A new version of OpenShot, a free, open-source video editor for Linux, is available to download.
OpenShot 3.0 contains over 1,000 improvements and fixes, includes better stability and memory usage, and debuts interesting new performance and export capabilities. This is the first update to the non-linear video editor since last year.
Jonathan Thomas, the creator of OpenShot, details the changes in a blog post, explain that he and the OpenShot team “worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to identify and fix as many stability issues as possible”. Those less familiar with the app may be unaware it has the nickname “OpenShut” due to recurrent performance issues.
There’s also improved real-time video playback, said to be ‘smoother’ with ‘fewer freezes and pauses’ during preview thanks to changes made to the editor’s video decoding engine.
Being unable to reliably preview edits made as you edit is a major flaw, This improvement, of all those included in OpenShot 3.0, could deliver the biggest boon to those looking to use this app regularly.
OpenShot 3.0 also supports multi-threaded video formats and codecs, including AV1; refactors video caching (preparing upcoming frames before they’re needed), plius a new ‘clear’ cache option.
There are also several notable timeline tweaks, including better snapping accuracy; faster clip slicing; improved keyframe icons; unique colours for video effect; and transitions that ‘set their own direction’ (e.g., fade-in at the start of a clip, fade out at the end, etc).
Additionally, optimised audio waveforms feature in OpenShot 3.0. The app caches waveform data per file, and stores it inside the OpenShot project file. This, Thomas says: “allows for persistent waveform caching across editing sessions, and fast waveform rendering when slicing and adding the same file to the timeline multiple times”.
OpenShot 3.0 also has new export presets including animated .gif, audio only .mp3, YouTube 2k & 4K, and .mkv. A new ‘export clips’ feature enables you to, for instance, edit one long video into a series of smaller clips, select those clips, click “Export Clips”, and save individual video files for each clip in a folder of your choice.
Other changes include support for Blender 3.3, pixel-perfect icons for use with high DPI displays, improved effect/transition sorting in non-English languages, and an updated user guide for beginners.
Download OpenShot 3.0
OpenShot 3.0 is free, open source software available to download on Windows, macOS, and Linux from the OpenShot website download page. On Linux, the editor is available to download as a distro-agnostic AppImage.
On an Ubuntu-based distro (Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and above)? You can use the official OpenShot Stable PPA to install OpenShot 3.0. Jut open a terminal and run:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openshot.developers/ppa
sudo apt update && sudo apt install openshot-qt python3-openshot
Once install is complete launch OpenShot from the applications menu.