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Cinelerra 2.1 being used to edit footage in a video project

Cinelerra is a video editing and track-based digital compositing program (an NLE, Non-Linear Editor) designed for Linux. It is a free software distributed under the open source GNU General Public License. In addition to editing, it supports advanced composition operations such as keying and mattes, including a title generator, many effects to edit video and audio, keyframe automation, and many other professional functions depending on the variant. It processes audio in 64 floating-point form. Video is processed in RGBA or YUVA color spaces, in 16-bit integer or floating-point form. It is resolution and image refresh rate independent. The HV & GG variants support up to 8K video. The GG variant can also create DVDs and Blu-rays.

History

[edit]

In 1996 Adam Williams of Heroine Virtual, lead developer of Cinelerra, released a Unix audio editor called Broadcast 1.0 which could handle 2G audio files. In 1997 Broadcast 2.0 was released, still audio only but unlimited tracks. 1999 saw Broadcast2000, which included video. Around 2001 Broadcast 2000 supported MPEG-2, VOB and Quicktimemovies.[1] See the History of Cinelerra versions section for more detail.

Because of UI limitations, Williams rewrote significant parts and released that as Cinelerra on August 12, 2002, while Broadcast2000 was withdrawn by Heroine Virtual in September 2001.[2][3] Cinelerra became the first 64-bit media production application when it was rewritten to work with the AMD Opteron processor in June 2003 and was presented at SIGGRAPH 2004 in San Diego. Since then, many versions have been released.

The original version is still being produced by Williams. There have been several spin-offs made by the open source community, Cinelerra-GG and Cinelerra-CVE (a fork of Cinelerra-CV) are presently under active development. For a complete overview of versions, see the Variants section below. Even though the different variants look the same, there are considerable functional differences between them.[1]

An overview of the different variants that released more than one version:

Cinelerra variant First version (and release date) Last version (and release date) Platforms (ready-to-run program) New releases Supported GUI languages
HV 1.0.0 (2002-08-12) 9 (2024-05-17) Ubuntu Yearly DE, EN, ES, EU, FR, IT, NB, SL, PT_BR
CV 1.1.5 (2003-04-29) 2.3 (2015-08-13) Old repos of Linux distros Frozen DE, EN, ES, EU, FR, IT, NB, SL, PT_BR, RU
GG Infinity 5.1 (2016-03-31) 2024-06 (2024-06-30) Linux AppImage / Current repos of Linux distros Monthly DE, EN, ES, EU, FR, IT, NB, SL, PT, RU, EL, HI, HU, JA, KO, UK, VI, ZH

Interface

[edit]

Cinelerra's interface is similar to that of other Non-linear editing systems, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer. However, because it includes a compositing engine, it may also be likened to compositing software such as Adobe After Effects, Smoke on Linux or Shake. The user is by default presented with four windows (clockwise from lower left in picture at top right):

  1. The timeline, which gives the user a time-based view of all video and audio tracks in the project, as well as keyframe data for e.g. camera movement, effects, or opacity.
  2. The viewer, which gives the user a method of "scrubbing" (manually moving the playhead forwards or backwards to locate a specific cue or word) through footage.
  3. The compositor, which presents the user with a view of the final project as it would look when rendered. The compositor is interactive in that it allows the user to adjust the positions of video objects; it also updates in response to user input.
  4. The resource window, which presents the user with a view of all audio and video resources in the project, as well as available audio and video effects and transitions.

Cinelerra uses its own widget toolkit Guicast (the Cinelerra GUI library), not conforming to the human interface guidelines of major Linux desktops such as GNOME and KDE. This has the advantage that it looks and works the same no matter which distribution or desktop is used, and removes being dependent on a changing version of the desktop (for instance GNOME 2 / GNOME 3). Guicast was written by Adam Williams. The repository of Guicast is available on GitHub [2]

"The journey began in 1997 with a 1st toolkit for Broadcast 1.0 called BCBase. The mane alternatives at the time were Xaw, TK, Motif, XView. They were really bad. GTK & Qt were just getting started. Qt was still royalty based. It was renamed Guicast to be more general purpose but it remained tied to video editing. 25 years later, the alternatives are still really bad ..."[4]

.

Usage and awards

[edit]

Cinelerra has gained ground among some Linux enthusiasts looking for a native video editing system. Professional use was mostly promoted by Linux Media Arts, which sold an integrated hardware and software package for video production that includes Cinelerra. However, the company does not seem to be active in the Cinelerra field anymore.[citation needed]

At the National Association of Broadcasters' 2004 Electronic Media Show, Cinelerra received Bob Turner's "Making the Cut" award, given to "the best and most exciting post-production products seen at the convention".[5]

In December 2018 Libre Graphics World included Cinelerra in its comparison of the sustainability of video editors for Linux.[6]

Cinelerra.org

[edit]

The cinelerra.org website was originally registered by a member of Cinelerra-CV Community Richard Baverstock on Jan 10 2004.[7] Around January 2014 the Cinelerra-CV Community overlooked the renewal of cinelerra.org. The domain was then taken over by a different project managed by Michael Collins, one of the founders of Cinelerra. The project was following commercial interests, aiming at offering professional support to its users. It was organized to merge all existing Cinelerra projects while also providing additional fixes and enhancements.

Since early 2015, Cinelerra.org has an open Git repository on Google Code for analysis and for input;[8] however, that platform is read-only since 2015-08-24. At the present time, this repository does not contain source code. The project released a studio centric version 5.0 of Cinelerra. The goal of Cinelerra.org was to develop a more professional value to the product as of 2016.

In January 2016, the main developer of the project William Morrow working behind cinelerra.org ("Good Guy") left cinelerra.org, continuing to work on Cinelerra 5.0, then on Cinelerra-GG 5.1 with help from the Cinelerra-CV Community.

At the present time, Cinelerra.org supports Cinelerra-HV work. Its website links in the download section to both the HV and GG versions.

Variants

[edit]

Cinelerra-HV

[edit]
Cinelerra
Original authorAdam Williams
DeveloperHeroine Virtual
Initial releaseAugust 12, 2002; 23 years ago (2002-08-12)
Stable release
9 / May 17, 2024; 17 months ago (2024-05-17)
Repository
Written inC, C++
Operating systemLinux
TypeVideo editing software
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Websiteheroinewarrior.com

Heroine Virtual (HV), the producer of the original Cinelerra, generates a new release of Cinelerra annually, available as source code and a binary for Ubuntu in the HV-repo on SourceForge and as source code in the HV-repo on GitHub. A new rolling repository for Cinelerra-HV was published on Feb. 2024 in the HV-repo on GitHub. This repo contains the binaries (continuous builds) for Ubuntu. These continuous builds contain the latest features and bug fixes for testing purposes. After each update to the source code repository on GH, Adam Wiiliams builds/provides a binary file for testing (in the binary repo on GH).

HV has used SourceForge since the beginning (first source 2001-09-09), but does not react to bugs, patches and feature requests on that platform. The source on SourceForge is only made available as complete download for each release. Intermediate access to source files on SF is not possible. Any bugs and usability issues found and resolved by the community that are submitted to Heroine Virtual often result in no immediate response, and it is not until a new release that there is any indication that Heroine Virtual has incorporated these changes.

Intermediate access to source files as well as an immediate response is possible in the HV-repo on GitHub. The developer responds to bug reports, requests for fixes or additional features through this platform. Use GitHub Issues to track ideas, feedback, bugs, or usability issues.

To distinguish between the different variants of the software, the releases made by Heroine Virtual are also called Cinelerra-HV.[9]

Cinelerra-CV / Cinelerra-CVE

[edit]
Cinelerra-CV
DeveloperCinelerra-CV Community
Stable release
2.3 / August 13, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-08-13)
Repositorygithub.com/cinelerra-cv-team/cinelerra-cv
Written inC++
Operating systemLinux
TypeVideo editing software
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later
Websitecinelerra-cv.wikidot.com

Because of both the latency in development and the distribution-specific nature of the original Cinelerra from Heroine Virtual, a group of software developers created their own version of Cinelerra referred to as Cinelerra-CV (where CV stands for community version).

Cinelerra-CV allows the community to contribute to an open repository where changes to the code are accessible to everyone. Mailing list exist where more experienced users and developers can provide support to less experienced users, and developers can hold technical discussions. Cinelerra-CV is also packaged for a wider range of distributions. It also has a different compilation system: system libraries are used extensively, and the autoconf/automake tools are used to configure the compilation system.

Although Cinelerra-CV may technically be called a fork, the relationship between Heroine Virtual and Cinelerra-CV is rather friendly. Heroine Virtual at times contributes to discussions on the mailing lists, and incorporates many of the changes made in the repository.

Heroine Virtual posted the following message on their website describing the relationship:

What you'll find here is the heroinewarrior version of Cinelerra. This is the version that supports what we need to do at Heroine Virtual Ltd. and is the same tree that was started in 1997. As time passes and new students come and go from the Linux scene, new forks of Cinelerra emerge that are more suited to the community but not what Heroine Virtual Ltd. needs. Today you'll probably find the cinelerra-cv.org fork more useful. They allow certain parts of our fork into their fork while contributing anything they want while we allow certain parts of their fork into our fork while contributing anything we want".[10]

Up until Cinelerra 2.1 the versioning of Cinelerra-CV followed that of Heroine Virtual. After Heroine Virtual released a new version, Cinelerra-CV merged relevant code from the new HV variant and into their variant. CV was appended to the end of the version number to indicate the community version (For example, after the 2.1 merger the CV version was labeled 2.1CV).

Starting with release 2.2, Cinelerra-CV uses its own versioning scheme, but still merges code from Cinelerra-HV.[11] Following the 26th June 2019, the official web pages were taken offline and the URL redirects to the website for Cinelerra-GG.

The new official site of Cinelerra-CV was published on July 1 2020.[12] The source code of Cinelerra-CV is available from the new official repo on GitHub [3]. The new official Cinelerra-CV Mailing List is available here. The Cinelerra-CV Mailing list from 2001 is archived. The complete collection of old (previous) Cinelerra-CV Mailing List archives is referenced/linked from this page of the new official Cinelerra-CV site.

Cinelerra-CVE is a Cinelerra-CV fork created for experimenting with Cinelerra's code. The fork was created by the main Cinelerra-CV developer (2012-2018) Einar Rünkaru in June 2008 and published in the middle of March 2010.[13]

The main difference between Cinelerra-CVE and (Cinelerra-HV, Cinelerra-CV, Cinelerra-GG) is attempt to use (in Cinelerra-CVE) seconds as timebase instead of framerate and samplerate. An implementation of PTS based timing enables to edit media with variable framerate and get rid of assumption that audio and video start simultaneously... Big plan is to get Cinelerra-CVE to the level where a user can mix (in Cinelerra) media from different origins, with different frame rates, resolutions, sample rates, color spaces and get the result he/she needs. If the result is not satisfying, the user will have the tools to tweak the project until the result is perfect.[14]

The repository of Cinelerra-CVE is available on GitHub [4] and shows frequent updates. To know more about Cinelerra-CVE, visit this page on the new official Cinelerra-CV site.

Lumiera

[edit]

In April 2008, the Cinelerra community engaged into a rework and rewrite of the Community Version.[15] Initially called Cinelerra3,[16] it was soon separated into an independent project. The name Lumiera was chosen by the community through a collaborative selection and vote.[17]

The project maintained active development ever since,[18] yet there is no usable application as of October 2023, since the core team decided to build the engine and infrastructure bottom-up, while the UI is developed to match the capabilities of the core.

Lumiera is not a fork of Cinelerra. Not a single line of Cinelerra code is now used in Lumiera. Lumiera is built from scratch, starting with the engine core, yet pursuing a similar vision and expanding on some of the ideas and approaches found in Cinelerra. The project grew out of an effort to amend long standing problems present in the Cinelerra-CV code base at that time. The actual technology however is built ground-up, using contemporary methods.[19]

The project remains in a pre-alpha status of development with a yearly development news update Lumiera news.

Lumiera's native interface will be written in GTK+, although other interfaces will be possible, since the user interface is loaded as a plug-in.

The goal of the Lumiera project is to build a free open-source nonlinear video editing and compositing application (NLE).

Cinelerra-GG Infinity

[edit]
Cinelerra-GG Infinity
DeveloperCinelerra-GG community
Initial releaseMarch 31, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-03-31)
Stable release
2024-06 / June 30, 2024; 15 months ago (2024-06-30)
Repositorygit.cinelerra-gg.org/git/
Written inC++
Operating systemLinux
TypeVideo editing software
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later, external plug-ins may differ
Websitecinelerra-gg.org

Cinelerra-GG, a separate variant of Cinelerra by William Morrow and Phyllis Smith, started with merged code from Cinelerra-HV and Cinelerra-CV but quickly grew. It was first developed within Cinelerra.org (Cinelerra 4.6-mod, Cinelerra 5.0), then within the site of Cinelerra-cv.org (Cinelerra 5.0, Cinelerra 5.1, Cinelerra GG 5.1), and since December 2018 with its own website cinelerra-gg.org as Cinelerra-GG Infinity. William died on 11/2020 during a bicycle ride, but Phyllis continues to work on Cinelerra-GG. A new developer is now making frequent updates.

An important issue is that Cinelerra-GG reduces reliance on system libraries by including them where practical, like ffmpeg and OpenEXR. This makes it more predictable on different platforms, and also allows it to pick up new versions before the platform does.

Cinelerra-GG is determined to get as close as possible to what can be expected from professional level video editing software (NLE) for the Linux platform.

Its software features include support for recent versions of ffmpeg, extensive color correction tools, Ultra HD up to 8K, more than 400 video- and audio effects, two interfaces for audio plug-ins (LADSPA, and LV2 such as Calf Studio Gear), multiple denoisers and motion stabilizers, multi-camera editing, proxies, smart folders media filtering, 8, 10 and 12 bit color spaces, advanced trim, live preview of resources, shared tracks, group edits, horizontal and/or vertical timeline split, rendering pre-configuration options, and the ability to save workspace layouts. It supports over 400 video/picture formats for decoding, and over 140 for encoding, including Apple ProRes, AV1, and WEBP. It has a ¨Sketcher" plug-in for free-hand drawing, supports creating HD Blu-ray, and DVDs, and some OpenCV plugins like FindObj. It allows nested clips, and clip sharing between projects ("file-by-reference").

Its hardware support is for jog-wheels ShuttlePRO V.2 and ShuttleXpress from Contour Design, multiple monitors, HiDPI, and hardware-supported decoding/encoding via VAAPI/VDPAU/CUDA.

Like the other Cinelerra variants Cinelerra-GG uses its own GUI. It has eleven GUI themes to cater to user preferences.

The GG variant is under active development, with regular stable releases. It is supplied as a 64 or 32 bit AppImage for Linux. The source code is available as (manual) monthly download or from its git.

Before 2021, it was supplied as a multi user program pre-packaged for eight different Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, OpenSuse, Slackware, Fedora, Centos, Mint), and FreeBSD. When the applicable repository was added to a distribution's update manager, the monthly updates would appear automatically. In addition, there were single-user builds for the eight Linux distributions plus Gentoo, as tar files. All those builds are available in 64-bit, for Debian 9, Slackware and Ubuntu 14 there are also 32-bit single user builds. As a proof-of-concept, with the 2020-01 release was a Windows version with limited functionality; for details see the manual's chapter 1.

In addition to the GG variant's monthly releases, it is also available in two Linux variants dedicated to multimedia: AVLinux, and Bodhi Linux Media. It is also included in DeLinuxCo, and in lightweight Elive, of which the 32 bit version is usable on older computers.

Cinelerra-GG communicates with it users and developers through three platforms: its forum (user oriented), a bug tracker (feature requests, bugs, roadmap), and a mailing list (developers discussions). Each monthly release has a significant number of changes resulting from discussions and exchanges of information on these platforms.

Cinelerra-GG has an extensive, actively maintained manual in both PDF and HTML form, which is also accessible from within the Cinelerra-GG program. The manual is helpful for both beginners (e.g. Quickstart section) and professionals. There is also a YouTube channel with tutorials.

The differences between the GG and other Cinelerra variants can be found in [5].

History of Cinelerra versions

[edit]

Events from the original creator Heroine Virtual have been indicated with Broadcast/Broadcast2000 and HV, those of the "community version" with CV, and those of the GG Infinity variant with GG.

Variant Version Release date Changes
Broadcast 1.0 1996 From the "Secrets of Cinelerra" by A. Williams:
"It was just a window with a waveform in it, it could cut and paste stereo audio waveforms on a UNIX box, except unlike other audio editors it could handle files up to 2 gigabytes with only 64 megs of RAM."
Broadcast 2.0 1997 From the "Secrets of Cinelerra" by A. Williams:
"2.0 still only handled audio. A few effects could be performed as the audio was playing back, in realtime. Unlimited numbers of tracks, fade, pan, EQ."
Broadcast 2000 Beta 1 1999-05-10 From the Heroine Virtual website's Broadcast NEWS section:[20]
Sucked.

From the "Secrets of Cinelerra" by A. Williams:

"This iteration of the Broadcast series could do wonders with audio and offered a pretty good video feature set. It could edit video files up to 64 terabytes."
Broadcast 2000 Beta 2 1999-09-09 From the Heroine Virtual website's Broadcast NEWS section:[20]
"Transitions, more plugins, SMP support, non-square pixels, interpolation. Fell in love with the Russian Heroine"
Broadcast 2000 Final 2000-01-10 From the Heroine Virtual website's Broadcast NEWS section:[20]
"Direct copy playback. Direct copy rendering, MP3 and M2V decoder, rotation, plugin automation, image stabilization, spectrogram, double click selections, frame average, variable, edit handle functions, feet-frame timecode, frame advance, track concatenation, frame rate normalization. Fell out of love with the Russian Heroine."
Broadcast 2000 Bcast2000a 2000-07-20 From the Heroine Virtual website's Broadcast NEWS section:[20]
"RGB to 601 conversion, convolution, wirl, polarize, shift interlace, YUV adjust plugins. Firewire, LML33, Esound support. 2 gigabyte overflows allowed. Relative paths in HTAL files. Fewer audio crashes than it already had. Fell in and out of love with the Hardware Heroine."
Broadcast 2000 Bcast2000b 2000-10-11 From the Heroine Virtual website's Broadcast NEWS section:[20]
"The second incremental update. Features Freeverb, Pentium I executable, effect bugfix. Function prototypes migrated to Linux 2.2.17, gcc 2.96, libc2.92. Fell in love with Heroine College."
Broadcast 2000 Bcast2000c 2001-01-10 From the Heroine Virtual website's Broadcast NEWS section:[20].
"Supports movies larger than 4 gigabytes. No longer supports 2 gig subdivisions. Improved MPEG editing. Improved DV quality. Function prototypes migrated to Linux 2.4.0."
2000-06-15 Founding of the Cinelerra project. After numerous discussions between Adam Williams and Michael Collins about the direction of Non-Linear Editing on Linux, Williams presented the name and concept of Cinelerra to business partner Michael Collins in Sunnyvale, California.
HV Beta 1 2002-06-10 HV's SourceForge backup files show frequent activity up since 2001-09-09 straight up to release 1.1.0 .
HV Beta 2 2002-07-12
HV 1.0.0 2002-08-12 Initial release.
HV 110802 2002-11-08 This release still identified itself as version 1.1.0, but had considerable changes compared to the 2002-08-12 release, for instance LADSPA support and titler changes. Because there are 3 separate blocks of comment in the change log since the 2002-08-12 release, this is more like a version 1.1.3 .
HV 1.1.5 2003-02-11 From the change log in the source[21] (selection):
¨Adaptive deinterlace, proper 16 bit alpha blending, more ffmpeg/MPEG-4 options¨
CV 1.1.5 2003-04-29 HV code "forked" into a community CVS version.
HV 1.1.6 2003-05-12 From the change log in the source[21] (selection):
"Paste silence and clipboards shifts effect keyframes properly, titler improvements, IEEE1394 improvements, allow add track anywhere in timeline, auto-scroll timeline when dragging cursor."
HV 1.1.7 2003-08-11 From the change log in the source[21] (selection):
"Time stretch based on overlapping windows instead of FFT, use ffmpeg decoder for MPEG-4, freeze frame has line doubling option, importing of dvgrab and lavtools AVI files. Adaptations for 64 bit X86 CPU."
CV 1.1.7 2003-10-05 Merge with community CVS version.
HV 1.1.8 2003-11-11 From the change log in the source[21] (selection):
"File box sorting, track nudge, more tooltips, patternless Inverse Telecine, oversampling improvements."
HV 1.1.9 2004-02-11 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:
¨This is a landmark since it's probably the first time more code was submitted from the community than internally.¨
CV 1.1.9 2004-02-17 Merge with community CVS version.
HV 1.2.0 2004-05-11 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:
"Cinelerra has a massive number of small changes. Quicktime finally decodes Sorenson and compressed headers."
HV 1.2.1 2004-08-12 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:
"Quicktime 2.0.4 updated. Enter the world of floating point imaging in this release. It's not just a more accurate colorspace, it's a totally new way of thinking about color. Finally, Cinelerra is officially more stable in 64 bit mode than 32 bit mode."
CV 1.2.1 2004-08-16 Merged with community CVS version. Special enhancements were added to this version E.g. H264 Kod. Cineon used at NAB under Fedora 1,2 and BSD 5, this could handle 4k film 4096x4096 if graphics card permits. Fast frame rate in excess of 210 frames per second at 720x480 29.97, while bringing in live HD video in the timeline from a video camera. video4linux driver Zoran chip.
HV 1.2.2 2005-01-10 From the change log in the source[21] (selection):
"Treshold effect, unsharp mask effect, spherical gradient, motion and rotation tracking, greyscale TIFF loading, quicktime RGBA8888 reading and writing."
CV 1.2.2 2005-01-18 Merged with community CVS version.
CV 2.0 2005-09-29 Merge with community SVN version.
HV 2.0 2005-10-04 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:
"H.264 encoding and MPEG-4 audio encoding. Import MPEG video directly.¨
HV 2.1 2006-07-02 From the change log in the source[21] (selection):
"Multiple audio processing improvements, compositor improvements, limited DVD subtitle support, OpenGL support for compositing and many effects, motion tracking improvements."
CV 2.1 2006-09-07 Merge with community SVN version. (The first use of git and a multi-person merge)
HV 4.0 2008-08-11 Since all versions 2.0 onward 10bit (useful for prof. Cinepaint) and 16bit RGB(A),YUV(A) have been removed and replaced with RGB YUV Float instead.
HV 4.1 2009-09-25 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Main feature is nested sequences. The Viewer window does not display video clips, Bug fixed in next version at the expense of another feature removed."
HV 4.2 2010-10-17 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Mainly a bugfix & personal need release. `Edit->Align edits` feature, which aligns all the audio edits with the video. Keyframe spanning feature, where highlighting a region with keyframe generation on causes effect tweeks to span all the keyframes. All assets are now opened in subprocesses so they don't bring down the entire program when they crash. Cannot drag and drop edit clips anymore, feature removed here and future versions."
CV 2.1.5 2010-11-21 From the Cinelerra-CV website's NEWS section:[11]
¨CinelerraCV 2.1.5 is out, with SOWT audio support, other improvements and bug fixes. For more details see the release announcement."
HV 4.3 2011-08-06 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Text to movie". Allows one to turn a script into an instant movie with live updating and seeking.
CV 2.2 2011-11-13 From the Cinelerra-CV website's NEWS section:[11]
"It includes Hermann Vosseler's Bezier Patch (Bézier automation for Cinelerra-CV fades, camera and projector), improved default settings, extended audio range, support for multiline label and clips comments, autodetection of OpenGL in configure, detection of v4l2.¨
HV 4.4 2012-09-07 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
¨Faster startup and responsiveness, audio oscilloscope, new bright theme, and also 3 way colour correction."
HV 4.5 2013-10-25 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Speed curves mainly for video & in degraded quality for audio. Some control over whether automation follows edits. Ability to transfer keyframes between audio and video tracks. Motion temporaries are stored in /tmp/m and /tmp/r files. Time Avg clears the accumulator on keyframes."
HV 4.6 2014-09-10 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Split pane editing. OpenGL supported on Intel HD. Titler improvements. Bugfixes.¨
org 5.0 2015-07-04 Cinelerra.org releases a studio centric version of Cinelerra titled 5.0. Cinelerra is now fully integrated with FFMPEG and supports numerous 4K and 2K uncompressed cinema standards from such camera manufacturers as AJA, Blackmagic Design, and Red.
Latest version: CV Latest version: 2.3 2015-08-13 From the Cinelerra-CV website's NEWS section:[23]
"Full UTF-8 support; Complete new overlay engine and resampler; New graphics: About panel, some icons; New plugins: GreyCStoration, C41, Bluebanana, color3way, findobject, lens; Some translations have been updated (German, Italian, French, Norwegian, Portuguese); Lots of small bugfixes; Changes in build system"
HV 4.6.1 2015-11-09 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
¨Updated the x264 compressor library. Improved the mp3 decoding. Video scaling is now either nearest neighbor or bicubic, but never linear. Proxy editing got a start before discovering modern PCs can easily decode 4k."
5.1 (GG) 5.1 2016-03-31 The first of monthly releases of a branch separate from the HV, CV and .org versions, first under the name Cinelerra 5.1, but from September 2018 as Cinelerra-GG Infinity.
HV 6.0 2016-11-17 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Updated the h264 decoding. There are no longer picons in the asset window. Motion tracking got major optimizations. Resampling effects got new interfaces. Titler can load subtitle files.¨
HV 7.0 2017-10-13 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Optimized playback of large format video. H.265 decoding. Optimized screen capturing. Spherical camera blending. Eyedropper can show the maximum value. Interpolating CR2 images always white balances."
GG 2018-09 2018-09-30 First of monthly releases of the Cinelerra-GG Infinity version, this is a rolling release. See the release notes[24] which cover monthly releases since mid-2016, initially not under the GG name but as version 5.1 .
HV 7.1 2019-01-23 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
¨Exporting of H.265 video in Quicktime. Seeking for MKV/WEBM files. More bugs fixed.¨
GG 2019-01 2019-01-31 The 5th monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity adds support for jog-wheels ShuttlePRO V.2 and ShuttleXpress from Contour Design.
GG 2019-04 2019-04-30 The 8th monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity allows GPU-accelerated decoding for some video formats.
GG 2019-05 2019-05-31 The 9th monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity adds GPU-accelerated encoding for some video formats.
GG 2019-07 2019-07-31 The 11th monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity has significant improvements in masking.
HV 7.2 2019-10-11 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
" A long awaited audio upgrade. New flanger, chorus, tremolo, & multiband compressor. Reverb got a full band pass filter. Compressor got VU meters & grid snapping. Pulseaudio support. Sample accurate keyframes for audio plugins. Better synchronization between the audio plugins & the playhead. Right click on an edit to get an info box. The ever present bug fixes."
GG 2019-10 2019-10-31 The 14th monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity adds scaling for HiDPI monitors, and speeds up AV1 decoding.
GG 2020-01 2020-01-31 The 17th monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity adds OpenSuse Tumbleweed as supported platform, and Gentoo as single user platform. In addition, a limited Windows version is available.
GG 2020-07 2020-07-31 The 23rd monthly release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity adds aligning video using timecodes, two more subtitle formats, and auto-rotate for videos with rotation metadata set.
GG 2021-02 2021-02-28 The 27th release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. The release format is changed from distro-specific packaging to AppImage. Other changes: autosave backups optional feature is now a Settings in Preferences under Appearance; additional FFmpeg video/audio render formats available such as dnxhr variants; aspect ratio and interlace improvements; batch Render menu now has a hidden feature to prevent mistakes which can be turned on/off; Openjpeg upgraded from 2.3.1 to 2.4.0.
HV 7.3 2021-03-04 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Bug fixes for running on a 4K monitor. Support for odd frame sizes in OpenGL. CR3 file format. Automatic histogram value."
GG 2021-05 2021-05-31 The 29th release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. It adds context-sensitive help via alt-h.
GG 2021-07 2021-07-31 The 31st release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. Updates to x264, x265 and AV1 codecs, H.265 10 and 12 bit support updated and combined with 8 bit, improvements in EDL export, PAL/NTSC color space split.
GG 2021-08 2021-08-31 The 32nd release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. The built-in ffmpeg upgraded to version 4.4, over 20 new audio/video effects, configurable fast/slow speeds.
HV 7.4 2021-10-21 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Load a nested EDL without pasting it. Swap an asset for a nested EDL. Change the frame rate of a nested EDL. Transparency checkerboard. Change parameters of a single edit with text entry. Checks for recursive nested EDLs. Memory management bugfixes"
GG 2021-10 2021-10-31 The 34th release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. Additional render formats (Cineform, DPX, MXF), Hungarian as GUI language added, fix for title fade, fix slow startup due to unneeded discovery of plugins.
GG 2022-03 2022-03-31 The 39th release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. A pre-built version for FreeBSD 12.3 and FreeBSD 13 is available in the test section. For aarch64 an AppImage can be built. Multiple libraries updates, faster AV1 support, build scripts improvements, dvd render improvement.
GG 2022-05 2022-05-31 The 41st release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. Built-in OpenJPEG upgraded from 2.4.0 to 2.5.0. LV2 audio plugin improvements. Fixes for Blu-ray, non-linux platforms, Timecode (Ctrl-!), and memory/resource leaks. Various build improvements, vaapi render formats QT and MKV added.
GG 2022-08 2022-08-31 The 44th release of Cinelerra-GG Infinity. Built-in FFMPEG libraries upgraded from 4.4 to 5.1 . 11 new video plugins, 10 new audio plugins, and multiple render formats added.
HV 8 2022-10-23 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"GPU accelerated rendering. Faster GPU accelerated playback. Write output to command line ffmpeg."
Latest version: HV Latest version: 9 2024-05-17 From the Heroine Virtual website's NEWS section:[22]
"Previews for transitions & file dialogs. Color curves, revised chromakey HSV, lookahead stabilizer, improved title alignments, more keyframe features, swap channels on different tracks. Fewer bugs. More documentation."
Latest version: GG Latest version: 2024-06 2024-06-30 NEWS[25]
Legend:
Latest version

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Cinelerra

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Cinelerra is a free and open-source non-linear and track-based software primarily designed for operating systems, enabling users to compose, edit, and render high-fidelity audio and video media with support for uncompressed content, arbitrary resolutions, and advanced effects. Originally developed by Adam Williams (also known as Jack Crossfire) at Heroine Virtual Ltd. starting around 1997 as an evolution of the earlier Broadcast 2000 project, Cinelerra was first publicly released in June 2000 and saw its official debut in August 2002 under the GNU General Public License. It pioneered 64-bit media processing when rewritten for the processor in 2003, becoming the world's first 64-bit , which was demonstrated at 2004. Key features include real-time of high-definition formats like , acceleration for GPUs, support for a wide range of codecs such as H.264 and H.265 without , and tools for timeline-based , , rendering farms, and audio enhancements like flangers and choruses. Due to differing development visions, Cinelerra has spawned several variants, including the original Cinelerra-HV maintained by Heroine Virtual with periodic releases and a rolling binary repository launched in February 2024; Cinelerra-CV, a fork focused on stability and bug fixes, at version 2.3 with development frozen as of 2025; and Cinelerra-GG (also known as Cinelerra-GG Infinity), initiated by William Morrow in 2014 and actively developed with monthly rolling releases incorporating enhancements, continuing after Morrow's passing in November 2020. As of 2025, Cinelerra-HV's latest release is version 10 from April, while Cinelerra-GG maintains ongoing monthly updates. These versions share a complex but powerful interface, making Cinelerra suitable for professional workflows while remaining accessible with guidance, though it remains Linux-exclusive and emphasizes pure software rendering alongside GPU options.

History

Origins and Early Development

Cinelerra's development originated with Adam Williams at Heroine Virtual Ltd., where he began work in 1996 on Broadcast 1.0, a Unix-based audio editor capable of handling large 2 GB files using minimal 64 MB of RAM and supporting non-destructive editing through basic X11 interface calls. This initial software focused solely on audio manipulation, loading single files or edit lists from the command line to perform bit-shifting operations. By 1999, the project evolved into Broadcast 2000, which introduced capabilities alongside enhanced audio features, including support for files up to 64 TB and real-time chained effects with instant feedback, tailored specifically for systems. This version marked a significant expansion into and non-linear video workflows, building on the audio foundation to address professional media production needs on open-source platforms. In August 2002, the software transitioned to Cinelerra, rebranded as a comprehensive non-linear video editor and released as open-source under the to foster community involvement. Early development emphasized 64-bit processing, culminating in 2003 when Cinelerra became the first 64-bit media production application, rewritten for the processor and demonstrated at 2004. However, initial versions faced challenges with limited hardware support due to inconsistent drivers for sound and , as well as reliance on custom libraries for core functionality.

Key Milestones and Releases

Cinelerra's development post-launch has been marked by significant technical advancements and a branching into multiple variants, each with distinct release strategies. A pivotal early milestone occurred in 2004 when Cinelerra was showcased at , demonstrating its pioneering 64-bit multitrack editing capabilities for workflows. This presentation underscored the software's potential for professional-grade and real-time effects processing on systems. In 2005, the release of Cinelerra 2.0 represented a major stability overhaul, incorporating enhanced effects chaining and improved real-time playback to address user feedback on earlier versions' reliability. This update solidified Cinelerra's role as a robust open-source alternative for , with better support for multitrack audio and video synchronization. The integration of FFmpeg libraries further transformed Cinelerra's format handling around 2015 with version , allowing seamless import and export of a wide range of media codecs and maturing in later releases like version 7 in 2017, which added H.265 decoding support. This milestone enhanced compatibility with contemporary video standards without compromising performance.

Cinelerra-HV Release Timeline

Cinelerra-HV, maintained by Heroine Virtual Ltd., adopted an annual release cycle focused on incremental enhancements for users. Key versions include:
VersionRelease DateKey Enhancements
2.0September 2005Improved stability, expanded effects library.
4.2October 2010Align edits function, keyframe spanning across clips.
7October 2017Optimized playback, FFmpeg-based H.265 support, spherical video blending.
8October 2022GPU-accelerated rendering and playback, FFmpeg command-line output integration.
9May 2024Transition previews, color curves, chromakey in HSV, lookahead stabilizer.
10April 20254x scrubbing speed, LUT support for , GPU processing prioritization before CPU, enhanced stabilizer.
These annual updates emphasized and workflow efficiency, culminating in version 10's focus on high-performance features like faster scrubbing and GPU utilization.

Cinelerra-CV Development Halt

Cinelerra-CV, the community-driven variant prioritizing stability, reached its final milestone with version 2.3 released in August 2015, after which development was frozen due to shifting priorities among contributors. This version incorporated bug fixes and minor optimizations but ceased active updates to maintain a reliable baseline for users.

Cinelerra-GG Rolling Releases

Cinelerra-GG Infinity, initiated by William Morrow in 2016 as a community fork merging code from Cinelerra-HV and Cinelerra-CV, implemented a monthly model to deliver continuous improvements, with development continuing under and the community after Morrow's passing in November 2020. By 2019, it achieved 8K video support, enabling handling of ultra-high-resolution footage with features like proxy editing for smoother workflows. The project introduced packaging in late 2024 for easier distribution across distributions, simplifying installation without system dependencies. As of June 2025, the latest release (2025-06) included 64-bit updates and ongoing refinements to 8K processing, maintaining the software's edge in and motion tracking. This ongoing cycle ensures rapid incorporation of user-requested features, such as audio plugin support added in earlier monthly builds.

Features

Core Editing and Playback Capabilities

Cinelerra GG employs a (NLE) paradigm, enabling users to arrange and manipulate video and audio clips on a timeline-based interface without sequential constraints. The timeline facilitates drag-and-drop or cut-and-paste operations across multiple video and audio tracks, supporting layered compositions with transitions and keyframes for precise control over edits at any project point. The playback engine delivers real-time preview functionality, including a 5-second live preview in the resource window upon mouse-over and tunable parameters for playback speed and performance. It supports variable-speed scrubbing up to 4x for efficient navigation and handles uncompressed formats alongside compressed ones via integrated FFmpeg libraries. Media import and export leverage FFmpeg integration, providing access to over 400 decoders and 150 encoders for formats such as MP4, MKV, , , and MPEG. The software manages resolutions from standard definition (SD) up to 8K (7680x4320 pixels), supports RGBA and color spaces in 8-bit and 10-bit depths, and accommodates 64-bit audio processing for high-fidelity workflows. Core editing tools encompass cutting and splicing via advanced trim functions (including roll edits to adjust clip boundaries), multi-camera editing for synchronized multi-angle sequences, and batch rendering options for efficient output to DVD or Blu-ray standards. Users can perform /redo operations on edits and utilize proxy files to edit high-resolution footage on modest hardware. Performance is enhanced through resolution-independent rendering, which scales processing based on project needs, and via graphics cards from , , and compatible vendors for decoding, playback, and rendering tasks. Additional optimizations include background rendering and support for distributed processing across multiple machines.

Advanced Compositing and Effects

Cinelerra provides robust compositing tools that enable precise layering and masking for post-production workflows. Alpha mattes are implemented through the Reroute plugin, which facilitates the transfer of alpha channels between tracks to create dynamic masks, such as those generated from fractal patterns or other visual elements. Chroma keying operates on an HSV color model via the dedicated Chroma Key (HSV) plugin, allowing users to remove specific colors—like green screens—with parameters for hue tolerance (0-100%), brightness thresholds (0-100%), and spill compensation to minimize color artifacts. Multi-layer overlays are handled by the Overlay plugin, supporting blend modes such as normal, additive, and multiply to composite multiple tracks seamlessly. The software's effects library encompasses over 400 plugins in the Cinelerra-GG variant, including native video and audio tools, FFmpeg filters, and LADSPA/LV2 extensions, far exceeding the core set in earlier versions. Key examples include plugins like /Contrast for adjustments, for RGB/CMY shifts, and for input/output gamma mapping, all supporting keyframe automation for temporal changes. Blur effects, such as the standard Blur (with horizontal/vertical radius controls) and Linear Blur (directional with length and angle parameters), enable softening or motion simulation. Distortion tools like Polar convert between polar and rectangular coordinates for warping , while the plugin generates animated text overlays with keyframed properties for position, fade, and drop shadows. Advanced capabilities extend into specialized tasks. Lookahead , introduced in Cinelerra-HV version 9, uses motion tracking with search radius and block matching to smooth footage by analyzing future frames, reducing in handheld or vehicle-mounted shots. Channel swapping via the Swap Channels plugin allows reordering of R, G, B, and alpha components—such as inverting channels for simulation or creating custom mattes— with options to fill swapped areas with black (0%) or white (100%). LUT application for became native in Cinelerra-HV version 10, enabling quick application of lookup tables to match cinematic looks or correct log footage, with support in Cinelerra-GG through user-specified LUT files for precise . In the Cinelerra-GG variant, integration with external libraries like FFmpeg, audio plugins, and expands capabilities for effects such as object motion tracking and stylization, via plugins like MoveObj and StylizeObj. The rendering pipeline optimizes high-resolution workflows with proxy editing, available since Cinelerra-HV version 4.6.1 and refined in later releases, which generates lower-resolution proxies (up to 10x reduction using formats like ) for real-time editing of 4K/8K footage before final high-res render. GPU-accelerated effects, introduced in Cinelerra-HV version 8 and enhanced in version 10 with priority GPU processing before CPU fallback, leverage and hardware for faster playback and rendering of composited layers via and VA-API/.

User Interface and Workflow

Main Components and Layout

Cinelerra employs a multi-window interface design, typically consisting of four primary windows that can be resized, repositioned, or closed as needed: the (also known as the Program window), Viewer, Compositor, and Resources. The serves as the central hub for timeline-based , displaying a horizontal timeline representation of media tracks stacked vertically, allowing users to arrange clips, transitions, and effects over time. To the left of the timeline in the lies the patchbay, a column of controls for each track that enables , arming for recording or playback, muting, and other per-track configurations such as labels and settings. controls, including play, stop, rewind, fast-forward, and frame-by-frame buttons, are positioned below the timeline for precise playback and scrubbing. The Viewer window provides a preview interface for source media, clips, or selected portions of the timeline, supporting tools for marking in/out points, splitting clips, and basic scrubbing independent of the main timeline. In contrast, the Compositor window renders the final output from the timeline, facilitating operations like masking, keyframing for motion, and applying directly to the project sequence. The Resources window acts as the hub, featuring folders for media files, clips, video/audio effects, and transitions, with a content area displaying thumbnails, waveforms, and metadata for imported assets to ease selection and drag-and-drop integration into the timeline. Cinelerra's menu structure is primarily accessed through the Composer window, encompassing categories such as File for loading/saving s and media import, Settings for project formats and preferences, and specialized menus like Audio/Video for rendering effects and Tracks for managing track properties. Keyboard shortcuts streamline navigation and operations, such as 'o' for loading files, for timeline movement, and 't'/'Shift+t' for adding audio/video tracks, promoting efficient without heavy reliance on menus. Across variants, the core layout remains consistent, but differences emerge in stylistic and functional enhancements. Cinelerra-HV adopts a minimalistic, retro-style interface with basic window framing and limited visual polish, emphasizing functionality over aesthetics. In comparison, Cinelerra-GG features an enhanced layout with additional tabs for multi-viewer support, expanded toolbars for quick access to plugins and settings, and improved through customizable workspaces that allow saving and switching between layouts. The asset browser in GG variants includes proxy support and smart folders for better media organization, while maintaining the foundational Resources panel structure.

Customization and Operation

Cinelerra offers extensive keyboard and shortcuts to streamline operations, enabling efficient workflows. For instance, users can toggle between Drag-and-Drop and Cut-and-Paste modes with the 'e' key, facilitating ripple edits that automatically adjust subsequent clips. Snapping is achieved by holding SHIFT while dragging clips or keyframes, aligning them precisely to timeline markers or other elements. Zooming functions include the up arrow for zooming out on the timeline, the down arrow for zooming in, and '+' or '-' keys in the Viewer or Compositor windows to adjust levels. These shortcuts, which often require no modifiers, can be viewed and partially customized through the Preferences dialog accessed via SHIFT+P. Settings panels in Cinelerra allow users to tailor the interface and to their needs. The Interface tab in Preferences enables theme selection, where users choose from available visual styles and restart the application to apply changes, enhancing usability in different lighting or hardware setups. Proxy modes are configured under the Performance tab, where options like cache size and preroll seconds optimize playback for high-resolution by generating lower-resolution proxies on demand. Audio monitoring configurations appear in the Playback tab, including buffer size adjustments to balance latency and reliability, audio offset for (tested via effects like gradients), and driver selection such as ALSA or with specific parameters for output devices. Plugin configurations are managed via environment variables like LADSPA_PATH for locating effects libraries. Workflows in Cinelerra begin with project setup using the 'n' key for new projects, followed by loading media via 'o' and saving sessions with 's'. Applying automation curves involves enabling keyframing in the View menu (e.g., Fade or Zoom curves), then click-dragging on the timeline in arrow mode to create and adjust keyframes; for example, in the Compositor, dragging an image generates X, Y, or Z translation keyframes, with CTRL-drag modifying curve sharpness for smooth transitions like pans or fades. Rendering queues are handled through batch rendering: save projects as .cin.xml files, then in the File > Batch Render dialog, add EDL paths, output formats, and options like "Create new file at each label"; start the queue with the Start button, allowing multiple renders to process sequentially or via command line for automation. Audio operations integrate seamlessly, such as muting regions with 'm' or pasting silence via SHIFT+Space during timeline adjustments. Accessibility features support iterative editing and reliability. The undo/redo stack is invoked with 'z' for and SHIFT+Z for redo, providing a for corrections without data loss. Session saving via 's' preserves the entire project state, including timelines and effects, while plugin dialogs open through the Effects or key '9' for keyframe views, allowing real-time adjustments. These tools ensure robust operation, though the software's non-intuitive default mappings contribute to a steep learning curve, making it particularly powerful for professional users once mastered.

Variants

Cinelerra-HV

Cinelerra-HV represents the original lineage of the Cinelerra video editing software, maintained exclusively by its creator, Adam Williams, under Heroine Virtual since its official release in August 2002. Originally evolving from Williams' earlier projects like Broadcast 2000 in the late 1990s, Cinelerra-HV was designed as a professional-grade nonlinear editor for Linux, emphasizing core video and audio manipulation capabilities. Williams has handled all development solo, focusing on annual releases that prioritize stability and essential functionality over expansive feature additions, reflecting a minimalist approach to sustain the software's foundational integrity. The latest stable release, version 10, was issued on April 18, 2025, introducing refinements such as enhanced align edits for precise timeline synchronization, time stretch transport controls for audio/video speed adjustments, and preliminary GPU options to leverage before fallback to CPU rendering. Other updates include 4x scrubbing speed for faster preview navigation, improved dragging and razor tool behaviors, LUT support for , and a super stabilizer for single-axis footage correction, alongside options to ignore muted or overlapped tracks during playback. These enhancements build on Cinelerra-HV's legacy of efficient, real-time effects , originally implemented to compensate for hardware limitations in the early . Distribution of Cinelerra-HV occurs primarily through , where and 64-bit Linux binaries are provided as tarballs, with packaging geared toward and compatible distributions for straightforward installation. Unlike community-oriented variants, it lacks dedicated forums or collaborative support channels, aligning with Williams' independent stewardship. This setup underscores Cinelerra-HV's strengths in minimal system dependencies and optimized performance on older hardware, thanks to its rendering pipeline and avoidance of bloated libraries, enabling smooth operation even on resource-constrained setups. However, these choices contribute to drawbacks like infrequent updates—limited to roughly once per year—and the absence of rolling releases or modern integration features, potentially requiring user tweaks for compatibility. Historically, Cinelerra-HV serves as the foundational from which all subsequent forks and emerged, including efforts to extend its capabilities, while Williams continues to utilize it for his personal video projects. Its enduring role highlights a commitment to a streamlined, self-contained environment that prioritizes reliability for individual creators over broad ecosystem integration.

Cinelerra-CV and CVE

Cinelerra-CV emerged as a community-driven of the original Cinelerra project, initiated around to facilitate collaborative development and open contributions through a shared repository. This variant prioritized stability and reliability over rapid feature additions, incorporating bug fixes, enhancements for broader portability across distributions, and periodic merges of updates from the Heroine Virtual (HV) branch. The project emphasized refining the codebase for everyday usability, with community members submitting patches via mailing lists to address issues like segmentation faults and memory leaks. The last stable release of Cinelerra-CV, version 2.3, was issued on August 10, 2015, introducing full support, a revised plugin infrastructure, and improvements to the overlay engine and resampler for better performance. This version also added new plugins such as GreyCStoration for film grain reduction and enhanced colormodel conversions, while focusing on cross-distribution compatibility tested on platforms like . Development effectively halted after this release due to challenges in maintaining active leadership, with the codebase now hosted on without subsequent official updates. Key contributions during its active period included deeper integration with FFmpeg libraries for media decoding and encoding, enabling more robust handling of various formats and reducing dependencies on components. In parallel, Cinelerra-CVE represents an experimental extension of the CV branch, started in by developer Rünkaru to explore advanced timing mechanisms. This fork implemented Presentation Time Stamp (PTS)-based timing for both video and audio streams, allowing for variable framerate editing and eliminating rigid assumptions about that could cause playback desynchronization. It further enhanced FFmpeg (via AVlibs versions 2.8 to 3.4) integration by leveraging external system libraries, improving cross-distro support on architectures like x86-32 and , and adding features such as a master track and configurable backups. However, as of 2025, CVE remains incomplete, with unresolved issues in playback optimization, rendering, and plugin API documentation, reflecting its status as a personal, slow-paced development effort without guaranteed completion.

Cinelerra-GG Infinity

Cinelerra-GG Infinity represents the most active community-driven fork of the Cinelerra lineage, developed primarily by the "Good Guy" (GG) team through a merger of codebases from Cinelerra-HV and Cinelerra-CV, along with original enhancements aimed at improving usability and performance. This integration combined the strengths of the heroinevirtual (HV) branch's professional tools with the community version (CV)'s collaborative improvements, while adding GG-specific optimizations for modern workflows. The project was renamed to Cinelerra-GG Infinity in 2018 to reflect its ongoing evolution beyond versioned releases. The development follows a monthly model, delivering updates with new features, performance tweaks, and fixes approximately every 30 days to keep pace with user needs and hardware advancements. As of November 2025, the latest release is the June 30, 2025, update featuring 64-bit AppImages with minor changes and fixes. These updates emphasize practical enhancements like better proxy workflows for high-resolution footage and integration with recent FFmpeg versions for over 400 decoders and encoders, alongside support for (up to 7680x4320 resolution), an enhanced video stabilizer for smoother motion correction, and expanded photo editing tools including handling from select digital cameras. Distribution prioritizes portability and accessibility, with AppImages providing a self-contained installation method for users without requiring system package managers, alongside source code hosted on dedicated repositories to facilitate community contributions and custom builds. Key unique additions include built-in DVD and Blu-ray authoring for non-commercial media, allowing direct disc creation and editing within the application, as well as an expanded effects library exceeding 400 plugins for tasks like color correction, motion graphics, and denoising. Bug fixes are iteratively addressed through user-reported issues, ensuring rapid resolution of stability concerns in rendering and playback. The surrounding community remains vibrant, with active forums for and feature discussions, a repository of user-generated tutorials covering techniques and plugin usage, and ongoing efforts in translations to broaden . Released under General Public License (GPL), it leverages FFmpeg for comprehensive media format compatibility, enabling seamless handling of diverse audio and video inputs.

Lumiera and Other Derivatives

Lumiera emerged in 2008 as a complete ground-up rewrite of Cinelerra, initiated by members of the Cinelerra-CV community seeking to address longstanding architectural limitations without reusing any original code. Developed primarily in C++ with the GTK+ toolkit for its , the project emphasizes modularity by treating the GUI as a plugin and incorporating asynchronous pull-processing in its render . Key goals include robust session management through a "Placement" concept that integrates node-based and layer-based workflows, a flexible to support diverse interfaces and extensions, and the elimination of legacy code issues that plagued earlier Cinelerra versions. This approach draws inspiration from the original Cinelerra's innovative features while aiming for greater scalability and reliability in professional and . As of 2025, Lumiera remains in pre-alpha status, with core engine components developed but the GUI integration stalled due to limited developer resources, leading to sporadic updates via its repository. The project continues active development through community meetings and open-source contributions, though it has not yet reached a full release suitable for production use. Beyond Lumiera, other derivatives of Cinelerra are limited to minor experimental efforts, such as attempted ports to non-Linux operating systems like macOS, and various plugin extensions, none of which have achieved mainstream adoption or ongoing support. These offshoots remain largely obsolete or niche, with no significant forks emerging outside the primary variants.

Adoption and Community

Usage in Projects and Recognition

Cinelerra has been employed in independent films, documentaries, and Linux-based productions since the early , serving as a key tool in open-source video workflows for capturing, , and footage. For instance, it supports FireWire capture from MiniDV cameras and enables , keying, and integration of CGI elements, making it suitable for small-scale projects like wedding videos or educational content. Early examples include community-driven efforts documented by Dyne.org, highlighting its role in fostering free media creation. Notable projects utilizing Cinelerra encompass open-source media initiatives, such as the documentary series "then you win," which explores non-violence themes through professional editing workflows, and short films like "Alubias animadas," blending real and 3D imagery. It has also contributed to content and amateur TV-style productions, where users leverage its unlimited tracks and effects for transitions and audio mixing in resource-constrained environments. The software is particularly praised for managing large files and high-resolution sequences on modest hardware, allowing hobbyists to handle HD imports without advanced systems. Recognition for Cinelerra includes features in Linux Journal reviews, where it was highlighted as an "incredibly full-featured" free alternative in video production pipelines alongside tools like Kino and . Opensource.com has covered its strengths in and setups, positioning it as a viable option for users despite ongoing development challenges. The community-supported CinelerraCV variant received attention for its >60 video effects and batch rendering capabilities in professional evaluations. The user base spans professionals in (VFX) for tasks, educators creating content, and hobbyists editing family videos or animations. The Cinelerra-GG Infinity variant supports 8K , high-dynamic-range editing, and motion tracking on systems. However, its dated often deters casual users, though power users value the depth of features like realtime effects and multi-monitor support.

Current Development Status and Resources

As of 2025, the active development variants of Cinelerra are the HV branch, maintained with semi-annual releases by a solo developer, and the GG Infinity branch, which receives monthly updates from a team of contributors. The CV branch is considered frozen, with limited maintenance, while a derivative called CVE continues sporadically by a single developer; Lumiera, another derivative, remains in pre-alpha status with foundational work ongoing but no full release available. Official resources for the HV variant are hosted on heroinewarrior.com, providing downloads, installation guides, and manuals focused on core editing workflows. For GG Infinity, cinelerra-gg.org serves as the primary site, offering and source downloads, an updated and PDF manual, tutorials, and integration guides for distributions like and [Arch Linux](/page/Arch Linux). The original central organizational site, cinelerra.org, has not functioned as a unified hub since domain changes in the , leading to fragmented resources across variants. Community support centers on the GG variant, with active mailing at lists.cinelerra-gg.org for discussions, bug reports, and feature requests, alongside a dedicated forum for tutorials and user exchanges. Informal discussions occur on , particularly in Linux-focused subreddits, where users share troubleshooting tips and comparisons with other editors. In 2025, the HV branch released version 10 in , introducing enhancements to the align edits function, time stretch controls, and scrubbing speed. GG Infinity follows a model, with the June 2025 update (dated 20250630) delivering minor stability improvements and new 64-bit AppImages. Looking ahead, the GG variant demonstrates greater sustainability through open contributions via its repository and community-driven bug tracker, though both branches seek additional developers to address ongoing maintenance needs.

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  49. https://opensource.com/life/15/1/current-state-linux-video-editing
  50. https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/cinelerracv-project
  51. http://www.heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra/
  52. https://cinelerra-gg.org/download/Cinelerra_Manual.pdf
  53. https://lists.cinelerra-gg.org/
  54. https://cinelerra-gg.org/support/
  55. https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxmasterrace/comments/1gpzbee/why_i_dont_see_cinelerra_anywhere/
  56. https://cinelerra-gg.org/bugtracker/my_view_page.php
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