Verdict
Lightworks version 2021.3 offers a solid feature gear up with room to grow into more than advanced editing.
For
- Completely free
- Basic and avant-garde features
- Good operation
- Agile user forum
- Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux)
Against
- Export options express to 720p and H.264/MP4
- Steep learning curve for newcomers
- No built-in Help
- Paid upgrade for certain features
Tom's Guide Verdict
Lightworks version 2021.3 offers a solid feature set with room to grow into more advanced editing.
Pros
- +
Completely gratuitous
- +
Basic and avant-garde features
- +
Skilful operation
- +
Active user forum
- +
Cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux)
Cons
- -
Export options limited to 720p and H.264/MP4
- -
Steep learning curve for newcomers
- -
No congenital-in Help
- -
Paid upgrade for certain features
Lightworks is a free video editing software package for Mac, Windows and Linux with an option to upgrade to a paid Pro version.
Lightworks specs
Os: Windows 7/8/ten; Mac Os Ten 10.xi (El Capitan) and higher; Linux Supported RPM Distros: Fedora 30 and higher; Linux Debian: Ubuntu/Lubuntu/Xubuntu xviii.04 & college, Mint 17 & college
CPU: Intel i7 chipset or faster, fast AMD chipset
RAM: 3GB or higher
GPU: PCI Express graphics carte du jour (NVIDIA or AMD) with 1GB or higher and support for DirectX ix
Misc: Dissever media and system drives (these can exist internal or external equally long equally the the interface is suitably fast; uniform audio card
HDD space: 200MB for Lightworks installation
The software has a strong heritage in filmmaking, with Pulp Fiction, Jerry Maguire and The Wolf of Wall Street merely a few of the many movies that have been edited on information technology. Just don't go thinking that long listing of award-winning film credits ways it's for professionals only: the costless version of Lightworks is generally consumer friendly and will be more than enough for virtually basic editing tasks.
What'southward more, those experienced with non-linear video editing will notice plenty of advanced features to produce a polished video, even in the free version reviewed here.
While nosotros were impressed with the software'due south characteristic fix given its "price," the biggest drawback is its maximum 720p export limits. Still, there's a lot to like nearly Lightworks, now on version 2021.3, and it'south a worthy inclusion in our best gratuitous video editing software listing. Find out if it's the right video-editing tool for you in our full Lightworks review.
Lightworks review: Toll and availability
Lightworks (LWKS) is available every bit a free download from the official Lightworks website. The current version is 2021.3, and there are regular updates to continue it fresh. Some other big plus point is that it'southward bachelor for Windows ten (and even Windows 7/8), Mac and Linux operating systems.
For more avant-garde editing options, you can subscribe to the Pro version. This costs $24/calendar month, $240/year or $390/outright (the latter as well adds Boris FX compatibility).
Lightworks review: Interface and ease of use
Installation is quick and easy, although you lot demand to register to activate Lightworks. It's a not-intrusive process that only requires a proper noun and a password.
The software opens to a clean interface with a project browser — a grid of tiles that holds your projects. It's hither that you lot create a new projection, or open one you've already started.
Four tabs at the peak of the principal window provide access to LWKS' main workspaces: Log, Edit, VFX and Audio. Each provides its own unique gear up of tools and options.
Log, for example, allows you to enter additional metadata, accommodate timeline settings, work with cue markers and more. Edit is self-explanatory and you'll spend most of your time in this workspace. VFX provides admission to a diverseness of effects (fades, presets, etc.), as well as color adjustments, text and more — all very useful for applied and artistic fine-tuning.
Sound delivers a broad range of sound controls. Equally you lot explore the interface, a series of tooltips introduces the various components and features with brief merely useful explanations to get you started. (These can be turned on/off in settings.)
There are numerous drop-downwards menus for a variety of tasks. Your best bet is to visit the LWKS.com community and read through the guides or head over to YouTube and scout 1 of the many helpful videos. LWKS was updating the Forum at the time of this review and while they have an excellent beginner's video tutorial on YouTube, you may accept to look for them to produce more advanced tutorials for the latest version. I wish there was a Help selection within the software, though.
Lightworks review: Video editing features
Once you lot effigy out where everything is — which may take a footling time — you'll notice a well-rounded set of features, from the timeline and audio options to helpful tools to keep your assets organized.
LWKS offers a number of ways to import assets into the program. In the Libraries section, you lot have access to a variety of deject services including Dropbox and Google Bulldoze. Naturally, you can admission your local files from local drives besides. If you demand additional video or sound clips, y'all tin import them directly from a trio of sources, but take your credit carte ready to purchase; Amazing Music Tracks, Audio Network and Pond5 offer a wide variety of options for your video project and though you tin incorporate the watermarked clips into your project, you'll have to purchase them before export.
The program also has "bins" to organize your internal clips into folder-like sections, which makes information technology more than user-friendly to grab one or more topical assets when you demand them.
Keyframes are bachelor and I was impressed with some of the audio controls in a higher place and beyond the standard equalizer and other adjustments (hum removal, heave treble). For case, if your subjects are speaking, there are special adjustments for vocal sounds such as reduction of female or male person sibilance.
LWKS offers a lot of drag and drib simplicity, even for more advanced tasks. I did find using brackets to set in and out points on the timeline a fiddling clunky, just the program's "mark and park" using the I and O keys (for in and out points) is much easier.
There's a lot to explore in this programme and I hope that LWKS shortly offers advanced tutorials to help its new users accept reward of all this software has to offer.
Lightworks review: Export
Well, equally 1 would expect, in that location'due south a limit to how much you lot get for free. And while Lightworks provides more than features and performance than I initially expected from a freebie, at that place are limits. While you tin cull a variety of options for playback (including full frame and UHD 4K equally well as fps), there are strict limits on exporting files: 720p (maximum) in H.264/MP4. The Pro version, however, opens upwardly 4K export options.
The good news is that LWKS provide direct uploads to YouTube and Vimeo with a choice of frame rates. Merely, once more, your choices are limited: 240p, 360p, 380p, 480p and 720p.
Lightworks review: Performance
I tested the software on a 2019 Apple MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.vii with 64GB RAM and a 2.3 GHz 8-core Intel Cadre i9 processor with an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics card. The plan ran smoothly and apace, even when rendering.
Like whatsoever video programme, you may feel pocket-sized lag time with larger files (this happened only occasionally with this organization). Merely since the free version just outputs a maximum of 720p, at that place'due south really no reason to load upwards the program with high-res files. And that ways you can get away with the minimum system requirements (see box above for details) rather than a super-powered machine.
I was a little taken aback that there was no File>Save drop-downwards menu. That's because LWKS saves your work regularly in the background — unobtrusively and without whatsoever slowdown. It's a feature I really appreciate for reasons that will go unmentioned here, if yous know what I mean.
Lightworks review: Verdict
This free software program has a lot to offer and provides the user with a wide range of tools to create pro-looking videos. It may accept a while to discover all of LWKS' options only the essentials tin be mastered relatively quickly with only a basic familiarity with how video editing works.
While the consign limitations may be a dealbreaker (and non worth the paid upgrade to the Pro version) for some people, if you lot're posting online just and desire to keep file sizes small, this may fit the nib — especially with the program'south directly output to YouTube and Vimeo.
Lightworks doesn't accept up much infinite on a hard drive and downloads and installs fairly chop-chop, so you won't sacrifice anything other than a little time to encounter if it's the program for you.
- More than: The all-time video-editing software right now
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/lightworks
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