How to cut out commercials using MPEG Video Wizard?

[nightcat]

The following is one way to cut out commercials of an MPEG recording using the Input Monitor and the Video Clipboard in MPEG Video Wizard.

Step 1 : Install and run the latest version of MPEG Video Wizard.
Download the latest version 'MPEG Video Wizard' from http://www.womble.com/download/. Install and run it. The latest version is June 2006 Update.

Step 2 : Open the MPEG file in the Input Monitor.
With a right mouse click on the Input Monitor, click the 'open...'. Then you can select the file in the Open Dialog. You can also drag the selected file icons from a Windows Explorer file folder directly to the Input monitor.


Suggestion: For fast selection, you may set the Input Monitor to full screen display mode by double clicking on the Input Monitor or selecting 'Full Screen' from the monitor menu (right mouse click).

Step 3 : For fast preview and selection, set the play speed to 'I-only' ('F')
You can do any one of the following:

1) Press the speed button twice(or the 'S' key).


2) Select the 'I-Only' from the monitor menu (right mouse click).


Step 4 : Press the Space bar to start the fast play (or the 'A' and 'D' keys).

Step 5 : Use the mouse scroll wheel or the Left/Right key buttons to stop the player.

Step 6 : Exact mark the segment.
1) For exact selection, reset the play speed to 'Normal speed' ('N') by pressing the speed button or selecting the 'Normal' from monitor menu (right mouse click).

2) Use the mouse scroll wheel to set the exact position, and mark the segment you want to keep.
Click the 'Mark In' button to set the start position.


Click the 'Mark Out' button to set the end position.


Step 7 : Save the segment.
Select the 'Add to clips' from the monitor menu (right mouse click) to save the segment to video clipboard in the project manager.


Then you can repeat the these steps above for all the segments of a show.

Step 8 : Save a single file.
Select all the clips in the "Clips->Video" page in the Project Manager, drag and drop them on to the Timeline. Click the 'Export' button to save the segments to a single file.

[lumis]

I tried this program, but it was a bit confusing, so I kept using mpeg-vcr. Maybe I'll give it a shot again.

Nice guide.

[AlecWest]

I was going to try this program and pay for it if it made decent cuts. But then Baldrick turned me on to (freeware) Cuttermaran - and I've not looked back. This thing cuts commercials out easily, right on the I-frame, and creates an MPEG2 result file that doesn't need to be "re-split" into M2V/AC3 to use in DVDauthorGUI.

[nightcat]

AlecWest,

Hi. Thank you very much. I will try this software to cut out the commercials.

[nightcat]

I tried this program, but it was a bit confusing, so I kept using mpeg-vcr. Maybe I'll give it a shot again.

Nice guide.

Hi. I have used the MPEG2VCR before. But I think the MVW is more suitable for me. I can edit the multi video files in Timeline very easy

[Tom Saurus]

nightcat: Thank you for posting this guide to cutting commercials out with Mpeg Video Wizard. I am very please customer who uses this program alot.

When I am editing I enlarge the input screen to full size and use the slider to get close to where the program starts, then I use my left arrow key, to inch in to get right to the exact spot and then mark that spot.

Then I use my slider again, to narrow in close to the where the first segment of the show ends and then use my right arrow key, to get right to the exact frame where the segment of the show ends, I mark that spot, and then right click and chose "Send To Clips". I find my fingers of my right hand rest at the arrow keys, it has become a habit when I use this program.

I don't use the I frame fast forward method, because I find watching closely by dragging the slider seems to suit me better. Mpeg Video Wizard is a very well put together program. I think your Guide will open alot of people's eyes on how to use this program to cut out commercials.

I think one of the main points to editing out the commercials is to enlarge the screen to the full size of your computer monitor. It seems to me, to make it significantly easier to see exactly where to put in your "mark in and out points".

Thank you once again, for making this Guide. It is well put together, and easy to follow. The Screenshots, really demostrate how to work with this program. I appreciate how you made this Guide, I doubt I could of explained the proceeder as well as you, and I am much too lazy to have made the effort, to have put all the effort into that you did.

The program works the fastest when the commercials are placed well apart, it gets frustrating when you have a three hour movie and for part of that time they have place the commercials about 5 minutes apart. To find the begining and end points on where to cut out the movie segments, in such a situation, takes more time. Some of the channels I record from go 30 minutes, before they have a commercial.

IMDB is a good place to check exactly how long a movie is in length. Some Stations edit out content, so they can fit a certain number of commercials in the alotted 2 hours time, a movie usually runs, instead of extending the run time of the movie. I usually feel alot better, if the time matches with IMDB has written down about the movie. Though I think in rare cases they have made mistakes about the run time of movies. I am talking about when you patch all the segment together with Womble Mpeg Video Wizard, if that matches up with what IMDB has listed.

[rkr1958]

I was going to try this program and pay for it if it made decent cuts. But then Baldrick turned me on to (freeware) Cuttermaran - and I've not looked back. This thing cuts commercials out easily, right on the I-frame, and creates an MPEG2 result file that doesn't need to be "re-split" into M2V/AC3 to use in DVDauthorGUI.

I've tied in TMPGenc Plus w/Cuttermaran so I can cut MPEG files on any frame (I, P or B). I use PVAStrumento to demux the video & audio. Load the demux video into Cuttermaran, and it automatically loads the demux audio. Chose which segments I want to keep (in effect cutting out the commericals). Again, I'm able to cut on any frame. The program works with TMPGEnc Plus, but if you don't own that encoder, it'll work with a free one (I can't remember which). Process and I get demux commerical free video & audio. You can either mux the back together into one stream or load the two streams into your authoring program. One thing I'm really please about is that the audio and video are in sync. Both Cuttermaran and PVAStrumento are free and both are fantastic.

[oldfart13]

Hmmm....that's interesting but even with my bad eyesight I never have to enlarge the screen. I still make accurate cuts and the thing I like about Mpeg Video Wizard is that I can cut anywhere I like, not just on I frames, and have perfect sync when the clips are joined into the finished Mpeg. That's why I switched to using this program years ago and never looked at anything else. But whatever works for you I guess.....

[rkr1958]

Wow, I just saw the price tag on MPEG Video Wizard, it's $120! I've just started using Cuttermaran (which is free).

Just curious, What does MPEG Video Wizard for $120 offer over Cuttermaran?

Again, I get frame accurate cuts using Cuttermaran.

[oldfart13]

I got mine a couple years back when I pointed out a bug to the authors at that time and they gave me a copy of the program right off their server as a reward....