Alternatives for VideoReDo TV Suite with Test Results

[Bridgy]

Hi everyone, following on from another Thread relating to Alternative tools for VideoReDo TV Suite, i have decided to post up my own Thread relating to my own Alternative options, as well as posting information relating to each of my choices, with detailed results of my own Testing of each one.

Please Note: this thread was not created for the purposes of chit chat regarding the future of VRD, that topic has already been thrashed about all over the internet, so please try to refrain from discussing the future of VRD in this Thread.

Please also note that if you have any other Alternative Options to VRD then please post them up as well, especially given that not everyone is going to like the Options that i have already found for myself.

Moving on, so up until now i have been using VideoReDo TV Suite 6.0 Professional, and i will continue to use it until the Professional version activation server is no longer maintained by the family of the late Dan Rosen, who passed away 2 years ago, leaving his brilliant VRD software dead and buried as far as future development goes, however it still manages to do for me everything that i need it to do, except that Dan had not completed full support for Previewing and Seeking to cut points on the timeline on 4k HEVC and AVC video files, and because i record my videos in 4k/60p HEVC and AVC mode, i can no longer use my VRD Pro to cut/edit my files ready for Smart Rendering back to the original format of my Source Files, the files are just jerky and impossible to play in the preview screen, and also when seeking to my cut points.

With this problem in mind, i had to search for another dedicated (but free) so called Frame Accurate/Smart Cut program to do my Cuts/Edits with, and Smart Render them back to the original format, or take them into VRD Pro to re-encode/export them to other formats if/when required.

After testing several options, LosslessCut came out as the eventual winner for me and the files that i need to deal with, and i have to say that when importing any of my 4k/60p HEVC or AVC files, LosslessCut plays these files effortlessly, and Seeking to my cut points in the timeline is so fast and smooth as well.

Apparently the Frame Accurate/Smart Cut feature is supposed to be experimental, and that may be the case with some files that i personally don't work with, so i don't know for sure, but it does work with some of the Files that i work with in my day to day editing work.

Originally i got very frustrated with LosslessCut thinking it was just as bad as some other cutting tools (the cut method in some of them are horrid to work out) but after a while i got use to the way that it work, and now have it down pat.

As far as the video quality Bitrate goes, in most cases the video Bitrate of my Smart Rendered export file has been very close to the original Source file, however in a few cases, there has been a discrepancy of up to 15Mbps higher than the source file, so i don't know why this would or could possible happen.

The only thing that i have NOT fully tested yet is whether or not each of the Cuts that i made between Keyframes are precisely accurate, however there does not appear to be any discrepancies or slight glitches at these cut points when playing the files.

In summing up my thoughts about LosslessCut, it is a nice program to use once you get used to it, however it does appear to need a lot more development work done to make it anywhere near as good as the Frame Accurate cutting and Smart Render feature goes in VRD.

Ok so here are my results.

4k/60p and 1080/60p HEVC Files (mp4 or mkv container)

For these Files to play properly after my Cuts were made and Smart Rendered back to the same as the Source File, the Cut at the start of each retained Segment must be made on a Keyframe, but the Cut at the end of each retained segment can be anywhere.

If i Cut the start of each retained segment between Keyframes, the Video will play back with glitches/artifacts all the way through.


[Attachment 83390 - Click to enlarge]

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[Attachment 83394 - Click to enlarge]

4k/60p and 1080/60p AVC Files (mp4 or mkv container)

For these Files to play properly after my Cuts were made and Smart Rendered back to the same as the Source File, the Cut at the Start and End of each retained Segment can be made on any frame.


[Attachment 83395 - Click to enlarge]

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[Alwyn]

Excellent work Bridgy, thanks.

[Bridgy]

Apologies to everyone, i hit the POST button before i made my final changes to the Title, and adding changes to my opening post, those changes have now been made.

Now that i have decided on LosslessCut for doing my Cuts/Edits with, i will now focus on adding more Alternative options for VRD for Editing and Rendering/Exporting Files to other Formats.

Just as a heads up, should i ever lose the use of VRD Pro in the future, i have done enough testing with TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 now to conclude that it is the closest possible Alternative to VideoReDo TV Suite for me as far as doing my Frame Accurate/Smart Cutting and Smart Rendering, as well as doing other basic Editing such as adding Titles and Transitions etc, however it does not let you export to other formats like VRD can do, so for my own Exports to other formats when required, i will just use Handbrake now that i have finally worked out how to use it properly, and being rather happy with the results.

I would also like to add that although this Thread is dedicated to Alternative Options for VRD, i am also happy for anyone to ask for help or advice in relation to VRD, and more specifically how to create Custom Profiles for Frame Accurate Smart Cut and Smart Rendering, as well as creating Custom Profiles for Exporting to other Formats.

I would be more than happy to help with those processes as well.

Excellent work Bridgy, thanks.

Thank You, much appreciated.

[Bridgy]

Below are Youtube links to 4 of my Test Files just to show the results, however as mentioned in my first post, for my particular 1080/60p and 4k/60p HEVC Files, LosslessCut does not seem to be able to Smart Render them properly unless the Start Cut on each retained segment is made on a Keyframe, the End Cut location makes no difference.

LosslessCut however will Smart Render my AVC Files regardless where the Start and End Cuts are made.

LosslessCut 01 - 4k/60p HEVC (multiple cuts made on Keyframes) Playback is Good

https://youtu.be/F6IdCOCvnQE


[Attachment 83390 - Click to enlarge]

LosslessCut 02 - 4k/60p HEVC (multiple cuts made between Keyframes) Playback is Glitchy

https://youtu.be/cMXx_S1-RYM


[Attachment 83391 - Click to enlarge]

LosslessCut 03 - 4k/60p AVC (multiple cuts made on Keyframes) Playback is Good

https://youtu.be/aiN06wKOkZY


[Attachment 83395 - Click to enlarge]

LosslessCut 04 - 4k/60p AVC (multiple cuts made between Keyframes) Playback is Good

https://youtu.be/8rf-Dt-oja8


[Attachment 83396 - Click to enlarge]

[Bridgy]

Now for my Testing of the popular TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 as an alternative option for VideoReDo TV Suite.

VideoReDo TV Suite.

1 It does Frame Accurate Smart Cutting.
2 It does Smart Rendering of Files back to the original Format or the Source File, with hardly any User Input required.
3 It can add Text or Graphical Titles and Credits when needed, it does not do Transitions.
4 It can Resize and Crop files as part of it's Intelligent Recode to Output Files to other Formats.
5 It can Export a file to many other Formats when needed using the built in Intelligent Recode feature.
6 It has a set of built in Output Format Presets utilizing the Intelligent Recode feature that is exclusive to VRD.
7 Users can easily create their own Custom Output Format Profiles as well, which for me is one of the best features of VRD, and i would be very lost without it (thanks to Dan Rosen and Dan Haddix)

From my own testing of the trial version of TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6.

1 It does appear to do Frame Accurate Smart Cutting.
2 It does appear to do Smart Render of Files back to the original Format of the Source File, but for me, it appears to require a lot more user input to do so.
3 It has the ability to add Text Titles (as yet unsure about Graphical Titles) and add Transitions when required as well.
4 It cannot do Resizing or Cropping of Files.
5 Unfortunately, it cannot be used to Export your Files to different Formats should you ever need to do so, for this you would need to use an alternative Encoder to do this for you, and in my case, i would simply use Handbrake given that i know how it works, and i am always very happy with the results.
6 & 7 Because this software does not Export Files to other Formats, it does not have any built in Output Format Presets, and users cannot create their own Output Format Profiles either.

In Summing it all up, would i call this software a real Alternative to VRD, Not really, mainly because it can't Export to other Formats that VRD can do, but given everything that i have mentioned, and based on my own testing, if i lost the use of my VRD Pro software right now, then TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 would definitely be My Choice as an "almost all in one" Alternative, and to use along side Handbrake for Resizing, Cropping, and Exporting to other Formats when required.

See below for my TMPGEnc Test Results.

Cheers

[Bridgy]

Ok so i now have my Test Results for 2 of my Video Files processed in TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6.

Settings used for both Files.

1 3 cuts were made to each File and were Smart Rendered back to a file that is supposed to be the same as the original Source File (within reason) and which apparently only required to be Re-Encoded around the Frames that were Cut.

2 The cuts made in the File were at various points between Keyframes, non were cut on Keyframes to test it's accuracy.

3 The export quality setting for both Files was left on the Default 50 because Pegasys told me that when i load my Source File, the software will determine the correct Quality and advised me to leave it on the Default setting already Pre-Selected, which to me seemed to be a rather strange way to do this for Smart Rendering.

4 When comparing VRD against TMPGEnc, it is very clear that VRD is much easier to use once you have mastered it, you barely need to do anything once you have made your Cuts, where TMPGEnc does require more User Input to get the desired result.

5 When checking the Attributes of both Exported Files to their respective Source Files, both seemed to be very similar, but for me, the Smart Render in VRD is more accurate, so while ever my VRD Pro is still working, i will continue to use it for Exporting to other formats (given that i already paid for it) and i will use LosslessCut to do the Cutting and Smart Rendering of my own Video Files.

TMPGEnc Frame Accurate Cut and Smart Render of a 4k/60p HEVC (mp4) Video File

This is a link to a Screen Recording of the complete Export process.

https://youtu.be/AI5QGGBwDWQ

1 The Source File is 4k/60p HEVC @ 61.0 Mbps with a 31 second duration.
2 The output settings for this HEVC file would Not allow me to export it in an MP4 container, it only allowed me to export in the MKV or MPEG-2 Transport Stream (.TS) container, so i selected MKV (i found this to be rather strange)
3 The Export duration was 96 seconds, which was 3 times slower than the actual duration of the Source File.

TMPGEnc Frame Accurate Cut and Smart Render of a 4k/60p AVC (mp4) Video File

This is a link to a Screen Recording of the complete Export process.

https://youtu.be/NxqyOQvxtBo

1 The Source File is 4k/60p AVC @ 72.0 Mbps with a 30 second duration.
2 The output settings for this AVC file did allow me to export in an MP4 container to match the source File.
3 The Export duration was 34 seconds, which was only 3 seconds slower than the actual duration of the Source File.

Finally, regarding the Video Quality Setting in TMPGEnc, i sent an email to Pegasys asking what Video Quality Setting we need to choose for a given Output File using the Quality Slider, and i was told that after you have Imported your Source File for Editing, the Output Quality Slider will have automatically set itself to the most appropriate Smart Render Quality (Video Bitrate) for the Output File, so there is no need to change it, however, whenever i import any kind of File, the Quality Slider is always pre-set on Default 50, but after further testing of other imported Files, the Default 50 Setting does appear to give me the closest Video Bitrate to the Source File, so i would assume that 50 is where we need to leave it (further testing is needed for this to be accurate)

Should anyone out there who is using TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 wish to add further comments, or confirm what i have posted is actually true or false, then please do so, because i am still familiarizing myself with this software, and some of my notes may well be incorrect, and if they are, i shall edit my Posts accordingly.

Cheers

[Bridgy]

Hi again, ok i just had a play with the Titles and Fades feature in TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 and i have to say that it is horrid to say the least, and definitely not what i was expecting from this software.

In VRD Pro, i can choose to create my Titles (or end Credit) on a separate background color of my choosing, and using a color of my choice for the text over the top, or i can also use a Graphical Title as well, by that i mean importing a photo to type the title text onto, or import a custom made graphical title created using photo editing software such as Paint or Photoshop etc, which i have done a lot of in the past.

Once i have completed my Title and/or Credit, and set the duration period, VRD will encode them into the video based on the attributes of the imported video file.

In TMPGEnc it seems like the only way to add my Title is to overlay the Text onto the actual video frames for a set duration, which is not the way i like to do it, and i don't think there is a way of creating my own Title to import like i can with VRD.

Bit of a disaster in my opinion, but it is what it is, and if i was forced to use TMPGE then i just need to accept it.

Finally, even though i never use Transitions in any Video, i did give it a shot with TMPGEnc, and this feature is even worse than trying to add the Titles.

Cheers

[Bridgy]

Another quick note regarding my VRD Pro that i overlooked earlier was that it will not allow me to add a Title to the start of a Video, or a Credit at the end of HEVC files, it just crashes with an error, and sadly this happens because Dan Rosen had not quite completed full support for Titles to work in HEVC files at the time of his passing, but He and i had talked about this, as well as the laggy preview and seeking with 4k files on the timeline, and he did tell me that he was going to work on going forward.

For me to Continue using my VRD Pro (along with LosslessCut) i may need to look at recording my videos in 4k/60p AVC rather than HEVC, then i guess i could re-encode them to HEVC once i have completed my projects, especially on big files, but the encoding time would be rather slow.

Also, Just like to share an Email reply from Pegasys regarding the use of Hardware and Software Encoding in TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6.

My question to them was how do we select Software (CPU) or Hardware based encoding in their software.

There is no Hardware encodeinmg system in MPEG Smart Renderer 6.
The NVIDIA NVDEC technology is supported for hardware video decoding. In a compatible environment, TMPGEnc MPEG Smart Renderer 6 supports MPEG-2, H.265/HEVC, or other hardware decoding of those functions. Additionally, in an NVIDIA graphics card environment, CUDA™ technology can be utilized for filtering functions by using the GPU's (graphics card CPU) multiple-core parallel processing to solve complex problems in a short amount of time. By splitting many processes into multiple elements parallelizing them, and using the GPU's massive processing power, programs can run more efficiently.

[Baldrick]

Thanks for testing editors! If you find something very good I will add it to my software list new section for lossless editors, https://www.videohelp.com/software/sections/video-editors-lossless

[hydra3333]

yes, nice work bridgy. thanks.

[Bridgy]

Thanks for testing editors! If you find something very good I will add it to my software list new section for lossless editors, https://www.videohelp.com/software/sections/video-editors-lossless

yes, nice work bridgy. thanks.

No problems, as an avid user of VRD Pro on a semi professional basis, and working with 4k/60p HEVC files recorded on my video cameras, i am paranoid about the VRD Pro activation server going offline, and if it does, we Pro users lose our VRD for good, so i am just looking for the best alternatives that i can find.

Obviously nothing has come closer than 75% of what VRD can do, and i am not counting on finding any other basic all in one editing/encoding tools that will match it fully, and the QuickStream Fix and the Intelligent Recode features are the 2 features that will be the stumbling block for most other Apps out there.

Some cutting tools may do Smart Rendering, the best i found so far is LosslessCut for my own needs, and it also seems like Tipard Video Converter Ultimate does it even better than LosslessCut from basic testing so far, but Tipard is not free.

I will be posting my findings and test results for Tipard Video Converter Ultimate within a week or so, so far i am liking it, it seems to do Frame Accurate cutting and Smart Rendering very well, and it is super fast, unfortunately there is no QuickStream Fix (which does not affect me) and it does not have Intelligent Recode either, which in reality is not a big deal breaker IF you know and understand how video bitrates work between various video formats and resolutions.

https://www.tipard.com/

[Baldrick]

I don't like sites like Tipard. No software version information??? and no changelog posted. Where is the company located? Looks like a very generic software site.

[Bridgy]

I don't like sites like Tipard. No software version information??? and no changelog posted. Where is the company located? Looks like a very generic software site.

That is interesting i must say, i personally don't know, and i never gave it any thought to look into it and deeper in a way that you have just posted.

I will go back to the Tipard website and delve into them a bit more, but as of now, i am liking the software, ok it can't do everything that VRD can do, but given what i have seen so far, i certainly would use as an all in one tool for my own purposes, may not suit everyone.

I will report back when i have researched this company more, but as i mentioned in the other Tread last night, this Tipard feels a lot like Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate, especially the built in video output presets.

[jagabo]

As far as the trimming is concerned, is there any difference between open and closed GOP files?

[Bridgy]

Ok before proceeding any further, Baldrick posted what might be a concern regarding the Tipard website, so i went back and looked a bit deeper into their website and Licensing, and i can see now why Baldrick may have some concerns.

There is nothing relating to their business, although they do offer several support email address should you need to contact them, and they are lacking some other information as well.

I even tried to uninstall the Trial Version, and i had to jump thru hoops to avoid clicking on the wrong box to get it uninstalled, they definitely try to push you into buying their software that is for sure.

I would say that their business model seems to be rather strange, but as far as the actual Software goes, i will continue to test the trial until i can finally decide if this Tool meets my own needs, but so far, it certainly appears to be legit, and the stuff that i have tested so far certainly seems to be quite good, and usually if i don't like something, i will be the first one to bag it out, but as of right now, i can't bag this App out like i can many others.

As far as the trimming is concerned, is there any difference between open and closed GOP files?

I'm not sure to be honest.

[simon744]

The best alternative to VideoReDo that I'd suggest is Avidemux. It's supposed to losslessly cut only on keyframes, but I have found it to cut on any frame you want, reliably. And I've hardly ever gotten my files corrupted. It's also very nice that it handles audio delay issues like a champ, almost as nicely as VideoReDo. I regularly feed it files with such problems for it to put everything in sync. One downside to Avidemux currently, though, is the fact that it doesn't support DVB and Teletext Subtitles, also a few other codecs it could support in theory since it utilizes FFmpeg-based encoders/[de]muxers, etc. But it's never too late to hit their developers up regarding this.

[Bridgy]

Hi, i recall using this tool many years ago, but i think i had issues with it, or maybe found something else, but anyway, i just downloaded the latest version, but it was last updated in 2 years ago, but i will give it a shot and see.

Cheers

[simon744]

Hi, i recall using this tool many years ago, but i think i had issues with it, or maybe found something else, but anyway, i just downloaded the latest version, but it was last updated in 2 years ago, but i will give it a shot and see.

Cheers

What problem did you have with it? The only time I had a problem with Avidemux is when I edited a .ts file generated by VLC's "record stream" function. The bitrate would get cut in half, and the video simply wouldn't play back. However, when I remuxed that .ts file to .mkv before trimming it, the output came out flawless. Again, most of the cutpoints weren't on keyframes, but the cuts were so precise they almost seemed frame-accurate. I also trimmed the same video using VideoReDo TVSuite for the sake of comparison, and couldn't tell a difference.

[Bridgy]

Just tested AviDemux again after probably 10 or 12 years or more, same issues as i had before, i hate that there is no frame x frame timeline like we get in VRD and i hate the way that the trimming tool works, it is very clumsy, and is no comparison to VRD and LosslessCut, i can't even tell if it really is frame accurate, but it does Smart Rendering perfectly, my file matched the source file exactly, as long as you select the "Copy" output option.

It imports my 4k/60p HEVC files and there is no lag when playing the files in the preview screen.

These are 4 contenders, in order from 1 to 4, VRD is, by far, the most complete and most professional Tool of them all.

I have not included a Screenshot of TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 here because i don't believe that it's Smart Rendering is what it claims to be, and for me requires far too much input to get the export file to match the source file as well as these 4 tools do, but it's cutting tool is very good, and appears to be frame accurate.

For TMPGEnc to do what VRD can do, i would need to buy both TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 6 and TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 7 at great expense.

1st choice is VRD because of its simple and very well laid out GUI, it offers a very nice frame x frame timeline and a great cutting tool, it does Frame Accurate cutting, it does Smart Rendering, it has Intelligent Recoding (nothing else has this) and it renders to other formats.

[Attachment 84298 - Click to enlarge]

LosslessCut nice, accurate, easy to use Frame Accurate cutting tool, and it does Smart Rendering fairly well.

[Attachment 84297 - Click to enlarge]

Tipard Ultimate i hate the cutting tool so not sure how accurate it is, but it does Smart Rendering fairly well.

[Attachment 84296 - Click to enlarge]

AviDemux i hate the cutting tool, but it has very accurate Smart Rendering.

[Attachment 84295 - Click to enlarge]

[Bridgy]

BTW, Merry Christmas to you all, and have a great new year, and let up hope that VRD Pro stays alive and active for at least another year.

[Bridgy]

Hi and merry xmas.

Guys, i have just played around with Tipard Ultimate again, and this time i found the button to bring up "More Options" and i did not look into this option before, and it opened up a whole new set of features that totally blew me away.

Here is the issue, the Trial version of Tipard Ultimate lasts 30 days, but unfortunately when you enter the "More Tools" section you only get 5 attempts to test each of the additional features, and i have just about used up the 5 attempts on most of them, so i basically cannot test most of them any more, however, what i did find and test was totally amazing, and if you thought that VRD was an All In One editing tool, you really need to look at Tipard Ultimate.

I still cannot get my head around the stupid way that the cutting tool works in Tipard (same for Avidemux) it is beyond me why these developers do it the way they do, so i need more time to hone my skill with that cutting tool, but i basically love every other aspect of this software, and for me, from what i have tested so far, i would definitely buy and use Tipard Ultimate, in fact i am now going to buy a license just so that i can continue testing it out and put my results up in here.

Here is 2 screenshots of Tipard Ultimate, the 2nd one shows all of the added features built into this Software.

I will spend some more time on this over the next week or so, and report back here with my results.


[Attachment 84316 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 84317 - Click to enlarge]

[noemi7]

Tipard is out of real control. Try to trim video with AC3, and it will convert audio to AAC even tho in overall setting pass through is selected, and the container is mkv or ts. $79 for it is a joke.

[Bridgy]

Tipard is out of real control. Try to trim video with AC3, and it will convert audio to AAC even tho in overall setting pass through is selected, and the container is mkv or ts. $79 for it is a joke.

You can't make claims about it being a joke based on just 1 small issue that may actually be caused by the user, you really need to provide more detailed information about the issue you mentioned.

Maybe tell us what the source video format it is (resolution, container, codec, audio etc) and what export profile you chose, but without having your source file to test, then i can't really comment any further.

I have spent almost a week testing many of the features in Tipard, but as yet i have not done any testing on Audio yet, but with my exported 4k/60p HEVC test video files the Audio was the same as the source file, so i can't add anything more without having more info.

Most video editing tools will not be perfect at doing everything, as i have found out doing amateur and semi pro video editing over the past 20 years or so, but i doubt there will be a tool that does everything properly for everyone.

VRD is the absolute best video editing tool for the actual features that it offers, and there will never be another one like it, if someone was to try to match VRD it would have been done already.

For me, the user interface of VRD in unmatched, the frame accurate cutting tool and Smart Rendering is unmatched, the frame based timeline is exactly what i want, the extensive list of export profiles (built in and custom) are brilliant, and the Intelligent Recode feature is not offered by any other software either, then you have the QuickStream Fix tool as well, which i personally don't have a need for, but many VRD users do.

Tipard for me is the closest i can find to VRD with the benefit of the vast number of additional editing tools that VRD does not have.

LosslessCut is still my choice as an alternative to VRD for frame cutting and Smart Rendering, which is all it can do, and it is free.

[Bridgy]

Hi everyone, i have just sent an email to Tipard Support asking 4 specific questions, which you can see in the email screenshot below.

1. i asked why the cutting tool is so difficult or complicated to work with, i don't expect them to have a real answer to this, but i really wish they would change it to something like VRD or even LosslessCut.

2. asked if it is possible for them to create a frame based timeline for cutting.

3. i asked if we can select from different themes for the user interface as it is currently limited to "Grey" but it looks blue and white to me, i hope there will be more choices if you buy the software.

4. they claim that Tiprd can do Lossless Conversion with AI so i asked them what this actually means, does it apply to files that are just cut/trimmed out and merged together without recoding the file, because i found no reference to Tipard being able to do Frame Accurate Smart Cutting and Smart Rendering.

I will wait for a reply, it may take a while given it is still the xmas holiday period.


[Attachment 84359 - Click to enlarge]


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[Marayong]

I've been following the Tipard review and it seems the software is competent, however for me personally I'd have to echo Baldrick's concern. I don't need to know the street addresses of those who run the company, but I'd very much like to know a bit more about them than the, well, nothing they provide. I was able to find out more (marginally) via a whois search and checking out old copies of their website via archive.org. But that would be a relatively minor concern .. I have much greater concerns, to the point of being a killer as far as using the product, over any software that is difficult to remove. Over the many decades I've been using computers I've had so many problems caused by programs that are reluctant to release their grip on your computer. They can clash with other software and even after you "uninstall" them, they can leave traces to cause grief years later. If a program is hard to uninstall and/or resists any such attempt, I immediately get very suspicious .. and add to that the lack of information as to who they are.

As for the software, it seems mostly competent, as one would expect for a product that is around 25 years old. The lack of a frame by frame view is a big lack for me - I use that feature a lot in VRD and would not like to have to resort to guessing. And since I work with (initially) ts files, Simon's report of issues there are a concern.

As for their claims of lossless conversion using AI, like any claim of something does via AI, that needs to be taken with many grains of salt. Apart from language model AIs, AI is just, well, the same old software with an AI label stuck on it. AI is also used as a label for software that simulates some effect, so "Lossless Conversion with AI" could simply mean that the software only simulates doing lossless conversion without actually doing it, that is, it's all just superficial. Claims about what certain software can do thanks to AI are more often than not the 2020s version of snake oil.

[Bridgy]

I had the reply yesterday from Tipard Support, very quick response i have to say given it is Xmas, so at least their support is good, unlike Pegasys Systems (TMPGEnc) which is almost non existent for a software that costs quite a lot.

As you can read in the screenshot below of the Email i got from them that they do seem to be interested in what i had to say about some of the more important features, so for me that is a positive, however they are not going to change everything just to suit a few people, but with enough pressure they may be keen to improve things.

At the end of the day, i can live with most of what they offer, i love the huge array of built in export format profiles, most are able to be customized, i love all of the other features that they offer, and if hard pressed i can live with the way that the cutting tool works, although it is rather clunky, but without a Frame based timeline it can be a lot harder to check if the cuts are frame accurate, but if they are out a few frames who is going to notice, certainly not me, not when my video files are 60fps.

I am not getting into any debates about the Company itself, personally now that i got a very fast response from their support team over Xmas, that alone tells me that they are on the ball and do care about users concerns, and they have been in business for at least 16 years so i am happy to buy their software without any hesitation, and i think people need to stop over thinking all that stuff, but i won't buy it until i know for sure that the Lossless Conversion is exactly what they say it is, by using that 120x Faster Conversion feature all other export profiles are disabled.

Tipard will be of no use to anyone who deals with Broadcast material, it is for those people like myself who have files that just need to be trimmed out and Smart Rendered to the Same as Source format, and maybe recoded to other formats.


[Attachment 84392 - Click to enlarge]

I still never got a clear answer about the Lossless Conversion except that she pointed to the small option in the GUI to turn on the 120x Faster Conversion for Lossless export, BUT as i pointed out to her again, they need to enable features like that in the Trial version so users can test it out to see if the trimmed out export file will be identical to the source file.

I now believe, without being able to test it, that when you enable this 120x Faster Conversion option, all other export formats and presets will be disabled so the export will be done as a Smart Render, so i am hoping that this will be the case, however i have asked this question in my next email.


[Attachment 84393 - Click to enlarge]

As far as the following Screenshot goes calling it Lossless Conversion with AI the support lady seemed unsure about where i got this from and has asked for a screenshot of this so called Feature, so i sent her the following screenshot to show her.

"AI" to me means Artificial Intelligence and i cannot see what or how AI has to do with exporting a file to the same as the original.


[Attachment 84394 - Click to enlarge]

More to come soon i hope, and i am kind of debating with myself whether i should offer the Tipard Support people a link to this Thread so that maybe they can offer some insight into their company, as well as give us some feedback as well.

[Marayong]

Different users will of course have different requirements and those requirements will of course better suit some software and not others. From reading your test results, I agree that Tipard does appear to be less useful for those working with broadcast recordings. At this stage Losslesscut+Handbrake seems to be the best alternative for VRD for broadcast recorders, whereas for home video recorders like Bridgy, Tipard is looking the better option, indeed given Tipard has better 4K support, in many ways it may even be a better option than VRD.

As for the quick response you got from their customer support, it is perhaps ironic given some of the discussion about Tipard features but the answer you got seems to me to have been generated by an AI chatbot. The vagueness with some of the answers along with the "please explain" when you commented on a specific feature on the website are all characteristic of a chatbot .. which would explain the quick reply. And I have come across Irene the Chatbot before (by that name). Then again, xmas is not celebrated in every country and if customer service is based in one of those countries, there would be no xmas impact on customer service - I've been dealing with a hardware issue & sent off a reply around 11pm xmas eve to their customer service & got a reply sent around noon on xmas day. The reply was from Taiwan, which does not celebrate xmas. Nor does much of Asia for that matter.

[Bridgy]

Sorry but i think all this talk about them being dodgy (that is the impression i get) is pretty much baseless and ill informed, but that is just my opinion, i got a much better response from them than i did from TMPGEnc, and that alone should tell you something, so i personally have no issues with them right now, and i have replied to "Irene" the so called email chatbot to go over those 4 points again that i asked about in my first email.

Talking of chatbots, how you can think that the reply that i got from "Irene" smells of a Chatbot is rediculous to be honest, anyone can tell that it was written by a person because they referenced my own questions when responding, so where all this logic is coming from i really don't know, and as i said before, they have been in business for at least 16 years and they are still going, and i see no reason why their licensing would or could be dodgy either, based on what i have seen myself.

I go to the trouble of testing these tools to help others out, but one should still test it for themselves too, if it does not suit their needs then delete it.

I certainly will never take someone elses word, if i get the impression that it may be suitable for me, i will test it out myself as well.

As for TV broadcast, i don't know what you guys are doing with your recordings, but if you need a tool that can fix your recorded files then find something that can replicate VRD in that field, i don't do TV stuff so my needs are probably even more simple, i just Record Video, Trim it out, add Title/Credit if needed, Smart Render it, and Recode to other formats if needed.

I don't need all of the features of Tipard, but if it can Cut Frames Accurately, add Titles/Credit if needed, Export to Lossless or Same as Source, and Export to other formats, then it is the closest software to VRD for those 4 features that i need, without having to use 2 or even 3 other programs side by side (yes i am looking at you Pegasys Software)

Tipard may not do those things as easily, or it might be a bit clumsy here and there, but if i tested a 4k/60p HEVC video file in both VRD and Tipard and carry out those 4 functions, and both files end up the same, then what does it matter in the end, it would be the best option for VRD for my needs, and yes i would need to pay US$59 to buy it, which i would.

A bit more testing and i will have my final say about Tipard, my issue here is that i cannot test their so called"Lossless Conversion" using the 120x Faster Conversion feature, which is locked on the trial, and that is a big mistake on their part, and i have told them this already.

[codemaster]

For cutting VOB/DVD/VRO, I found that MPEG Video Wizard DVD 5.0 is much better than VideoReDo.

For cutting MPEG2 clips created by PowerDirector from a USB capture card, VideoReDo worked as good as MPEG Video Wizard DVD did.

When I needed to cut and join AVC/AAC/MP4 clips, I used ffmpeg (which is what LosslessCut is using) to do it, and it did it properly, and the output file didn't have playback issues.

[Bridgy]

For cutting VOB/DVD/VRO, I found that MPEG Video Wizard DVD 5.0 is much better than VideoReDo.
For cutting MPEG2 clips created by PowerDirector from a USB capture card, VideoReDo worked as good as MPEG Video Wizard DVD did.
When I needed to cut and join AVC clips, I used LosslessCut to do it, and it did it properly.

Hi there, thanks for the feedback, personally i stopped doing DVD and Standard Def video work many many years ago, so i can't really remember what tools i used to do my video work with, now days it has all changed and i move and work in the newest and most current formats.

I get the feeling that there are still a lot of people working with Standard Def/DVD format video files, and still using very old TV's as well, and recording TV shows as well.

Regarding LosslessCut, are you cutting on Keyframes to get frame accurate output, or does it accurately cut frame between the keyframes.

In my testing i got mixed results depending on the type of file that i am working with, but in all cases with all formats, the cutting is definitely accurate when cutting on keyframes.

LosslessCut is still my choice for a stand alone Frame Accurate Smart Rendering tool outside of VRD Pro, the cutting tool is a bit clunky but still better than other cutting tools that i have tested, but VRD stands alone as having the best/easiest cutting tool out there.