SmartCut64: a smart-rendering editor (my replacement for VideoReDo)

[Bridgy]

Happy for you to post here, it's just that I will see an email sooner... and therefore get going on a fix for any problems sooner!

Dam your quick, after hoping that SMC would continue development (it was going to be a very promising VRD alternative) and now it has been canned for now, i am just glad that someone else has come along and taken their own product to what i believe is the closest yet to VRD, for my own purposes i mean, as i don't do broadcast TV stuff so i have no idea what that side of your software is like.

Will shoot you emails, but will post up in here as well, just to share my own experiences along the way.

Cheers.

[Bridgy]

Ok i have some Test results from tonight, build 1.0.25

My Dell Pro Max Editing PC runs 32gb ram and the Intel Ultra 7 265 CPU, using Crutial T500 Pro NVMe drives for windows 11 X-Lite Pro and Storage drives.

Test 1: 2min 4k/AV1 cut to 79sec - Export back to 4k/AV1 = Works - took 52sec to run (needs to improve)

Test 2: 44sec 4k/HEVC cut to 32sec - Export to 4k/HEVC = Works - took 25sec to run (needs to improve)

Test 3: 2min 4k/AV1 cut to 79sec - Export to 4k/HEVC (Intelligent Recode) = Works - took 150sec to run (double the cut file duration)

I have not tested exporting from 4k/AV1 or 4k/HEVC to 1080p as yet.

Test 5: Title Creation - well that is another story for another day, just to add that i can import a file into the joiner list, and i can create a title, and i can export it, but the way that it saves and exports the file is nothing like the way it works in VRD, and it is going to need a few changes made before i would call it acceptable to use on a very regular basis.

Will email the Dev at some time regarding this.

So as far as i am concerned for my own use and working mostly with 4k AV1 and HEVC files, this Tool is gradually getting there, and i could use is as my every day go to Editing tool to replace my VRD Pro, which has issues doing Titles to my 4k HEVC files, and does not support importing of AV1 files at all.

[ConsumerJon]

Hi Bridgy,

Thanks for the detailed testing. Great that AV1 and HEVC exports now complete successfully, and that all 20 batch conversions worked.

You’re right about the Batch Manager disappearing. I’ve checked the code and found that it closes the window when processing starts. I’ll change that so it stays open with progress visible, with completed and failed jobs clearly separated from the remaining queue.

Re: the smart-render timings. Could you send me the exact cut points and output profiles used for tests 1 and 2, including any fade settings? And are these the same source files you previously sent me?

For test 3, converting AV1 to HEVC requires the entire retained video to be re-encoded. The speed therefore depends on the encoder and quality settings. Could you send the profile settings for that test too, including whether hardware acceleration was selected?

When you have time, it would be great if you can describe how you’d like the title workflow to work, particularly how VideoReDo handles saving and exporting compared with SmartCut64.

Thanks again,
Jon

[Bridgy]

Hi Bridgy,

Thanks for the detailed testing. Great that AV1 and HEVC exports now complete successfully, and that all 20 batch conversions worked.

Remember in my previous post that the AV1 to AV1 and HEVC to HEVC (Smart or Intelligent Render) is not as fast as it should be, these 2 exports in my test results above were only very short source files and both were cut before rendering, so this issue needs to be fixed as a Smart Render should be almost instant, or no more than say 10 seconds as it would be in VRD, in the Smart Media Cutter (VRD clone) this Smart Render is actually instant, or happens within the blink of my eyes.

I ran another 9min AV1 file by cutting 1 minute, and the export back to AV1 was 107 seconds, way too long, for a Smart Render.

You’re right about the Batch Manager disappearing. I’ve checked the code and found that it closes the window when processing starts. I’ll change that so it stays open with progress visible, with completed and failed jobs clearly separated from the remaining queue.

No real need to separate Queued and completed jobs as it is with VRD, as your way i can see Queued or completed next to each file, i just like the Batch tool box to stay open.

Also, if i leave the Batch Tool box open on my screen while the conversions are taking place, the completed files do not change from showing Queued to Completed unless i close the box the Batch tool box and open it again to refresh it, in VRD as each file in the top Queued section completes, it drops from the Queued section at the top of the Batch tool down to the completed box at the bottom, this happens while i have the Batch tool open on my screen.

For test 3, converting AV1 to HEVC requires the entire retained video to be re-encoded. The speed therefore depends on the encoder and quality settings. Could you send the profile settings for that test too, including whether hardware acceleration was selected?

I am pretty happy with the AV1 to HEVC Recode Time, in most cases the cut AV1 file will export to HEVC in around double the cut file duration, which is good for my editing PC.

I never thought about Hardware Acceleration.

[Bridgy]

Re: the smart-render timings. Could you send me the exact cut points and output profiles used for tests 1 and 2, including any fade settings? And are these the same source files you previously sent me?

Below is a link to the 44sec 4k/60p HEVC file cut to 28sec and Smart Rendered back to HEVC, i generally used Automatic Hardware Acceleration in VRD as it doesn't seem to make much difference, and i got the same results in SC64 as well, seems like the Automatic Acceleration time fits between Software and Intel settings.

Auto = 26sec
Software = 28sec
Intel QS = 24.5

https://streamable.com/5ve8w4

When you have time, it would be great if you can describe how you’d like the title workflow to work, particularly how VideoReDo handles saving and exporting compared with SmartCut64.

I will record a video of my VRD Titles Process and upload it here as soon as i get time.

[Bridgy]

Your Joiner Tool

This feature works, but very differently to the way it does in VRD (see my 2 video Links below for comparison)

I opened the Joiner tool and loaded up 8x 10sec clips (all were 4k/60p HEVC) and when i click OK the joiner box closes (it needs to stay open) so when it closes i need to then click on the Create a File from the Joiner list, i need to add an Export file name, and i need to select an export format from the 8 export formats in the drop down list, BUT there is no option to select an Export destination, the Joined Export file automatically goes to the Source File folder, which i am not so fussed about, but i am just used to having all of my source files stored on a 500gb Crucial T500 Pro NVMe drive, and i send all of my exports to a 1gb T500 Pro NVMe drive.

Issue 1: The Joiner list box needs to stay open after files are added, and the Create Video from Joiner List button should be at the bottom of the Joiner list box so i don't need to exit the Joiner box to run the export, not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to see it work as it does in VRD.

Issue 2: Allow us to select a different export location if we want to do it that way, again it isn't a deal breaker, but it would be nice to have this option.

Issue 3: I don't get my profiles list shown when saving my Joined file, which i do get in VRD, so it seems like your Joiner tool is set up to only export back to the same format as the Source Files, in VRD we can select a different format using any of the built in presets, or one of our own custom presets, but i am not so fussed about this to be honest, i can simply join my files and export to Same As Source, and then export the joined file to another format if needed.

Issue 4: When i start the export the SC64 Interface just stays on my screen and i can't see the progress of my Export, and i don't know when it has completed, i basically need to go to the Source File folder to check that the export actually worked.

Issue 5: I tried to join 42x 15 second files, they were 720x480 HEVC files, i repeated the same process as per the video below, and it did not work at all, not with these files at least, but i will keep testing with this.

https://streamable.com/aly73t

VRD Joiner Tool

Below is a link to a video recorded using Bandicam showing VRD running a Joiner List export (intelligent recode)

These were the same 8x 4k/60p HEVC clips as per above, each one 10 seconds duration (80 seconds total) and i exported them to 1080p HEVC (intelligent recode) and the export took 205 seconds to complete (approx 2.5 times the file duration)

I exported these to 1080p just to show that VRD lets me export back to original format (Smart Render) or export to other resolutions using one of my own custom profiles.

I cut most of the export segment out of the video to keep the file duration shorter.

https://streamable.com/t2b62t

Your File Indexing/Loading time needs to be a lot faster, the longer the duration of my files, the longer the Indexing takes, in Smart Media Cutter and VRD they load instantly.

[Bridgy]

Hi again, well i had a very dramatic thing happen at 2am this morning, i was running one of my tests, i think it might have been the Batch Tool test, and for some reason i decided to check if i had hardware acceleration or software acceleration turned on, and i stupidly clicked on the Tools Tab at the top of the Interface and then clicked on the Hardware Acceleration Self-Test option thinking that this was where we can select or change it, and when the Self-Test tool opened on the screen it began the test, and just after that my Computer froze and locked up, and it sat there for 20 minutes thinking it might fix itself.

After waiting, i just decided to shut down using the power button, but on restart, i was taken straight to the System Diagnostics screen saying that my encrypted Windows drive had suffered an issue with the Veracrypt Bootloader (it was damaged) and normally this can be fixed very easily by using the Veracrypt Recovery Files that are copied to a USB drive during the Encryption process, BUT in my case, i selected the option to bypass the USB Recovery part of the Encryption as i already had the Recovery USB from a previous Encryption.

That was a big mistake on my part because i found out today from Veracrypt that each time you Encrypt a System Drive, Veracrypt creates a completely new set of Recovery files, so i need to make sure that i don't make the same mistake again.

The Good Bit: Luckily for me, the very same day i had run a Clone of my System Drive onto my spare Crutial T500 Pro NVMe drive using my Hasleo Disk Clone Pro software (i usually do it once a week) so i just opened up the Dell Pro Max PC and installed the Cloned drive and booted from that.

I still can't work out why the Hardware Acceleration Self-Test option caused this issue, and nor does Veracrypt when i contacted them.


[Attachment 93984 - Click to enlarge]

[Bridgy]

Batch Conversion Tool - I posted about the Batch Tool in a previous post, but i just found an issue that i had not noticed before.

The Batch Tool works, i loaded up 10 short (4min to 10min) 720x480 AVC files and exported them all to 720x480 HEVC and the conversions completed as they should have, same results as i got doing the same Batch Job in my VRD Pro, except for a vast difference in the HEVC video Bitrates between both tools (see notes at bottom of this post)

Issue 1: Once i open the SM64 Interface and select the Batch Tool, it opens up on my screen, i load up the files, select the profile and destination, and then click the RUN button, but the Batch Tool closes and i am left with the SM64 Interface on my screen, i saw the CPU and ram usage go up so i knew the files were being processed, but i had no way to check the progress unless i went to my Destination Folder to see the progress, so this seemed a bit odd to me, so i opened the Tool Menu at the top of the User Interface and clicked on the Batch Tool again and the Batch Tool came back up and showed the progress of the Batch conversions.

In VRD the Batch Tool stays open once you start the Batch process, and you can see your files at the top being processed, and when each file is completed it drops from the file list at the top down to the completed list at the bottom.

Issue 2: There is no way to Pause or Stop the Batch Conversion process, least not that i can find, this is a must have feature inside the Batch tool itself.

Issue 3: Even tho there is an option to select your Export destination, the batch conversion files are going back to the same folder where the Source files are located, just as what happens in the Joiner tool as i mentioned in a previous post.

I will do a screen recording of the Batch Tool in my VRD Pro when i get time.

Video Bitrate for Encoded files. I have tested some 720x480 AVC files and converted them to HEVC using the same export profile in VRD and SC64, and i am getting a very big difference in the video Bitrate of both tools.

The VRD HEVC exports are around 35% lower than the AVC source files, but SC64 the Bitrates are between 50 and 60% lower, which to me is way too low, and i am using the exact same VRD Profile for both tests.

Have attached 3 screenshots with the sorce file, the VRD export, and the SC64 export, i have no clue what all of the info in red means, but there is a difference between them.


[Attachment 93994 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 93995 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 93996 - Click to enlarge]

[ConsumerJon]

Thanks Bridgy, great feedback as always! Going through it all now

[ConsumerJon]

Right then! SmartCut64 1.0.27 is now available on the website, with several changes prompted by your reports.

The Batch window stays open and shows progress and completed jobs. Changing the profile and destination applies those settings to untouched queued videos. There are also controls to pause after the current file, resume and stop.

The Joiner now includes profile, destination, Create Video, progress and Stop controls in the same window. Title creation has a 4K canvas and individual duration and fade controls.

AV1 indexing is substantially faster for supported files. Your supplied two-minute 4K AV1 recording reached editing readiness in an average of 0.38 seconds versus 28.7 seconds on my Threadripper test system. All 3,596 frame timestamps matched the fully decoded index. Those tests used fresh application caches, although Windows’ disk cache was not cleared. This measures opening and indexing, rather than export speed. Unsupported layouts retain decoded indexing.
There is also a smaller improvement to AV1 cut-boundary encoding. Your HEVC export timing still needs the exact cuts and settings to reproduce.
A generated 42-clip HEVC join passed complete decoding and frame-count checks, but I cannot yet say your particular failure is fixed. The original files, profile and error details would help, along with comparable outputs for the bitrate difference and a current example of the flipped title.

Hardware diagnostics now have stronger cancellation, time limits and saved records. The cause of the whole-PC freeze and subsequent boot problem remains unresolved.

This release also includes the iPhone Dolby Vision/HEVC smart-cut and join fixes. Dolby Vision preservation during full re-encoding, resizing or effects is outside those fixes.

[Bridgy]

Thanks for the very quick updates, i was using build 1.0.25 and 1.0.26 for the above testing, so i will run thru all of my tests today again and see how they go, and report back with my findings.

Cheers Jon.

BTW the horizonally Flipped Title no longer happens, that was fixed ages ago.

[Bridgy]

Back to testing of Build 1.0.27

Joiner Tool

I used my VRD Custom Profile shown in the Screenshot at the bottom of this Post.

1- 8x 20sec 4k HEVC Smart Render to 4k HEVC = Works immediate export

2- 8x 30sec 960x540 HEVC Smart Render to 960x540 HEVC = Works immediate export

3- 10x 2min 4k AV1 Files Smart Render to 4k AVI = Works 10 to 15 sec export time

4- 10x 15sec 720x480 HEVC Files Smart Render to 720x480 HEVC = Output Header Failed VRD can Export these Files in Joiner tool.

The Good
- Can use my VRD Custom Profiles.
- Can Export the Joined file to any directory.
- Now has a Create Video button and a Stop button.
- Has a blue Export progress status bar in the Joiner tool. (see screenshot below)

The Not so Good but would be an easy fix.

- Needs an option to add Chapter Marks at Join points, i set the Chapter markers in the Tools menu in the main Interface but it did not apply to the Joiner export, so adding a Chapter tool option in the Joiner tool might be better.

- I was going to request an option (tick box) to clear the Joiner List on Closing it, however this is not critical as the Joiner list can be cleared manually before closing it, or cleared when opening it again the next time.

I have had times in VRD where i had this box checked, and upon checking the exported joined file, there was an error, went back to the joiner list and they were all gone, i just had to load them back up again, no big deal.

Now i can see just how old VRD really was/is with it's User Interface and how the Joiner and Batch Tool boxes are laid out compared to SC-64, and i am loving this tool more and more every day.


[Attachment 94006 - Click to enlarge]

SC-64 Joiner Tool

[Attachment 94007 - Click to enlarge]

VRD Joiner Tool

[Attachment 94008 - Click to enlarge]

[Bridgy]

Just curious if anyone has been testing TV Broadcast Files with SC-64 as it would be nice to have someone testing these to see how SC-64 is going for them.

Batch Tool Testing is done I used my VRD Custom Profiles

1- 8x 20sec 4k HEVC Files Smart Render to 4k AVC = Works

2- 8x 30sec 960x540 AVC Files Smart Render to 960x540 HEVC = Works

3-10x 2min 4k AV1 Files Smart Render to 4k HEVC = Works

4- 10x 15sec 720x480 HEVC Files Smart Render to 720x480 AVC = Works

The Good: Everything seems to work as it should, happy with the layout

The Minor Issue: When opening the Batch Tool, it should open fully to expose everything in the Tool box, but when it opens, the Buttons along the very bottom are hidden and one needs to drag the box open from the bottom to expose it (see screenshots below)

I love this SC-64 tool so far, and i definitely will be using it full time within the next month, after i finish testing the Titles Tool



[Attachment 94016 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 94017 - Click to enlarge]

Below are the comparisons between the SC-64 and VRD Batch Tools, very different beasts, and SC-64 shows just how old VRD really is now days, yet back in the day when VRD was created it was touted as being breakthru, and i certainly thought the user interface (dark mode) was really nice.

SC-64 Batch Tool

[Attachment 94009 - Click to enlarge]

VRD Batch Tool

[Attachment 94012 - Click to enlarge]

[Bridgy]

Title Tool Testing

The Text Box Color, Font, Outline, and Shadow boxes are separated as opposed to VRD where they are all in the one Title Editing box (see image below)

I personally don't mind this, however i only need the Text/Font box and the Color boxes, so i have no need for the other 2.

The issue that i see is that in the Text and Color boxes, when i make my selections, i don't see them until i click the OK button and and i am returned to the main title editing box to see the changes made, i like to see the changes made within each box before i close them and get back to the main Title box.

In VRD these settings are made and i see them before closing the Editing box.

I will have 2 videos of the VRD and SC-64 Title editing tools tomorrow.

There are other issues as well from my testing tonight.

SC-64 Text Font and Color Editing Boxes

[Attachment 94019 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 94020 - Click to enlarge]

VRD Text Editing Box

[Attachment 94021 - Click to enlarge]

[Bridgy]

Testing the Titles Editing Tool continued

This is a link to the SC-64 Title creation of a cut 4k HEVC file.

https://streamable.com/gwp40r

This is a link to the VRD Title creation of the same cut 4k HEVC file.

https://streamable.com/ij8e6r

Now to the Nitty Gritty of the SC-64 Titles.

The Text creation tool works, but there are issues, and they can be seen in the Video if you watch it carefully, more importantly, you would need to know precisely what to look for, so i will try to explain the issues below.

1. Add my file to SC-64 and do the cuts, i add the cut file to the Joiner List.
2. I open the Joiner List and nothing was there, i closed it and add the cut file again.
3. I open the Joiner List again and nothing was there, i closed it and added the file again.
4. Open the Joiner List for the 3rd time and the cut file was there.
Note: after testing this several times, it took 1, 2, or 3 attempts to get the cut file into the Joiner list.
5. I click the Add Title button and create my Title in the text box.
6. Set the Title duration and fades.
7. Open the Text color box to change the color.
8. Open the Font edit box and set the font style and size.
9. Click to Add Title button at the bottom which closes the Title editor box and opens the Joiner List again, but there is no Title.
10. I waited a few moments, then i clicked the Add Title button inside the Joiner List, and wait for the Title to appear.
11. I move the Title File up above the Video file, select the export format and destination.
12. I click the Create Video button at the bottom of the Joiner List.
13. Go to the export destination folder and check to see if the export completed.

Without wanting to compare too much to VRD, there is an issue with loading the Cut Video file into the Joiner list, and the same goes for the Title being added to the Joiner List as well, both should appear in the Joiner List pretty much straight away.

I also need to see the Text Font settings and the Color appearing in the Title Editor box in real time as i am making these settings, as it works in VRD.

I hope the Videos and explanation above helps resolve these issues.

As soon as these small issues are fixed, i would say that for my own purposes, this SC-64 tool is a better tool than VRD is, not only has it got a much nicer User Interface (much more modern) but the internal features appear to match VRD as well, a few features (such as the Title editing process) takes a bit longer for example, but on the whole this will improve when the small glitches mentioned above are fixed (hopefully)

Well done to the Developer Jon, and i applaud his very active participation with getting this software finished and out there for people like me to use.

I have attempted to use many other so called tools out there for cutting and processing my 4k HEVC Files, and now also working with some AV1 files as well, many of them are free or open source, but i rather pay good money for SC-64 knowing it does everything that i need it to do.

It is going to be very hard to eventually move over to SC-64 permanently after using VRD for the past 14 years, but i look forward to the transition once i feel confident that SC-64 is completely ready to use.