Best Way to trim/join DV AVI without re-encoding

[VideoDoc]

I am transferring all my mini DV tapes to my computer for long term storage. I plan to transfer as DV AVI which I understand should be an exact copy of what is on my tape. I plan to keep in DV AVI without converting to another format. I would like to do some minor editing such as cutting and joining. I would like to perform these tasks without having to re-encode. From what I have read, editing software with so called "smart rendering" should be able to this but I thought I would double check with this forum. I do have Cyberlink's PowerDirector which claims it has the ability to smart render. This program does not seem to be looked at very favorably in this forum. I read about a program called AviDemux. Some have said it will trim but not join, others say otherwise. Can Windows Movie Maker do this?

[ackboo]

I did the same using virtualdub in direct stream copy mode (audio/video) with the cedocida DV codec.
You can trim by selecting a section and deleting and join by using append in the menus. Then simply use save as avi in direct stream copy mode.

[smrpix]

Smart rendering isn't an issue with DV. All DV cuts-only edits (trims and joins) are straight passthrough on any half-decent editor. Power Director should be fine as long as you do DV in -> DV out. Any color changes, reframes, dissolves, etc will require rendering no matter what software you use.

[VideoDoc]

I did the same using virtualdub in direct stream copy mode (audio/video) with the cedocida DV codec.
You can trim by selecting a section and deleting and join by using append in the menus. Then simply use save as avi in direct stream copy mode.

Thank for your response. I installed VirtualDub and experimented with joining two DV AVI files as you explained. It seems to be working. I tried installing the cedocida codec on my Windows 10 system but received the following install error "The third party INF does not contain digital signature information". Oh the joys of working with outdated software on modern day operating systems. Virtualdub seems to read and edit DV AVI on my current system. I presume that it is using the default windows codec as I have not installed any third party ones. What is so special about this particular codec? Do I need it?

[ackboo]

I had the same error message, it installed on windows 8 anyway. I don't know about windows 10 though. Nothing special, it's just the configuration that worked for me. If you can currently output DV (you can check that with mediainfo) everything is fine. You can also check that cedocida appears in the codec list in virtualdub.

[jagabo]

Virtualdub seems to read and edit DV AVI on my current system. I presume that it is using the default windows codec as I have not installed any third party ones.

VirtualDub can use Windows' DV decoder or its own built in DV decoder. For Direct Stream Copy editing it is only used to display the picture while you're editing.

What is so special about this particular codec? Do I need it?

You don't need cedocida.