Any freeware frame-accurate/GOP-re-encoding Windows x264 editors with timeline?

[FredThompson]

I generally use AVI Trimmer+ for GOP-level cutting of existing x264 source (mkv, mp4.)

A huge plus of this software is the active timeline and audio graph which makes it easy to find hard breaks in the source.

For broadcast recordings, I'll mark the sections which are to be removed then save a single mkv/mp4 as output.

Two downsides:

1) GOP-level editing only which limits accurate cutting - either keep junk or lose desired source.

2) It looks like it's built on a web browser as it will flicker and sometimes fail to completely load a source file when complex pages are being viewed in a browser (FF, Iron...take your pick.) Clearing caches, MRUs, and its associated registry items doesn't always clear this up.

So...would anyone know of a frame-accurate cut editor which will re-encode only the "chopped" GOPs, has a responsive timeline and audio graph?

As a way of reference, TyTool was the best freeware MPEG2 editor. That was many moons ago. The author dug deep into GOPs and put a lot of work into ensuring high quality...uh...stitching between the two adjacent original GOPs. The interface isn't up to today's standards but the resultant files were fantastic.

[butterw2]

"Smart render" is a frequently requested feature. To my knowledge no freeware option exists for mp4/x264.

Virtualdub2 can be used to do lossless edits on keyframes. Avidemux also, but it doesn't have the audio graph.

[PatchWorKs]

Why re-encode ?

https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut

[butterw2]

"frame-accurate cut" not cuts starting on a keyframe.

[andratek]

I generally use AVI Trimmer+ for GOP-level cutting of existing x264 source (mkv, mp4.)

A huge plus of this software is the active timeline and audio graph which makes it easy to find hard breaks in the source.

For broadcast recordings, I'll mark the sections which are to be removed then save a single mkv/mp4 as output.

Two downsides:

1) GOP-level editing only which limits accurate cutting - either keep junk or lose desired source.

2) It looks like it's built on a web browser as it will flicker and sometimes fail to completely load a source file when complex pages are being viewed in a browser (FF, Iron...take your pick.) Clearing caches, MRUs, and its associated registry items doesn't always clear this up.

So...would anyone know of a frame-accurate cut editor which will re-encode only the "chopped" GOPs, has a responsive timeline and audio graph?

As a way of reference, TyTool was the best freeware MPEG2 editor. That was many moons ago. The author dug deep into GOPs and put a lot of work into ensuring high quality...uh...stitching between the two adjacent original GOPs. The interface isn't up to today's standards but the resultant files were fantastic.

Hello

I'm developing a small application that is fast to download and open for Smart Cut with precision lossless,

I you want to test I can give you a free serial after 14 days, Could you give me some tips on how to improve my software? Currently, it accepts the MP4 High Profile format.

www.andratek.com/athenacut

Let me know!

Thanks

[MysteryX]

Isn't this what Lossless Cut does?
https://losslesscut.app/

[kurkosdr]

Isn't this what Lossless Cut does?
https://losslesscut.app/
No, they say so in the fineprint on the linked page:

"This app is not for exact cutting. Start cut time will be "rounded" to the nearest previous keyframe, which may be a fraction of a second before your desired cut point, or up to several seconds, depending on the encoding."

Which is what Avidemux also does, and it's a much more mature and well-known tool.

But OP specifically asked:
So...would anyone know of a frame-accurate cut editor which will re-encode only the "chopped" GOPs, has a responsive timeline and audio graph?

My interpretation of OPs request is that they want frame-level precision, not GOP-level/keyframe-level precision.

The closest solution I have found is to use Avidemux to losslessly cut a video into 3 pieces (with nearest-keyframe aka GOP-level precision), then load the middle piece into any common NLE editor like OpenShot Video Editor and remove whatever frames I don't want and export it in the same format/resolution/fps, and then losslessly rejoin the pieces using Avidemux.

Though Avidemux doesn't have an audio graph, so it's not a perfect solution for OPs request, and I admit it's cumbersome too. But if you have a really long video you want to lossslessly edit a couple of seconds with frame-level accuracy without a full re-encode, it works.

[Z2697]

No, they say so in the fineprint on the linked page:

"This app is not for exact cutting. Start cut time will be "rounded" to the nearest previous keyframe, which may be a fraction of a second before your desired cut point, or up to several seconds, depending on the encoding."

Which is what Avidemux also does, and it's a much more mature and well-known tool.

But OP specifically asked:


My interpretation of OPs request is that they want frame-level precision, not GOP-level/keyframe-level precision.

The closest solution I have found is to use Avidemux to losslessly cut a video into 3 pieces (with nearest-keyframe aka GOP-level precision), then load the middle piece into any common NLE editor like OpenShot Video Editor and remove whatever frames I don't want and export it in the same format/resolution/fps, and then losslessly rejoin the pieces using Avidemux.

Though Avidemux doesn't have an audio graph, so it's not a perfect solution for OPs request, and I admit it's cumbersome too. But if you have a really long video you want to lossslessly edit a couple of seconds with frame-level accuracy without a full re-encode, it works.

There's experimental smart cut feature

[kurkosdr]

There's experimental smart cut feature
Ok, but "experimental" means "may not work for you", right? Until it's non-experimental, it can't be trusted.

[Z2697]

Ok, but "experimental" means "may not work for you", right? Until it's non-experimental, it can't be trusted.

As it always will be... even the commercial NLEs will hesitate to support some format.

[kurkosdr]

As it always will be... even the commercial NLEs will hesitate to support some format.
Do we know with what formats it supports Smart Cut well?