Need good mpeg2/DVR-MS cutter program

[QuadraQ]

Hello all,

I'm getting incredibly frustrated. I have everything on the encoding/muxing side of things worked out for my targets, but I can't find a decent program to make cuts. I need a good program to make cuts to an mpeg2 mpg file or dvr-ms file.

Here are the requirements:

1) Must handle 1080i/p and 720p high definition files.
2) Must NOT require demuxing the file into separate streams - or if it does must support subtitles.
3) Must work in Windows
4) Must output a single mpg or dvr-ms file with video/audio/subtitle streams intact after the cuts.
5) If it's not free, it must at least have a trial version.
6) Must have a GUI.

It doesn't have to be frame accurate - a good GOP editor will do -I'd actually prefer a GOP editor since I don't want to re-encode anything, just make cuts.

I know there must be something out there, since the torrents are loaded with commercial free video (not advocating anything, simply saying it must exist). How are people accomplishing this?

BTW I have tried dvredit and have had trouble with the output, although I might have an old version (1.5).

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Avidemux (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=126164), just to name one.

[woah!]

i use video-redo.... just google that and i think they do a trial version...

[QuadraQ]

Thanks to you both. Both programs look great, and I'm going to download them and try them out. I must not have been doing the right google search or something...

After I posted last night, I calmed down and did some more research and found that Cuttermaran with some extra helper utilities will probably work great for what I want to do. However it does have the caveat that I have to demux the original mpeg2 source first. So any tips on a simple demuxer (m2v and ac3 output files)? Thanks again.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

However it does have the caveat that I have to demux the original mpeg2 source first.

Avidemux doesn't need that ;)

So any tips on a simple demuxer (m2v and ac3 output files)? Thanks again.

DGIndex:
http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/dgmpgdec.html

Simply set "Audio" -> "Output Method" -> "Demux all Tracks" and then goto "File" -> "Save Project and Demux Video"


ProjectX may be another option:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/ProjectX

[onesloth]

It doesn't have to be frame accurate - a good GOP editor will do -I'd actually prefer a GOP editor since I don't want to re-encode anything, just make cuts.

I haven't used AviDemux so I can't comment but I do use Video-Redo. Video-Redo has a convenient commercial detection feature and it *IS* frame-accurate but only reencodes the video around the cuts' bounding GOPs (at least I assume that's how it works) so its pretty much just as fast as muxing the file.

[QuadraQ]

Man I've lost my mojo. Back in the day when I was doing xvid transcodes and playing with the then new x264 I did this all the time. Completely forgot about it. Thanks for the friendly reminder!

[QuadraQ]

Avidemux doesn't need that ;)



DGIndex:
http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/dgmpgdec.html

Simply set "Audio" -> "Output Method" -> "Demux all Tracks" and then goto "File" -> "Save Project and Demux Video"


ProjectX may be another option:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/ProjectX

Using the DGIndex method works, but I'm having Cuttermaran issues. I imported the m2v file fine, and pulled in the corresponding ac3 file as well. I created the cuts and actually really like Cuttermaran for this. Very slick interface, and it does exactly what I was after.

The trouble started when I previewed the transitions. I noticed the audio was pretty seriously off. It had opened it fine, and set the delay (-295ms as defined in the DGIndex output file name) properly, but it was still off. I went ahead and tried it anyway hoping that it might only be an issue in the preview.

Well it did a fantastic job of cutting the video together properly, the m2v output is basically perfect. However the audio file doesn't 'match' the video. In addition for reasons I don't understand the multiplexer tools (mplex 2.2.4 and ImagoMPG-Muxer 1.3) won't mux the audio and video into a final mpg. mplex gives some errors and ImagoMPG creates a useless file that's only a few mb's before it quits.

So I'm left with a beautiful, but useless m2v file because I can't get an audio file to match. I thought it might be an issue related to the demuxed audio/video files, so I tried ProjectX and can't get it to work (see separate thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=145285) on that issue).

Any ideas on how I can get cuttermaran to work with the audio properly?

Man, I never thought that cutting up the audio/video would be so difficult...