How to Edit iTunes M4V Videos on Lightworks

"When I try to import videos from my local drives to Lightworks, I found that the iTunes videos show as gray and they just can't be added no matter what methods I try. Anyone know how to solve the dilemma? " - Question from the Lightworks forum

As a professional non-linear editing software, Lightworks has been in development since 1989. The program is currently available for Windows, Linux and Mac computers. Many great films and TV shows such as "The King's Speech', "The Wolf of Wall Street' etc. are created with Lightworks.

Have you ever thought of editing your home videos, purchased iTunes movies to create your own masterpiece on Lightworks? If so, you are in the right place. I will offer the great tutorial to guide you through the journey of iTunes videos editing with Lightworks.

• Part 1. Difference between Lightworks Free and Pro Version
• Part 2. Solution to Import iTunes DRM Movie to Lightworks
• Part 3. Customize Your iTunes DRM Movies before Importing
• Part 4. Beginner's Guide to Edit Videos on Lightworks

Part 1. Comparison between Lightworks Free and Pro Version

Lightworks is divided into two versions free and pro with same import formats and editing features. The difference is that the pro version support much more exports formats, effects and other resources.

Import Formats

Both version supports DVCAM, DVCPro 25/50/HD, uncompressed SD/HD 8 bit and 10 bit, MPEG-2 I-Frame SD/HD, MPEG-2 long GOP, AVCHD(M2T, M2TS, MPEG4, H.264), AVC-Intra 50/100, XDCAM EX/HD, EDD R3D, image sequence(TIFF, BMP, TGA, DPX, JPEG, PNG, TGA), cinema DNG, Sony XAVC and so on.

Export Formats

The Lightworks free version only has the option to export to web-compatible file for YouTube and Vimeo with 720P resolution.

The Lightworks pro version supports a lot of more profiles including Blu-Ray, DVD, AAF, EDL, Film Cutting List, OMF, XML, AVI, H.265/MP4, MOV, MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie, WAV, AVH-Intra, AVCHD with 2K, 4K resolutions etc.

Part 2. How to Load iTunes M4V to Lightworks

Concerning to the question asked from the Lightworks forum, there are 3 main reasons why you can't import videos into Lightworks.

1. The video format you try to add is not on the support list of Lightworks.

2. The video has a different frame rate than the one you created on the project.

3. The movie is DRM copyright protected.

Since iTunes rentals or purchased movies are in M4V format with DRM protection, they can't be imported to Lightworks. In this case, you need to get the DRmare M4V Converter to enable you to unlock the movies and encode them to new format of videos. The recommended formats for Lightworks are MP4, AVI, MOV which work best. Besides, DRmare program has the option to customize the parameters of your videos. You can change the settings like bit rate, frame rate freely as you like.

DRmare iTunes to Lightworks Converter

• Liberate your videos from the fetters of FairPlay digital rights management
• Convert iTunes M4V movies to new formats MP4, MOV, AVI, MPEG, WebM
• Customize your output video codec, frame rate, bit rate and other parameters
• Easy usability, fast converting speed, high output video quality

Download Download

Part 3. Unlock Your iTunes DRM Videos before Importing

Do you want to try it out by yourself? Please just simply click the download button to install the free trial version and follow me to decrypt your iTunes M4V movies, TV shows or Extras.

Step 1Load iTunes movies into DRmare screen

This is probably the easiest way to add files, you can either drag&drop or click the 'Add Files' menu. DRmare is special converting for iTunes M4V files only, so please don't try to add videos from other sources outside iTunes store.

Step 2Customize the output video for Lightworks

As we know, Lightworks only supports some formats with specific frame rates, so please check the video requirement first and then customize the output video according. For instance, I have created a project with 30fps, so I'd just go ahead to choose the profile as HD MP4 30 fps or HD AVI 30 fps.

Step 3Apply the changes of iTunes videos

Now you are only one step away to get all your DRM free movies. Just click 'Convert' button, DRmare will encode to the new movies you have just customized. Please don't do other things on the computer during the process of converting to make it run smoothly.

Part 4. Quick Guide on Editing Videos with Lightworks

Once you are done with the iTunes video converting, you can import the converted MP4 or AVI movies to Lightworks for editing. Lightworks is pretty easy to use, even a beginner can handle it within a few minutes. Please follow the tutorial.

1. Create a project. Double click the Lightworks shortcut to launch it, you will see the project panel. If it is the first time you use Lightworks, the project panel is blank, you can click 'Create a new project' and then input the project name and choose the frame rate to create a new project.

2. Import your converted iTunes media files. After creating a project, you can double click to access it. The working area contains 4 tabs(LOG, EDIT, VFX, Audio), you can import your files by clicking 'LOG' > 'Local Files' > Select the files from your local hard drive to import.

3. Edit your project on Lightworks. To edit your movies, you can do that under the 3 tabs(EDIT, VFX, Audio). Edit tab is for basic editing such as trimming, VFX and Audio tabs are for adding video and audio effects and filters.

4. Export your video. You can go back to the LOG tab > Project Contents > Export to share your files to YouTube or Vimeo. If you have the pro version, you can export to other formats of videos to save to your local computer as well.