Kdenlive can edit any file that FFmpeg can read. That’s the entire format support guideline. HDV, DNxHD, AVCHD, ProRes and more are dropped onto the timeline without any conversion and no re-encode first. None of that is implemented in Kdenlive itself, video processing is done via the MLT framework, which relies on FFmpeg for video, frei0r and movit for effects, and ladspa and sox for audio processing.
There is no limit to the number of tracks. Video or audio: add up to as many as the project requires.
When a project becomes large, that number becomes a problem of its own, hence the ability to name tracks, hide tracks, mute tracks, change the height of a track, and collapse tracks one by one or all at once. The source clips are in a project bin and clips are dropped directly into folders from the project bin’s context menu.
CAN THE MACHINE KEEP UP?
Not always and Kdenlive assumes that it may not. Proxy editing creates low-resolution stand-ins for the source clips and edits those. The final render then silently returns to the originals at full resolution. Timeline preview pre-renders sections ahead, ensuring playback remains smooth even when using heavy effect stacks.
Projects back themselves up to a separate file automatically, without being asked.
HOW DO CLIPS GET ONTO THE TIMELINE?
Standard 3-point editing. Play a clip in the clip monitor, set its in and out points, set an in point on the target track. The outcome can be pushing the current material aside or replacing it, depending on the editing mode that you are in.
Playback speed changes from clip to clip within one action. A clip can also be handed to an external program for editing and picked back up afterwards.
AND THE EFFECTS?
Everything frei0r, movit, ladspa and sox offer, keyframeable, with real-time preview as parameters change. There’s Chroma key and colour grading. Audio and video scopes offer level and colour read-out to make a measurement-based grading decision.
Effect spinboxes can be used with simple maths expressions, rather than just set numbers. Transitions preview as animation before being applied, and stretch to fit the length of the clip they are placed on.
There are five workspaces: Logging, Editing, Audio, Effects, Colour, and they all retain their widget layout. When in fullscreen, any monitor will mirror to a second display. The playhead locks to the centre of the timeline during playback, scrubbing and seeking, if you prefer the timeline to move instead of the cursor.
There are things which are not there. No multi-camera editing, no motion tracking, and no templates of projects to start with. The application is only available for x86-64 on macOS.
WHAT ABOUT SUBTITLES?
They are edited within the app and not in a separate editor. Speech recognition is provided by the Whisper plugin, and translation is done by SeamlessM4T, both of which can be installed from within Kdenlive.
