An application for editing MKV videos to the exact frame without re-encode?

[mindstormer]

Sounds like too much to ask, but is there a free application for editing MKV videos to the exact frame without re-encoding? The reason I ask is because VirtualDub can do this for AVI, MP4, and WMV files. Thanks.

[Cornucopia]

No, vdub (or ANY other editor/processor) cannot do that with all avi/mp4/wmv files, it can do that ONLY with those files that use an Intra-frame codec. All other files are either recompressed or require cutting on the I-frame boundaries (or both). You might get partly lucky with smart-rendering editors, but that's it.

Mkv is no different in this respect, regardless of editors' input flexibility (or lack).

Scott

[mindstormer]

Interesting, I didn't know that (new to everything regarding videos, just trying to learn on my own in this forums). Then is there a free application that lets me edit MKV videos while preserving the exact quality?

[poisondeathray]

Interesting, I didn't know that (new to everything regarding videos, just trying to learn on my own in this forums). Then is there a free application that lets me edit MKV videos while preserving the exact quality?

Usually you can only cut on keyframes (GOP boundaries)

Not with any frame accuracy (typical GOP length for MKV/AVI/MP4 might be from 1-300 frames), but you can try mkvtoolnix (by timecodes), avidemux

I-frame only means GOP length of 1, so you can cut anywhere without loss

"Smart rendering" re-encodes only those affected frames in the GOP, instead of the whole file, so loss is minimized to those few frames around the cutsite . SolveigMM video splitter and Videoredo can do this for some types of compression used in MKV container

[yoda313]

lets me edit MKV videos while preserving the exact quality?

If you mean cutting when you say editing then yes a great deal of programs can cut mkvs and save without altering - to my knowledge at least I may be overselling what the programs can do.

But in virtualdub its called direct stream copy and in avidemux you would select "copy" in both the audio and video tabs after you make your edit cut points.

In virtualdub use directshowsource to open virtually any file type including mkv.

Fyi mkv is just a container. The majority of mkv files use H264 as the video codec but it can handle xvid and divx and more.

Edit - also any thing more complicated than cutting like dissolving or fading between commercials and adding graphics will ALWAYS require reencoding which MAY induce some quality loss from the original. How much depends on encoding settings and your personal perceptions of the video source material - ie some are more picky than others when evaluating video quality.

[mindstormer]

lets me edit MKV videos while preserving the exact quality?

If you mean cutting when you say editing then yes a great deal of programs can cut mkvs and save without altering - to my knowledge at least I may be overselling what the programs can do.

But in virtualdub its called direct stream copy and in avidemux you would select "copy" in both the audio and video tabs after you make your edit cut points.

In virtualdub use directshowsource to open virtually any file type including mkv.

Fyi mkv is just a container. The majority of mkv files use H264 as the video codec but it can handle xvid and divx and more.

Edit - also any thing more complicated than cutting like dissolving or fading between commercials and adding graphics will ALWAYS require reencoding which MAY induce some quality loss from the original. How much depends on encoding settings and your personal perceptions of the video source material - ie some are more picky than others when evaluating video quality.

Are you saying that I can use virtualdub to trim/edit virtually any file type? And how is avidemux different from virtualdub? I've only started learning how to trim videos and have been compiling a list of applications to have for when I reformat my computer. My assumption was: Asfbin: for WMV files, VirtualDub: for AVI files, and MP4Box for MP4 files. Right now, I only need to trim/edit videos and preserve quality.

EDIT: And from http://www.solveigmm.com/en/products/video-splitter/, it seems to imply Solveigmm Video Splitter can edit with frame accuracy for all videos, not just ones with I-frame. Is it a good program and what is it trying to sell by saying that?

[Cornucopia]

Virtualdub can Natively edit AVI files (assuming you have correctly installed the necessary VfW Video Codecs and ACM Audio codecs), plus it has Dshow plugins for MP4, MOV, WMV, and possibly MKV. Plus, via AVISynth, many many kinds of formats (which enter Vdub as "uncompressed"). Vdub currently will ONLY output to AVI, however, so you would need to edit, export (remembering to re-compress those "uncompressed" AVISynth files) and then remux to the container of choice (using some other program).

There is a recent past thread regarding the differences between AVIDemux & Vdub.

Scott

edit: I just checked - with the plugins AND direcshowsource I am able to open these kinds of files in my copy of Vdub:
1.MPEG2 (incl. VOB, VDR)
2.AVI/DIVX
3. MPEG1
4. IFF ANIM (who cares)
5. Adobe Filmstrip
6. Animated GIF
7. WMV/ASF
8. Redcode (.r3d)
9. Quicktime/MOV/MP4
10. FLV
11. MKV/MKA
12. Image Sequence files (incl. BMP, DIB, JPG, PNG, TIFF, TGA, etc)
13. AVS (AVISynth script)
14. miscellaneous Directshow
...and more.

[yoda313]

Vdub currently will ONLY output to AVI, however, so you would need to edit, export (remembering to re-compress those "uncompressed" AVISynth files) and then remux to the container of choice (using some other program).

Thanks for that extra info. Forgot about that.

But what about frameserving? Couldn't you use that to go directly to the fromat and container of your choice? (- with an x264 encoder of your choice?)

But avidemux would probably be more ideal for simple cutting with an mkv in copy mode.

Edit - scratch the above about frameserving - I was not thinking when I typed that as that would involve REENCODING and that is not what the poster wants to do in this instance. Sorry.