Smart Media Cutter

[Bridgy]

Been pretty quiet in here lately, any new developments to speak of.

I am still on version 2.4.6, no updates for a while.

[skeskinen]

Hi! I have some life events coming up that force me to take a little bit of break from active feature development. I'm still doing maintenance etc. in the background

2.4.6 has been pretty stable for a lot of people, so I haven't rushed out a new version.
But there a few small bug fixes that I should probably release soon as a minor update.

[Secoast]

Working fine for me. Even got used to working with the layout (with some minor UI adjustments). Just the slight issue of Invert still niggles. Maybe a future release might include a shortcut key for this option !!!

[Myrthel]

Thank you!

[Bridgy]

Hi! I have some life events coming up that force me to take a little bit of break from active feature development. I'm still doing maintenance etc. in the background

2.4.6 has been pretty stable for a lot of people, so I haven't rushed out a new version.
But there a few small bug fixes that I should probably release soon as a minor update.

No problems m8, i have not been doing much editing myself now that winter is here, i don't get outdoors very often, and the occasional private jobs that i do for clients has also been very quiet too.

[rolodex]

A nice addition would be the ability to open files via unc paths as the program cannot currently do this.

[Bridgy]

Hi everyone, i was revamping 2 of my travel promo videos last night to change the opening titles and maps, so i opened the first file in my SMC 2.4.6 and it would not loading properly, giving me errors, and after a minute or so, it causes my computer to lock up or freeze, my swap usage goes to 100%, and then my screen will go black with just the cursor displayed, and i need to restart the computer to fix it, and it did the same thing with the 2nd file i had to edit.

Just asking if someone could download the 2 files from the links below and run them thru your own SMC and see if they work on your computer.

File 1 is 1080p hevc with framerate of 59.940 @ 1.1gb in size = https://icedrive.net/s/x1v7x2NtFFt4ZjFBix7Sab4fgYtT

File 2 is 1080p hevc with frame rate of 60 @ 395mb in size = https://icedrive.net/s/6SBfi7GhutyGDW3CCxFuTW2SZb5u

SMC still opens and loads my 4k/60p hevc files no problems.

Cheers

This is what i get when trying to load the files.


[Attachment 92917 - Click to enlarge]

Also, where can i find a Error Report or Crash Dump File.

[Secoast]

Tested File 2 with the same results. Sound plays, but no video. Doesn't crash my system though, and I can trim the file as normal. Also when I open a second time the messages are not there, but still no video.

Worth mentioning it plays fine in MPC-HC and Avidemux. I also remuxed to MKV in both Avidemux and MKVToolnix to no avail. Definitely an SMC playback issue in my opinion.

[Bridgy]

Thank you for that, both play ok in MPC and VLC here, and i was still able to do the mods to the files using my VRD Pro software.

The computer crash must have been a 1 off as it has not done it again, i have the same results as you got.

I hope the Dev of SMC can test these for me as well.

[Bridgy]

On another note, i use a tool called SyncBackFree to run my periodic Syncs between my main Files drive onto various backup drives, and also to my IceDrive cloud storage service, and whenever i run my Files Sync to my IceDrive partition, as soon as SyncBackFree gets to the Smart Media Cutter folder to start syncing it, SyncBackFree just locks up and hangs for a long period of time as soon as it starts syncing the JoinSidebar.qmr file inside the SMC folder.

It really is annoying.

[Secoast]

skeskinen hasn't been around for a while. Hopefully he is still actively maintaining the project.

[Bridgy]

skeskinen hasn't been around for a while. Hopefully he is still actively maintaining the project.

Yeah he often has time away from here to focus on other stuff, my issues here are no big deal, the 1080p files that won't load are from 5 years ago that needed new titles, and a few bits cut and added to them, VRD was able to do it because they were done in VRD and they are only 1080p files, not 4k.

The issue i have with SyncBackFree isn't important, i just need to be patient when running my backups to my IceDrive cloud storage partition because of one of the files in the SMC folder.

[Bridgy]

Hi, any updates to report for SMC ???

[Bridgy]

Hi everyone, ok so i have a bit of a dilema, and i hope the Developer can come here and help me out, as we have had no activity here in this thread from him for quite some time.

I have been downloading a bunch of 4k video files from a popular youtube travel blogger, however he, for some strange reason, has started recording his videos in 4k/30p AV1 not AVC or even HEVC that he used to do, and i am now forced to edit these files using SMC, which is fine, however i need to export them to HEVC so that i can deal with them and export to lower resolutions for others to be able to watch, especially on their phones, which many cannot play AV1 files.

The AV1 files are 29.940fps with a video bitrate of around 15.0Mbps (not ideal but these are recoded in youtube during uploading which destroys their quality)

I want to know what settings do i select for a Full Recode to HEVC.

1: Encoder Speed

2: Encoder Quality

I am recoding an 8 minute AV1 file to HEVC right now, i put the Export Settings to Slow Speed and Normal Quality, and the recode is taking forever, so far it is at 25% after 15 minutes, so this will likely take at least 1 hour or more.

Not knowing how SMC has been setup for it's various encode quality and speed settings, i think that i much prefer to have a setting where i can actually select my own export video Bitrate, which i would determine based on the bitrate of my source files.

With these current 4k/30p AV1 Files being around 15.0Mbps, i would just use 15.0Mbps.

My Dell encoding PC has the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 CPU and 32gb of ram, which is no slouch when it comes to encoding.

This is where i wish VRD would support AV1 files so i can do my edits, and then export to HEVC in whatever resolution i want, and i would select the Intelligent Recode option which will let VRD do the export to whatever video bitrate (quality) that it determines will be best for the Source file.

I hope someone can help me with these settings please.


[Attachment 93778 - Click to enlarge]

WOW, after this encode completed (over 1 hour) the Bitrate was 39.0Mbps and the Source file was only 15.0Mbps, and the file size was more than double.

This seems pretty extreme given my encoder quality was only Normal.

I used Handbrake to just convert the original un-cut 4k/30p AV1 file to 1080/30p HEVC using an RF Factor of 22, and the Bitrate was 13.0Mbps, which is what a 1080p HEVC video should be.

[skeskinen]

Hi Bridgy,

The quality settings are tuned for the smartcut use case, where only short segments around cut points get re-encoded and near-transparent quality is what you want. For a full recode of 4K 10-bit material like yours, pick Low quality (≈CRF 27 for HEVC, close to x265's default) and you should land to your source's bitrate.

Sorry I've been really busy with other work and I'm having hard time making new SMC releases.

[Bridgy]

Hi, and thanks for getting back to me.

I have been testing more Full Recode exports using different setting mixes and i am just getting too many variations in the export bitrates for each setting.

I wish you could one day include an Intelligent Recode option like VRD uses which totally takes the guesswork out of having to select from a list of export settings.

Even doing it similar to Handbrake where we can load up the file, select the export profile, and Handbrake will give a default Constant Quality RF factor to use for that export, or you can select to do an Average Bitrate using whatever bitrate you want.

Cheers

[Secoast]

For what it's worth. I did a few tests and found when output bitrates matched between SMC and Avidemux, or ffmpeg the encoding times were significantly slower in SMC at identical speed presets (Visual quality was identical).
I think the issue is the limited ability to control the output settings from SMC, so a fair comarison is not really possible.

I just use Avidemux for full encode editing. Would still be useful though to have a bit more control via the SMC Export dialogue.

Trimming in smart mode is still performing pretty faultlessly for me though, so no real complaints. Just a shortcut for the Invert button please.

[Bridgy]

I can't use my VRD Pro to cut and export these 4k/30p AV1 files to 4k/30p HEVC because it simply doesn't support AV1, but it does support HEVC, so i will use Handbrake to recode the full AV1 files to HEVC first, then i can use either VRD or SMC to cut my files and export them to the same format without recoding, and keep these as my Archive files for further editing or processing.

If i need to export to lower resolutions such as 1080p i will be using VRD Intelligent Recode because i don't need to think about different settings like i do in SMC.

I have not used Avidemux for a very very long time, might download it and give it a try.

EDIT: just installed Avidemux nightly, and did a comparison of my AV1 file to HEVC at various CQ-RF Factors using Avidemux and Handbrake, the latter being faster to encode.

01 SOURCE File 4k-29.970 AV1 @ 20.4Mbps (2 minutes duration)

02 Avidemux 4k-29.970 HEVC MP4 - RF22 - Medium Preset - Main Level = 44.1Mbps = 631mb (5min 10sec to recode)
02 Handbrake 4k-29.970 HEVC MP4 - Default RF22 - Format Profile Main@L5@Main = 43.1Mbps = 617mb (3min to recode)

03 Avidemux 4k-29.970 HEVC MP4 - RF24 - Medium Preset - Main Level = 35.4Mbps = 506mb (5min to recode)
03 Handbrake 4k-29.970 HEVC MP4 - Default RF24 - Format Profile Main@L5@Main = 34.0Mbps = 487mb (3min to recode)

04 Avidemux 4k-29.970 HEVC MP4 - RF26 - Medium Preset - Main Level = 28.0Mbps = 403mb (4min 10sec to recode)
04 Handbrake 4k-29.970 HEVC MP4 - Default RF26 - Format Profile Main@L5@Main = 26.6Mbps = 381mb (3min to recode)

We get a very similar result in both tools for each of the CQ-RF settings, just Handbrake is a fair bit faster.

To the Developer Skeskinen, if you can't offer us an Intelligent Recode option that we have in VRD, is there a way of showing a CQ-RF Factor or number in your Full Encode Quality and Speed presets, rather than just show a Speed and Quality setting, or give us a slider like we see in Avidemux and Hanfbrake, it would take a lot of the guesswork out of your current settings.

[Secoast]

Just curious, did you use the latest Avidemux nightly (4th & 3rd from bottom) at link below.
The main link on the website front page is very outdated.
https://www.avidemux.org/nightly/win64/

[Bridgy]

Just curious, did you use the latest Avidemux nightly (4th & 3rd from bottom) at link below.
The main link on the website front page is very outdated.
https://www.avidemux.org/nightly/win64/

I got the 2.8.1 version from this forum (2022) same as the one from Source Forge and the Avidemux website.

What is different about using the Nightly build, looks the same as 2.8.1, but i think i prefer this tool over Handbrake, except for the speed, which in the end is not that big of a deal.

EDIT: ok i see that the Nightly build is Sept 2026, so do i need to continue installing a new one as it comes along.

[Secoast]

Mean was the developer of Avidemux but has mostly given up on the project.
He allowed eumagga0x2a and szlldm to continue maintaining the project (mostly eumagga today, i believe). These maintained versions are the preferred choice as they are up to date with the latest bug fixes, recent ffmpeg builds etc.

The nightly depository is an official Avidemux, so perfectly safe.

No need to keep updating. I just check every six months or so as I have never really had any issues.

It's worth mentioning that both versions, zip and .exe are basically portable. The .exe just adds a Start menu entry etc.

Don't know if the latest version (which will include a more recent ffmpeg) will give a speed improvement over 2.8.1, but the latest 2.8.2 is still the recommended option.

[Bridgy]

Thanks, i didn't notice any speed improvements between 2.8.1 and 2.8.2 but that's ok.

I much prefer Avidemux over Handbrake, but i would love to see SMC impliment an Intelligent Recode option like in VRD, or at least change the Full Encode settings to match the way it works in Avidemux and Handbrake.

[Secoast]

Ffmpeg is just a library of codecs (among other things). I guess if the codecs themselves are not improved, the apps that use them will show no difference in performance. I am suprised by the different results you achived though. I would have thought most of these apps were sharing the same codecs.

There are only two x264 encoders. Avidemux employs the one from ffmpeg, which is considered the better of the two, maybe SMC is using the other (due to licensing perhaps). Not sure what the situation is with HEVC, as I rarely use it.

[Bridgy]

Just started posting over in SmartCut64 Thread, the new tool being developed based on VRD.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/421059-SmartCut64-a-smart-rendering-editor-%28my-r...r-VideoReDo%29

[Secoast]

Tried it a few weeks ago, but it failed on two short recodes. But for this I would have paid the fiver just to demo the smart cutting ability. I like the layout though.

Will be interested to read your experience.

EDIT (21.09.26)

Have now tried four updates of smartcut64 and each is as bad as the last. I really hope skeskinen doesn't lose interest in this project. It is the only app of this type I have tried that does exactly what it promises.

[Bridgy]

Ok i have revisited SMC with my 4k AV1 and 4k HEVC files for testing again using the Smart Cut Export Mode.

I cut a few minutes from both source files and i ran both files thru as many export settings thinking that we need to select an Export speed and quality, and after at least 10 settings for each file type, it produced the exact same bitrate and file size for each of the 2 source files, so after all that, it turns out that there is no need to touch any export settings what so ever if exporting back to the same format as the source files.

Only setting i need to make is add chapter marks at each cut point.

I will continue to use SMC for cutting my 4k AV1 and HEVC files and exporting back to those formats and i will use VRD to add my titles, and to export to other formats when needed.

I am still not familiar with the Full Recode export settings yet to make me want to use it, i want Intelligent Recode before i use this mode.

I really hope skeskinen doesn't lose interest in this project. It is the only app of this type I have tried that does exactly what it promises.

I saw a reference to skeskinen name over at the github forum for a VRD look alike tool called Snipwright, don't know why, but we have not had any updates in here for quite some time, so maybe this project may have been put in the closet for a while, i certainly hope not.

[Secoast]

Out of boredom I tried SC64 (v1.21) tonight. It has reverted back to the issue I had in the first version where a 30 second clip plays about 10 secs in slow motion whilst the timeline cursor runs at normal speed. I don't have a high end system, but every app I have, or have tried has no playback issues, except that one.
Also, I have not managed a single smart encode. If you read my early posts #4 & #7 on that thread, I mention the lack of smart cutting in the demo version. The author stated he thought testers would take it as a given that it just works. Having apparently added it to the demo, it is clear it doesn't work.

Clearly he is not testing his own updates, just throwing them out there. I have become quite cynical about his intentions, which is why I have not posted again on the thread.

Regarding Snipwright. It has no .exe installer as far as I can make out, cannot figure out how to install it, so haven't tried it. Happily using SMC for now. Even found the keyframe cutting output to work quite nicely. Just hope the dev is just taking a break. We'll see !.

[Bridgy]

Hi, well i just got SmartCut 64 v1.22 but nothing in these updates are of any use to me as i only want Smart Cut and Intelligent Rendering or Recoding to work properly for my 4k AV1 and 4k HEVC files, and add titles if it requires one before exporting back to Same As Source.

The titles editor is still typing my text backwards so i obviously can't use that feature yet, but of all the bug fixes, that should be the easiest one to fix.

Just to refresh my own testing of SC64 as of right now.

4k AV1 to 4k HEVC Smart Cut and Recode works perfect for me, both cutting and export, the exported HEVC video bitrate is around 20% higher than the AV1 which is what it should be for that kind of export.

4k AV1 back to 4k AV1 works, so too does 4k HEVC to 4k HEVC, but these can take 10 to 20 times the duration of the cut file to render, should be almost instant like it is in SMC.

As for SMC, Smart Cut and render AV1 to AV1 or HEVC to HEVC both work perfectly, timeline is perfect, so is playback in the preview screen, so this will be my tool of choice for cutting and export back to Same As Source, which is all i need from SMC right now, obviously if the Dev came back and gave me my Titles i would be pretty dam happy.

As far as the SMC Full Recode feature goes, that is just not working for me as i cannot work out which export quality and speed settings i should be using for a given export.

The SMC Full Recode feature doesn't concern me right now as i only need Smart Cut and Render back to Same as Source right now, i can add my titles and export to other formats using my VRD Pro.

I will be dead before any of these other tools are anywhere near what VRD is.

Regarding Snipwright. It has no .exe installer as far as I can make out, cannot figure out how to install it,

Try these screenshots to install Snipwright and send the Icon to the desktop.

For me, Snipwright doesn't seem to be offering what i need right now, SC64 is better at the moment, is more like VRD, but nothing will replace VRD Pro and SMC for me and what i need for my own editing needs.


[Attachment 93875 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 93876 - Click to enlarge]