Simple mp4 edit program?

[WBFAir]

Hello al
I have some mp4's I am trying to just do a little cutting out/delete of some stuff from them and then output that as a new file with that stuff gone.

I don't want to re-encode or mess with the sounds or really do "anything" other then this.

I have been trying to work with AVIDemux as I read here that is the best thing, but it keeps telling me I'm not doing things right and I'm not on key files and lots of other stuff. As well it has tons more options that I have no clue as to what they are and no offense anyone, but I don't want to become a scientist with this project.

Isn't there just a simple editing program for mp4's that will let me cut things in and out just on the frames I want, and then output it with those things removed?

Thanks for any help.

[Vidd]

Isn't there just a simple editing program for mp4's that will let me cut things in and out just on the frames I want, and then output it with those things removed?

If you want to cut things out without re-encoding, you can only cut on I frames (key frames). This is for all editing programs, not only AviDemux. You will need to select the I frame closest to your edit point.

If you want frame accurate editing, re-encoding needs to be done. If a program is "smart" it will only encode the frames around the edit point, not the whole file. I would suggest the program VideoReDo, but it is not free. You can download the trial version to see if it works for you.

[Kerry56]

If you get the trial for VideoReDo, make sure to get the TV Suite H264 version.

[smrpix]

Also not free, and also excellent is TMPGenc Smart Renderer (notice a pattern here?)

[Baldrick]

The free Video to Video Converter might work also. Click on it for a cutting guide. But you can only cut on keyframes like avidemux.

[Hoser Rob]

The above answers assume your .mp4 files contain h.264 video. That's a very reasonable assumption, but h.264 is a codec. MP4 is a container, which can be used with a number of codecs.

If you don't know what the codec is, install mediainfo and open your files in it. It's one of the most useful video tools around.

Avidemux actually can cut some .mp4 files on frames that aren't key frames, but only with the MPEG-4 ASP codec, which is usually identified as xvid.

I suspect your files are h.264 though, which isn't so easy cut anywhere with anything as far as I can tell.

You don't need a separate program to convert h.264 to xvid. I've done it with avidemux plenty of times for the same reason. It's a good encoder. I'd recommend setting it to one pass quality based encoding with a factor of 3 most of the time.

[WBFAir]

Hello all

Thanks so much for all the replies

For one question though on the mediainfo program, where amongst the info reported is the listing for what codec the media has?

Thanks again

[Kerry56]

I use the Tree view, or sometimes the Text view within MediaInfo.

Under Video, you should look at Codec ID. This will show avc if it is encoded with H264. If you have xvid or divx in your mp4 those will show up under the Codec ID.

[WBFAir]

Ah OK, took a look and an for that it says, avc1.

So guess that is H264, or something very close.

[sanlyn]

Sometimes the encoder doesn't include that info, sometimes the video has had further work (such as authoring) which won't include it either. Sometimes you get the name of the software that created the file. In mediainfo try the Txet or Tree view. Here is a section from the Tree view of an AVCHD mkv encoded with an x264 encoder:

Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC

You'll see several ways of reporting this info, depending on the encoder. Here, it was:

Writing application : TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5 Version. 5.3.1.85
Writing library : TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5 Version. 5.3.1.85

Here is all the info that was recorded by an MPEG-1 encoder, application unknown:

Video
ID : 224 (0xE0)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 1

Some command-line x264 encoders include detailed info from the command script used.