nonlinear video editing

Editing video in the computer. Also called "nonlinear editing" (NLE), digital nonlinear systems provide high-quality post-production editing on a desktop computer. However, some detail may be lost if lossy compression is used to store the images (see lossy compression).

Prior to editing in the computer, a system using several analog tape decks was considered nonlinear video editing. Editing in digital is considerably easier.

Electronic Publishing
If the video is used for electronic publishing on CDs, DVDs or the Web, after editing, the digital output is converted to any of several digital video formats.

Faster Movie Editing
If the video is a movie that was shot in film (analog), it is converted to digital to save time and money. The digital movie is edited, and when completed, the output is turned into an edit decision list (EDL). The EDL contains analog frame sources and time codes so that the original analog film can be quickly cut and spliced in the editing room, which costs several hundred dollars per hour.

From Analog to Digital to Analog
In order to produce today's graphics-intensive movies, the original analog film may be scanned at high resolution and converted to digital. The enhancements and animations are added to the original scenes in the computer, and the final output is converted back into analog film. This "digital intermediate" method allows a myriad of special effects to be added that would be extremely time consuming, if not impossible, in the analog domain.

A Wide Range of Prices
Nonlinear editing systems run the gamut from free software that works with video files already in the computer to add-in boards that support a variety of video inputs and outputs to stand-alone systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars. See linear video editing.