Way to skip frames without cutting video?

[Travillion]

Hello,

I am essentially looking for a way to cut pieces from a film without actually cutting the film. What I'm imaging is to somehow modify the timeline. This way every frame remains intact, but the player knows to skip certain pieces. I mainly use h264 in MKV format, and MKV spec has something called ordered chapters and virtual timelines, which would fit the bill perfectly except that my main playing software doesn't read that. This functionality can be useful for skipping commercials or opening/closing credits for serials, etc. I want to avoid the hassle of trying to cut on keyframes, and even the smart cutters I've tried aren't perfect. I'd rather keep the extra size of an uncut file if I could modify a playlist or timing file to simply skip the desired parts. Then with all the original frames intact, there shouldn't be any problems with cut dependent frames. But I don't know if there is such a master timeline that is modifiable. Perhaps the decoder gets all this info from frame headers?

Those of you smarter than me, is something like this possible? Is there a codec/container where something like this is feasible?

Thanks in advance,

[davexnet]

For playback on a Windows PC, an Avisynth script using trim specifying the playback frame numbers may work.

[Travillion]

For playback on a Windows PC, an Avisynth script using trim specifying the playback frame numbers may work.

I'm hoping for something that can be embedded in the file. I use Plex for my home server and so rely on that software for playback. I know, for example, that blu ray disc playback is guided by the .mpls. I wasn't sure if there was something similar in mkv (or other containers).

[Bonnevue]

MPlayer with EDL file. command line: mplayer -edl "yourmovie.mkv".
Uou can create the edl file with mplayer as wel.

[Travillion]

Looks like there are a couple of ways to make this work through other media players. Bummer it can't be written into the file for any player to read (i.e., Plex). Thanks all!

[jagabo]

Of course, in theory such an edit list could be included within the A/V file. But someone would have to define a standard and players would have to be modified to deal with it and . And there may be pauses at the cuts with long GOP codecs where there may be 10 seconds (or more) between keyframes. If your edit list cuts in near the end of the GOP the player has to decode all the frames (at least all the P frames) of that GOP before it before it can display the requested frame.

[Travillion]

Of course, in theory such an edit list could be included within the A/V file. But someone would have to define a standard and players would have to be modified to deal with it and . And there may be pauses at the cuts with long GOP codecs where there may be 10 seconds (or more) between keyframes. If your edit list cuts in near the end of the GOP the player has to decode all the frames (at least all the P frames) of that GOP before it before it can display the requested frame.

Yeah, it's a nice theory but does not sound like it will work in practice. Bummer. I guess I will just continue struggling with to make keyframe cuts and getting occasional choppy playback.

[Bonnevue]

Mplayer uses a separate edl file, if you convert your videofile to a mkv the're wont be any choppy playback.
So, first convert video to mkv, (lossles) make cuts on keyframes by making an edl. You end up with your original video, a mkv and an edl.