VideoReDo TVSuite & Professional - General Discussion Thread

[noemi7]

If i was to buy TMPGEnc Smart Renerer 6 then no need for LosslessCut because TMPGEnc does do smart cutting and smart render (joining the cut bits back together without recoding)

Nope, smart rendering means for both VRD and TMPGEnc (and similar programs) that only a few necessary frames are re-encoded at cut / error / non compliant point(s). It's not like you write that cuts are somehow losslessly stuck together only. For example VRD always changes cut point to I-frame, and this requires re-encoding.

Problem with Pegasys software is that it sticks strictly to the DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD specification hence it forces re-encoding of much more parts of the video than really needed. Very often it wants to re-encode whole video if it's direct DVB capture or comes from a SLR camera, despite that number of BR players can handle it without issue.

[Bridgy]

What do you mean by Nope ?

If your "Nope" refers to my comment where is said (joining the cut bits back together without recoding) i meant without recoding the whole file, smart render only recodes a few frames either side of the cuts, some software might do a few more than others, but it is still called smart render.

I never had a file in VRD or TMPGEnc get fully recoded after doing cuts, and as for DVD and Blu-ray, that is old stuff and i gave up working with those 2 formats years ago, i live in 2025, and for me, 4k and HEVC is what i work with, and have done for at least 5 years now, i was also a Beta tester for the owner of VRD for 3 years before he passed away, testing his implementations of 4k and HEVC formats.

[_Donnie]

Problem with Pegasys software is that it sticks strictly to the DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD specification hence it forces re-encoding of much more parts of the video than really needed. Very often it wants to re-encode whole video if it's direct DVB capture or comes from a SLR camera, despite that number of BR players can handle it without issue.

I do smart rendering with TMPG Smart Renderer 6 for years now. Just output to f.e. mkv and there is no re-encoding of a whole video. If you output to a defined standard format then it requires either conforming input format or it re-encodes.
Additionally TMSR can tell you what the file problem is. Some files could not been output at all because it uses f.e. HEVC options which TMSR can't handle. That is when VRD re-encodes HEVC at the beginning (no cut at IDR-Frame).

@Bridgy
If you want an extra information intro for your video just do a f.e. simple black screen video of some seconds. Then place your intro text (title) with TMSR on your black video, cut it to the appropriate length and add it before your main video. Don't forget to mark your main video as 'master'.

[Bridgy]

@Bridgy
If you want an extra information intro for your video just do a f.e. simple black screen video of some seconds. Then place your intro text (title) with TMSR on your black video, cut it to the appropriate length and add it before your main video. Don't forget to mark your main video as 'master'.

Hi, my Titles issue with VRD is only with the HEVC files, so i spent a few days trying to find a way to create my own Titles, and my method of doing frame based titles in VRD is very similar to the method you explained, with a few minor differences, it is not perfect yet but i will get there soon i hope.

[marvin-miller]

VAP (VideoReDoAutoProcessor) has been in use for years — it’s serious, multi-featured, and it works.

Here is a download link for the VAP6 (Windows only) installer, latest version 1.04:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AmkftjtSIff0gtgYQ9wj23Bb75SGrA?e=foweke

Support will be provided via this forum

I used VAP for years and it ROCKS!
My question is, do you still have the last version for VR5 ?
I just got it installed and wanted to process years of MotoGP recordings that have commercials in them and my Comskip key should still work....

[Bridgy]

I used VAP for years and it ROCKS!
My question is, do you still have the last version for VR5 ?
I just got it installed and wanted to process years of MotoGP recordings that have commercials in them and my Comskip key should still work....

Excuse my ignorance, but what is this VAP thing used for, i just downloaded it just to see what it was, and i am baffled by it.

[marvin-miller]

It's been about a decade since I used it but it's a front end to automate processing of video files. It's very powerful. I used it to automate processing of DVR recorded files. It's a Godsend. I just wish I could find the version for VR5 which I just managed to install and get running again.

[Bridgy]

It's been about a decade since I used it but it's a front end to automate processing of video files. It's very powerful. I used it to automate processing of DVR recorded files. It's a Godsend. I just wish I could find the version for VR5 which I just managed to install and get running again.

So it is mainly used for older TV type broadcast files, not for use with my 4k/60p HEVC Camera recorded files.

[Marayong]

It's described as a "front end", so I'd guess in itself it does nothing, rather it automates video editing, calling up other software with the appropriate parameters to do a series of things .. eg open a video, autoedit out adverts and then save in a different format. There have been a few of these front ends recommended here. They are really only useful for those who have a lot (and I mean a LOT) of videos to edit.

[marvin-miller]

I use it for automating commercial removal from DVR files or any files with commercials in them. I'm not up to speed anymore with respect to 4K files. I did 'upgrade' to VR6 so I was able to download the VAP software for that version and am back to figuring out how to set it up (it's probably been 10 years since I last ran it or Video Redo).

It's described as a "front end", so I'd guess in itself it does nothing, rather it automates video editing, calling up other software with the appropriate parameters to do a series of things .. eg open a video, autoedit out adverts and then save in a different format. There have been a few of these front ends recommended here. They are really only useful for those who have a lot (and I mean a LOT) of videos to edit.

Exactly! But I only know it in the context of commercial removal. As such, it's like DVRMS Toolbox but using Video Redo so...much more powerful.

What is VAP (VAP6)?

A free utility program for users of VideoReDo TV Suite 6 (TVS6). VAP6 detects video files being
transferred into a designated monitor folder,and, when transfer completes, it automatically and
silently runs VideoReDo processes on the files as configured by the operator in the program GUI.
QuickStream Fix (QSF) and/or Ad Detective scans ("Ad Scans") may be run. Optionally, input
files are moved automatically to specified folders after processing is completed, or deleted.
Output profiles including those producing transcoded MPEG4 outputs are supported. ALL
configuration is via the GUI - NO MANUALLY PREPARED CONFIGURATION FILES ARE
REQUIRED!

Now...where's that dlflannery when you need him

[Marayong]

Lucky guess. Well experienced guess.

Such software is pretty much limited to those who do a lot of the same video operations (editing, converting etc). If you only do a few a week then there's not that much point.

Also, as I've pointed out before, the software for automatically detecting and removing adverts is designed specifically for the US market. Different countries have different protocols for the insertion of adverts - the software looks for such things as placement of station logos (generally not in adverts), a sequence of black frames before & after advert blocks and so forth. Software designed for the US market (which is the biggest and where most of this software comes from) has a hit & miss success rate elsewhere. VRD's ad-detective does not work in Australia, nor does that of other software I've tried due to how broadcasters & streamers insert adverts. So I have to manually hunt for adverts.

Since VAP (etc) is a front end, it should work with 4K files ... in fact with any type of video files. What's important is not the video type but the sort of operations you do. If they can be automated and you do a lot of them, then something like VAP is worth it. Bridgy does a lot of work with added titles which of course requires non-automated user input, so automated front ends are useless for him. On the other hand, another user posted not that long ago about converting all of their old videos into a newer & more compressed format to save storage space. That can be easily automated and done using VAP (or similar). In fact VAP would be almost essential for doing that with a large library.

[marvin-miller]

VAP was originally built for use with Comskip, which it still supports, and is widely used in many countries, including Australia. Videoredo's native 'adscan' never compared to Comskip, and was always considered a bit of a joke to those in the know. Comskip was created by a Dutch national in Europe (Erik Kaashoek) so it's basis point was commercial detection in Europe and then the USA, along with every other country. I used it in Canada very effectively eliminating almost every ad and I could tweak it to get the remainder if desired. You can make it pretty much do anything with it.

Having said that, it is possible that stations make ad detection very hard for anything. A look at the Comskip forum shows several pre-made .ini files for Australia.

I think you nailed the gist of it in your post.

[Marayong]

Comskip has been mentioned here before and the Australian ini recommended. The said ini file is however 10-15 years old and no longer works. It is even more "obsoleteware" than VRD. And yes, Comskip does have a number of settings that can be tweaked however none of them are reliably relevant in Australia today - I checked all the tweakable options. Not only do the broadcasters here insert adverts in ways that bypass most of the comskip options, but they add adbreaks in variable ways - some adbreaks have blackframes leading in, the next wont (and there are no black frames at the end of adbreaks - usually adverts are faded into the program itself). The station logo never vanishes with the adverts, but either vanishes before the break or into the adverts. I actually sent Dan Rosen (the VRD dev) a bunch of video snippets and he concluded it was a lost cause .. this was around 2018/9.

The problem is that broadcasters here are more proactive than elsewhere in making it harder for people to record broadcasts and download streamed content .. even to the point of having lurkers in many of the relevant forums keeping eyes on attempts to bypass their restrictions. That's no surprise since Australia has always been a hotbed of music and video piracy. Since they can't physically stop people recording broadcast signals, they make it more difficult - broadcast program guide times in Australia are a well known joke, automated advert removal is impossible, not to mention lots of encryption. Software they can't block, they often take down by legal means, especially anything that can be used by less computer savvy users.

That said, I don't do many recordings these days - there's very little left on the commercial tv networks other than reality TV and the good stuff is spread across far too many different streaming services .. the time and money to subscribe to even most of them (let alone all) is beyond almost everyone. Most of what I watch now is from my library.

[marvin-miller]

I hear you on all fronts, especially the crap on TV today and the spread across streaming. I too tend to watch stuff I've seen before rather than risk anything new. It's just not worth it to me.

With respect to Australia's incredible efforts to stamp out commercial detection (among all the other things you mentioned), I find it amazing. Apparently, there's 'only' 26 million people there. You'd think that level of attention would be spent on the US with a population of 350 million or so. One thing's for certain, Australia must be leading the pack planet-wide in their efforts!

Out of curiosity, what does 'broadcast program guide times in Australia are a well known joke' mean? Shows don't start on time?

[Marayong]

Whilst Australia's population is considerably lower than that of the US, per capita piracy is much more prevalent here and has been the case ever since they started keeping stats on digital piracy. We also have much more concentrated media ownership. Those two factors combined make broadcaster efforts to limit piracy here quite attractive, even in the very slightly off-white form of recording FTA broadcasts.

> Out of curiosity, what does 'broadcast program guide times in Australia are a well known joke' mean? Shows don't start on time?

They often don't even start vaguely on time .. or finish. It is not uncommon for a show to actually air 30 minutes or more after the scheduled time. if you are programming for something to record, you are best off recording 30 mins extra before and after and even then, if it is something outside of "prime time", you may be out of luck. The government funded networks are better (and actually have intelligent content .. ie something other than reality tv, but even they are infested with that tripe), but even with them you can't assume start/finish times.

Anyways, that's getting offtrack. VRD's add-detection feature doesn't work here and from what I've found looking into Comskip (and others), they likewise won't work .. at least not in the past 10 years or more. Maybe there is something out there that does work, but if there is, it's best not to post about it in a public forum that is trawled daily by google (posts here show up on a google search within 24 hours).

[Bridgy]

Hi everyone, been very quiet in here lately, so i thought i might post up something that i only just noticed today when cutting recorded video files (screen recordings or from my video camera)

After 14 year using VRD (the past 5 years doing 4K and HEVC) i only just noticed the following issue today while processing some of my 4k/60p HEVC and some 1080p screen recorded files.

When using LosslessCut to Cut bits from my 4k/60p HEVC files, or when i use VRD to cut bits from other non 4k HEVC files, i always Smart Render them back to their original format for archiving, and when i play those files on my laptop i can see the Cut Markers at the bottom of the media player.

If i need to convert 2 or more of those files to another format, i always load them into the Batch Tool and export them from there, the resulting exported files no longer have the Cut Markers, the Batch Tool obviously removes them during the encoding process.

If i am going to concert just 1 file i just load that into VRD as normal and i use the Save As option to export the file to whatever is my chosen format, and when the export has completed, the Cut Markers are retained.

I have tried looking at as many settings that i can find, but nothing stands out to me.

Anyone have any idea what might be happening here.

[Marayong]

I've noticed the same thing with videos where I've chopped out bits inside the video. I had a look into what was showing up in potplayer and they are chapter marks. So with VRD (and evidently also LC), when you chop out a bit in the middle of a video, you add a chapter mark. I don't normally see it since I don't bother with chapters and usually have them disabled in potplayer, so I don't see the marks. I did see them once I re-enabled chapter marks. The fact that they appear and vanish depending on the potplayer "chapter marks" setting confirms they are chapter marks.

Doing a web search I find a lot of forums mentioning that VRD adds chapters at cut marks.

I also found how to disable it.

In VRD:
Go to Tools > options.

On the LHS panel click on "chapter marks". In the RHS panel untick "at cut points" in the section titled "chapter marks". Click "OK" to confirm the choice.

Adding chapter marks at internal edits is a default setting in VRD.

Converting to another format (hence re-encoding) will wipe any chapter marks, AFAIK, hence they vanished when you did that.

Unless there is some reason you (or anyone) wants to have chapter marks kept at all the internal edits, I'd recommend disabling that setting in VRD, as above.

Hope the above makes sense. I've just finished a very large scotch (single malt of course), so my wits are no doubt not at their sharpest.

[Bridgy]

Hi m8, i do like to see my cut points in my media player, as well as the join marker if i am joining 2 or more separate files of the same format, and i like to see them when i play them on TV as well, just for the purposes of skipping to a new segment, but it is not that critical, at least i realized now why some of my files are missing the Cut (chapter) points, those were exported from the Batch Tool.

[Marayong]

Problem solved.

Personally, I've never had any use for chapter markers and consider them a hang over from the DVD days when disks came with chapters ... and I didn't use them back then either. But others do .. so each to their own.

[Bridgy]

Yeah it's ok if i am converting just 1 cut source file to a different format as i just need to load it normally into VRD and hit the Dave Video button and select my export profile and let it do it's thing, then i retain the chapters, but having to do multiple files that way can be a pain as i need to do each export individually.

I normally load the Batch tool up and set the export profile, and i can walk away and let it run while i am doing other stuff.

Fancy on just realizing this issue after all these years of using VRD, although my need for seeing Chapters has really only been since i started working with 4k and HEVC.

[Choli]

Over on the VideoReDo subreddit, Dan203 made a post "Thinking of bringing VideoRedo back"

https://www.reddit.com/r/videoredo/s/RlqNqXF436

[Bridgy]

Over on the VideoReDo subreddit, Dan203 made a post "Thinking of bringing VideoRedo back"

https://www.reddit.com/r/videoredo/s/RlqNqXF436

Thank you for this, i just posted a comment there just to wish Dan well, it will be a big task for him i think, but it is too late for me as my use of VRD is somewhat different that most others, so i have now found an alternative work around for doing my Cuts and smart rendering with my 4k/60p hevc camera files, and i invented my own method of adding Titles when needed because VRD Pro was not able to do either of these things properly.

Sometimes things don't always go to plan, but you just need to work out how to get over it and find alternative ways to deal with issues like i have with my VRD Pro.

I hope Dan can get VRD back somehow, but obviously it will never be quite the same.

[hydra3333]

It's not too late for me since on this planet only VRD does anything like a useful/working QuickStreamFix !

I posted this over on the reddit thing;

Hi Dan203. Sorry to hear about your job. Glad to hear you're considering going into business with VideoReDo.

The main things for me in order of importance are

(a) existing smart cutting (insert/remove audio and video frames) for h.264 aqnd h.265
(b) existing QuickStreamFix for h.264 and h.265
(c) existing parameters controlling transcoding output to h.264/h.265 (eg quality, gop length, framerate, etc)
(d) I also script VRD (using QSF) using the vbscript interface for use in non-interactive overnight scheduled tasks and have embedded timeouts for a QSF; this relies on not having pop-up boxes, so that's quite important too

Of note, v6 QuickStreamFix is very slow on a 32Gb 3900x PC, almost as slow as realtime ... so if possible a QSF speedup would be nice (v5 really zips along by comparison, perhaps an option to choose one or the other in your version ?).

QSF is important due to OTA h.264 TV captures almost always having glitches which only QSF fixes.

I'd happily purchase your version with (a) (b) (c) !

Good luck and hoping it is feasible and works out well for all of us !

[Marayong]

According to what Dan has posted on the reddit forum, he now owns the right to the name Videoredo, but not the actual code. That means VRD may come back to life, but unless he gets the rights to the code, it will be VRD in name only. It won't look like the VRD we are still using since the rights to the visual appearance would be tied up with the code rights. And features & functions will depend on whether Dan codes them into his version of VRD. And the chances of getting features that are nigh on unique if not unique to the old VRD are slim without the code rights - if there was more than one way of coding those features, others would have duplicated them. Coding rights to software is less about the actual executable code than it is about the algorithms. Any vaguely competent coder can take an algorithm and write code to turn that algorithm into a software feature. The genius is in creating that algorithm. With VRD DanR created the algorithms, DanH did the coding.

[hydra3333]

chances of getting features that are nigh on unique if not unique to the old VRD are slim without the code rights - if there was more than one way of coding those features, others would have duplicated them.

Perhaps, but not necessarily so. There are definitely a lot of ways to skin a coded cat. Desired outcomes and steps to achieve the QSF outcomes (not the algorithms) are simply checking the bits with an existing specification (almost certainly done during codec development) and QSF would almost certainly not be unique nor prior art, since being close to steps in a decoder/encoder in nature.
Separately, in this particular case the family member expresses no desire to release/progress VRD and hence would likely not delve into the details of how something new was coded in a different algorithm so a variation on a theme would probably be acceptable ...
TSDOCTOR et al say they do similar things.

[Alwyn]

How about we give Dan our support and see what he comes up with rather than pushing out Negative Waves...

[Marayong]

I prefer to be a realist rather than an optimist with rose coloured glasses .. but each to their own. If DanH does indeed get his video editor off the ground and onto the market, great. I'll definitely have a look at it ... however, without acquiring the rights to the old VRD code, whatever he comes out with will be just another video editor, it won't be VRD, even though he has the rights to the name and will probably call it that. If he doesn't get the code then whatever he comes out with will not be VRD 7.0, it won't even be a fork of the old VRD, it'll be a totally different video editor (with it's own strengths & weaknesses) and it'll have no connection with the VRD we have been using other than the developer of the new product has purchased the rights to the name "VRD".

Without the old VRD code, I will approach DanH's video editor as I've approached all the other editors that have been looked at as possible replacements to VRD (thanks mostly to Bridgy there) .. it may meet my needs, it may not, but it'll require a thorough testing. If, on the other hand, he gets the code, then what he comes out with will be effectively VRD 7.0 & I'll forgo all but a superficial test and buy a licence since I know it'll do what I need it to do.

On a plus note, DanH has contacted DanR's widow again about securing the code rights.

My big requirements would be frame accurate cutting, intelligent recoding and the ability to open ts files and save in other formats, all of which VRD does. Other editors make claims along those lines, but nothing else comes anywhere near VRD in achieving them. Without the code, can DanH duplicate those features? It'd be great if he can ...

[Bridgy]

How about we give Dan our support and see what he comes up with rather than pushing out Negative Waves...

I think that everyone will support Dan with his quest, but i don't see anyone being negative, just realistic, and i hope Dan can do something, but for me, time is up already, i work mostly with 4k/60p HEVC camera files, sadly VRD still had issues with very bad lag doing smart cutting and joining, and it could not do titles on these files properly at the time Dan Rosen passed away, so i already sorted out my options for an alternative cutting and smart rendering tool (thanks to the work of Losslesscut) and i developed my own way of creating my Titles when needed, and if VRD did ever vanish where i lost use of it completely, i would just use Handbrake to recode my files to other formats.

I basically only use VRD now to render my completed 4k/60p HEVC files to other formats/resolutions etc, using the Brilliant Intelligent Recode tool, which no other software has ever been able to copy, many tried and failed, and if i need to do a custom recode then i just create my own export profile, and again, no other software offers a custom profile creation tool that even comes close to VRD.

I still use VRD cutting/smart rendering for all other non HEVC files (including 4k/60p) because it still does those properly.

I have never used VRD for Broadcast TV purposes like many others do, so i can't add further comments regarding that.

For what VRD was able to do at the time of Dan Rosens passing, it was, and still is, without any question, the very best tool of it's kind ever created in my opinion, i just wish that it could smart cut and render my 4k/60p HEVC files without lagging so much, and it was able to do my titles, but such is life, sometimes you need to find another work around, and i have already sorted mine out already.

As a side note, Dan Haddix asked me in the horrid Reddit forum What in Pro do you use? Most of the stuff in there was targeted at broadcasters. and i was going to reply, but right now i don't really feel the need because i am done with most of this stuff, and i am too old to bother with it, and i don't need any more than what i currently have now.

It would be nice to see Dan pay us a visit in this Thread sometime because i hate the Reddit forum with a passion, as everything just gets lost and it becomes a nightmare to look at, so i won;t be going back there unless really have a death wish to get some info that i can't get elsewhere.

Reddit gave me this stupid Username that i cannot change IntroductionOk3336

https://www.reddit.com/r/videoredo/comments/1kisksl/thinking_about_bringing_videoredo_...are&utm_term=1

[marvin-miller]

If Dan can get it going again it would be ideal. Do a GoFundMe and continue on the work of the departed. It would be a great tribute and let's face it, the product is great and is needed.

[Bridgy]

Sorry about this post as it is not exactly related to VRD directly, but anyway, i had to come back as i just completed cutting and smart render 25x 4k/60p HEVC files that i recorded over the past 3 days with my new phone, and i just want to throw up a huge thanks to the developer of LosslessCut for creating that tool, the cuts that i make and then smart render is instant, they are joined and exported within a blink, i never had VRD do cuts and smart render anywhere near as fast as this with any other type of file, and this makes my editing work so much less painfull than it would otherwise be.

I know LosslessCut is usually only accurate on on keyframes (which in my files are every 1 second or 60 frames) but my cuts do not have to be much more precise than that, so i am ok to use it, the speed is absolutely amazing.

If Dan can get it going again it would be ideal. Do a GoFundMe and continue on the work of the departed. It would be a great tribute and let's face it, the product is great and is needed.

I think that i posted somewhere that i would be prepared to cover the maintenance cost for the Pro activation server wherever it was being stored as Dan Haddix did not have it at that time, and he was not prepared to pay the cost himself.

I am all for a Go-Fund me page for Dan to get VRD back, at least to cover his time because i am sure that he will be needing to find another job at some time.