A new version of Shotcut, a popular open-source video editor, has been released, marking an exciting time for video editing enthusiasts on Linux. The release, Shotcut 25.12, introduces full support for 10-bit video editing within the CPU pipeline, eliminating the previous limitations that forced users to choose between GPU effects or basic CPU filters.
With this update, most CPU filters, transitions, and editing options can now handle 10- and 12-bit sources. A few filters still operate on 8-bit formats due to upstream dependencies. This improvement allows users to maintain their footage in 10-bit quality throughout the editing process.
In addition to 10-bit support, Shotcut 25.12 rolls out new linear colour processing options. Traditional video editing often mixes pixels in ‘gamma space’, which can result in inaccurate color representations during cropping or scaling. This version now allows both CPU and GPU filters to perform linear color processing, providing four different processing modes:
- Native 8-bit CPU (faster, more filters available)
- Native 10-bit CPU (slower, higher quality)
- Linear 10-bit CPU (slowest, best image quality)
- Linear 10-bit GPU/CPU (experimental)
While using linear processing may lead to reduced performance, the developers have indicated that upcoming optimizations should improve speed in future releases.
Other noteworthy changes in Shotcut 25.12 include:
- A simpler way to view filters that apply to the current processing mode.
- A visual preset browser for the HTML generator.
- Introduction of two new HTML generator presets: Chrome and Neon Flux.
- Enhanced NVIDIA nvenc hardware encoding for screen recording on Linux (X11).
- Support for mov_text and SSA in the subtitle extraction feature.
- Tweaks to VP8/9 WebM presets for quality and bitrate control.
The update also addresses numerous bugs, ranging from export failures with special character filenames to alpha channel issues with nested clips, further improving the overall experience.
In conclusion, Shotcut 25.12 stands out as a robust choice for those editing high-quality video on Linux, delivering improved color accuracy and enhanced usability.
You can download Shotcut 25.12 from the official Shotcut website. For Linux users, it is available as a standalone binary, an AppImage, Flatpak, or Snap.