Hi,

This latest Beta build is the second of 2021 and hopefully the last for 2021.1 prior to release. There are some important changes in this build so please do check your workflows and make sure things are working as you expect.

Download here

(Please read the Terms and Conditions and EULA outlined and tick the box to say you agree with them.)

It is strongly recommended that users backup their project folder before installing any new Beta build of Lightworks.

ShuttlePRO customers, please make a copy of the ‘Lightworks’ settings within the Contour app and then point it at the current Beta app/bundle. The full list of Features and Fixes can be found in the Changelog page

Some of the exciting new features in version 2021.1 can be seen below:

Projects No Longer Have Frame Rates
We are extremely pleased to announce that as of Lightworks 2021.1 the project frame rate option has been removed, allowing for all frame rate media to be imported into a project, played back, logged and added into sequences seamlessly. All the content is played at its natural rate regardless of media frame rate.

One of the long term limitations with Lightworks was that a project frame rate needed to be set when creating a new project. This was legacy behaviour which caused confusion and workflow issues.

IMPORTANT Information: Due to the complexities of removing the project frame rate, it means there is limited backwards compatibility with earlier versions of Lightworks (2020.1, 14.x etc). When opening an existing Lightworks project in 2021.1 a new copy of the project will be generated. Any changes made in this latest version will not appear when stepping back to an earlier version of Lightworks. You will still be able to open earlier versions and gain access to these projects, but you will not see any of the changes made in 2021.1.

The video output format is now set per sequence

Previously the playback format within a project was governed by the 'output format' setting on the project card. This resulted in all Clips and Sequences being played back at the project output format regardless of their native rate and/or aspect-ratio.



In Lightworks 2021.1 you can now right click a sequence and select the "playback format" required. When making a copy of a sequence you can now specify a new frame rate for the copy should one be required.

Resolution preservation

Clips are no longer resized to match the project output format. 4k/8k clips can now be viewed at the correct size in full detail throughout the Effects chain. This information would have been discarded in earlier versions of Lightworks resulting in much poorer images.

Added ‘Square’ and “Portrait’ Sequence Output Formats For Social Media

These great new additions make publishing for social media quick and easy and can be toggled by simply right clicking a sequence and selecting the option from the "playback format" list (these options are available when exporting too)



Define Sequence Custom Output Aspect Ratios (Lightworks Pro Only)

To coincide with the new default output formats, users now have the ability to generate their own custom output formats. This can be done on the Video->Formats tab of the project card, simply click 'Add' give the custom format a name and the dimensions required. The custom format is then available for sequence output and publishing.



Added Asset Associations

This allows for sequences, clips, subclips, documents etc to be linked together by loading an asset into the source viewer and selecting the “Associates” tab underneath:

• Drag and drop an asset from a bin to the ‘User’ subtab to associate them together
• View associations in thumbnail or list views
• View subclips associated with the clip loaded above within the viewer on the “Subclips” subtab
• View sequences that include the loaded clip within the viewer on the “References” subtab
• View constituent clips from a sequence loaded within the viewer on the "Constituents" subtab

Submitting Feedback

To submit feedback on issues found in the Beta versions:

• Please start a Forum thread using the appropriate link below based on the operating system you are testing on. The Forum will allow you to submit issues you find or discuss how the application should be working:
  • www.lwks.com/windowsbetaforum
  • www.lwks.com/linuxbetaforum
  • www.lwks.com/macbetaforum

Please make sure you have searched for the issue before creating a new thread, this should help stop duplicate threads being submitted. The more feedback we get, the faster we can resolve issues.

Matt