edit without render

subq wrote on 10/3/2003, 1:17 AM

Is there a way to edit mpeg2 files without having to render them again.

I have some source files that are mpeg2 dvd ready. However, some of them require edits. I am wondering if I have to re-render them every time I edit these files (i.e. cut sections out, no effects).

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 10/3/2003, 1:24 AM

The Tools in TMPGEnc can do simple cuts-only edits without recompressing. Sometimes you get glitches if the MPEG is compresses with VBR (variable bitrate).

TMPGEnc basic is still free (I think).

MPEGVCR, from Womble, can do far more precise and faster MPEG editing. It is outrageously expensive given that it doesn't do much beyond TMPGEnc (it is $100, I think). Its user interface is not much beyond the bare-bones "interface" in the TMPGEnc tool menu.

filmy wrote on 10/3/2003, 10:03 AM

I would go for MPGVCR if you want to edit. TMPGEnc is great for encoding but you can't really 'edit" with it. You can "re-render" items in sequence but you can adjust things. MPGVCR allows you to do basic editing, cut and paster type of things. Add transitions if you want and dump it all back out without any render/recompression. It handles pretty much anything Mpeg related including HD.

subq wrote on 10/3/2003, 10:16 AM

So what is the drawback of using something like MPGVCR vs Vegas (since I already own Vegas)?

I suppose I can still use DVD Architect to take the final file to DVD.

subq wrote on 10/3/2003, 10:30 AM

They want $120 for mpgvcr, perhaps I will stick to just re-rendering in Vegas if doesn't really cause any quality loss (I am not sure). I was just thinking Vegas would have that type of feature already.

The source video is captured in full DVD res with a bitrate of 7224000 so it is pretty much ready to be dumped into dvd architect for burn before the edits.

BillyBoy wrote on 10/3/2003, 10:38 AM

As it has been reported coutless times in this forum if you use the DV template and the MC encoder to make MPEG-2 files you can re render many times without any noticeable generation loss. I stopped after getting to the 12th generation* and didn't see any problem. So doing it once won't hurt obviously.

* meaning...

I rendered a mpeg-2 file using the standard DV NTSC template. I took the rendered file used it to render a new file, then the result of that render to make another and so on... repeated 12 times or to the 12th generation. No loss in quality detected.

filmy wrote on 10/3/2003, 10:43 AM

>>> So what is the drawback of using something like MPGVCR vs Vegas (since I already own Vegas)?<<<

VV is more of a NLE than MPGVCR is. On the one hand MPGVCR is very simple, on the other hand it is very detailed because it is aimed at only one thing - mpeg. Prior to VV having HD support I used MPGVCR to convert HD TS to a readable MPG format.

I can't say either one has a "drawback", it just depends on what you want to do. As I say the Womble editor is aimed only at Mpeg files and converting them without any recompression. You can also do basic editing with it, but there is no timeline - it is sort of like the Quicktime window - set your in and outs, cut and past, drag and drop - all in one window. Would I want to edit a full project with it? Not at all. But if I want to either convert or paste together files this is faster than VV, IMO From what you asked you were looking for something that you could paste your files back together without any re-render - I would say if that is *all* you wanted to do you could use TMPGEnc for that but MPGVCR allows for more options. Also TMPGEnc would not read HD files at the time, this may have changed. (Just as an aside - I have used TMPGEnc to paste togeter MPG files and ended up with an audio glitch at every "edit" - so I have never used it for that again)