LiVES is a simple to use yet powerful video effects, editing, conversion, and playback system aimed at the digital video artist and VJ. LiVES project uses commonly available tools (Mplayer, ImageMagick, and GTK+), so it should work on most Unix-like systems.

It runs under Linux, BSD, IRIX, and openMosix (and soon OS X/Darwin). It works with almost all types of video, and is fully extendable through plugins and the included plugin builder tool.


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Here are some key features of "LiVES":

PLATFORM:

· Stable and well tested core.
· Fully cross platform for Linux and many flavours of Unix (e.g. BSD, openMosix, IRIX). Runs on at least x86, amd64, ppc and xbox/x86.
· The LiVES audio/video platform is now custom extendable through RFX plugins. See the Custom RFX page for more details.
· Allows quick and easy prototyping of new tools, utilities, effects, transitions and more, using the included RFX builder window.
· Plugins can be written in Perl, thus allowing O/S level access to individual frames within clips.
· Will scale for high/low end hardware. Can be split into client/server components.
· Control every function in LiVES remotely using OSC protocol.
· Versions for many linux distributions: Mandrake, Gentoo, Suse, Rock Linux + bootable CD from dyne.org. Debian package coming soon. Has also been tested succesfully with latest Fedora Core.
· 100% original, non-proprietary code.

VIDEO:

· Loading and editing of most video formats (via mplayer decoder).
· Smooth playback at variable frame rates, forward and in reverse. Display framerate can be controlled independantly of playback framerate.
· Cut and paste of frames within and between clips.
· Saving/re-encoding of clips, selections, and individual frames.
· Lossless backup/ restore.
· Streaming input and output.
· Real time blending of clips (chroma and luma blends).
· Can handle in/out streams in yuv4mpeg format. Streams can be piped from stdout into other applications.
· Supports fixed and variable framerates. Playback rate can be smoothly adjusted independant of display rate.
· Ability to 'scratch' with video - that is to move smoothly backwards and forwards through it, and to record yourself doing so.
· Playback can use LiVES' own internal player, there is also a high performance fullscreen SDL playback plugin
· Support for RGB24, YUV420 (TV), and UYVY palettes, horizontal chroma subsampling is implemented.
· Ability to edit many filetypes and sources including remotely located files (with mplayer/ffmpeg libraries), and directories of images.
· Real time capture/recording of interactive (via mouseclicks) external windows.
· Encode to any of the 50+ output formats which are now supported (e.g. mjpeg, mpeg4, mpeg1/2, VCD, SVCD, DVD, ogg/mp4 ogm, Matroska mkv, dv, swf, Ogg Theora, Dirac, MNG, Snow, xvid, and even animated GIF !)
· Encoder formats can be extended through the encoder plugin API.
· LiVES will suggest the best settings for saving to each format.
· Resampling of video (time stretching) to any frame rate (1 to 200 fps); option to auto-resample or speed up/slow down between clips.
· Ability to instantly alter the playback speed of video and audio independently.
· Rotation, resizing and trimming of video clips.
· Deinterlacing, subtitle removal.
· Instant saving/loading of clips for performances/presentations.

AUDIO:

· Can load mp3, ogg and wav files.
· LiVES can also load tracks directly off CD to use with your video (using cdda2wav).
· Ability to save audio selections, and append audio.
· Sound can be trimmed to fit video selections.
· Cutting and pasting of audio within and between clips.
· Resampling of audio (rate, channels, sample size, signedness and endianness); audio is auto-resampled between clips.
· Supports (auto)inserting of silence and deletion of audio sections.

EFFECTS/TRANSITIONS:

· Many effects, including random/targeted zooming, panning of video, colour cycling and colorisation/colour filtering.
· Merging/compositing of frames is possible: e.g. frame-in-frame, fade in/out and transparency.
· Real time previews as the effect is processing.
· Support for the LiViDO effect plugin architecture which will allow sharing of realtime effects with other applications. Experimental support for this framework is already included.
· Use real time effects to blend clips together, regardless of frame size or fps. Luma and chroma blending are currently supported.
· Multiple real time effects are now possible during playback (VJ mode), these can also be rendered to frames.
· Effects and transitions are now fully customisable using the RFX builder window.
· Effects/blends can also be applied to incoming streams in real time.
· Dynamic loading of effects.

EXTRAS:

· Simple and intuitive menu layout.
· I18N text support. Translations into French and Czech are included.
· RFX builder allows rapid prototyping of new effects, transitions utilities and tools. Custom RFX scripts can be exported to share with others
· or downloaded and imported. Test scripts are run in a sandbox to allow safe testing of new plugins.
· Midi sequence synchronisation (start/stop).
· Can load single images or directories of images in numerical order and assemble them into videos or slideshows.
· Ability to play music through xmms (including random selection of tracks).
· Toys !

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

· Playback has been optimised by tweaking audio settings.
· A regression in the backup has been fixed.
· A floating point fps bug for mkv decoder has been fixed.
· External window capturing has been rewritten, and now works with Compiz.
· An (experimental) openGL playback plugin has been added.
· Minor GUI fixes have been made.
· Recording of external audio during playback has been implemented.
· Clip names no longer get squashed in sets.
· Further code cleanup has been carried out, and there are updated translations to Ukranian, Finnish, and UK English.