\chapter{Introduction}%
\label{cha:introduction}

Cinelerra is a software program NLE, Non-Linear Editor, that provides a way to edit, record, and play audio or video media. 
It can also be used to retouch photos.

This manual covers Cinelerra-GG Infinity version. 
The author of the original Cinelerra, Adam Williams, as well as many different people worked on Cinelerra over the years. 
The software and this manual were merged in from various sources and each person is to be thanked and commended for their efforts. 
Numerous software modifications were made by William Morrow. 
These are all under GPLv2+ license. 
Refer to: \url{https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0-standalone.html}


\textbf{This is a copy of the header from the original source code.}
\begin{lstlisting}[language=bash,numbers=none]
/*
* CINELERRA
* Copyright (C) 1997-2012 Adam Williams <broadcast at earthling dot net>
*
* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
* the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
* along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
* Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston
\end{lstlisting}
\textbf{This is a copy of the information in the Cinelerra-CV manual.}

Copyright c 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Adam Williams - Heroine Virtual Ltd.
Copyright c 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Cinelerra CV Team.

This manual is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General
Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WAR-
RANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program;
if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110, U

\section{Cinelerra Overview}%
\label{sec:cinelerra_overview}

Presented briefly here is an overview of Cinelerra-GG Infinity and information provided in this manual. 
The GG version of Cinelerra has been improved for \emph{stability}, \emph{modernized} to accommodate the
\emph{current state} of Linux software, enhanced with additional \emph{basic features}, and enriched with \emph{new features} imagined by dedicated users and then implemented by professional programmers.






