You can do this in Vegas quite easily. Just mark a section and go to "Render As" and make sure that "Render Loop Region Only" is checked. As long as you are rendering to exactly the same format as the source file, Vegas will perform a "Smart Render" and will do nothing more than simply copy the loop region to a new DV-AVI file. There is NO quality loss in this process since Vegas is just copying the data and not actually "rendering.".

John

Just one thing I'd add to that.
If you;re splittin them with the intention of joining them at a latter date I always have say 5 frames of overlap as I'm not 100% certain the edges of the audio line up to the exact sample.
If I want to join them up later I delete the overlapping frames of video but leave 1 frame of audio on each side and cross fade that just to be certain.
Bob.

Thanks to all of you

But what about programs like AviSplit and AVCytty and Solveig AVI Trimmer? And can one split videos in VirtualDub(Mod) without loosing quality?

Joran, Norway

You don't lose quality in any of them. Not in Vegas, either. It's a bit for bit replica of what you've selected. Depending on the codec, it's possible you might run into a frame issue somewhere, but in terms of quality, it's just a clone.

VirtualDub works just fine as long as you set both the audio and video to "Direct Stream Copy." Also, don't forget to set tthe audio interleave under the "Audio" > "Interleave" menu. Set the pre-load to 0 ms and the interleave 250 ms.

By the way, there is a new version of VirtualDub, it's v 1.6.4 and is available at www.virtualdub.org

John

Will Vegas do a "smart render" with the Main Concept DV codec?

One concern of mine is that when going between the Main Concept and Vegas DV codecs as one needs to do to go between Vegas and VirtualDub, that you get extra generations of rendering that you wouldn't need to if the Vegas DV codec was to be made available to other programs.

I know that the Vegas DV codec is better than the Main Concept DV codec, but might I get fewer generations of rendering if I used the Main Concept DV codec with Vegas on projects where I am doing a lot of VirtualDub work?

The project I'm currently working on has a lot of shaky camera work that I'm fixing with Deshaker in VirtualDub. I'm "deshaking" pretty much every shot. Would setting up Vegas to use the Main Concept DV codec on this one project be a good idea?

Hello Laurence and all other

I always use the MainConcept DV Codec when I switch between different applications like VirtualDub, TMPGEnc Express 3 (noise reduction), Adobe Premiere Elements (video stabilization using SteadyMove), Vegas 5... And I DO think that the MainConcept DV Codec is the best out there…. So (until now) I always use the MainConcept DV Codec when I export DV AVI files from Vegas and any other application.

And therefore I didn’t buy Steadyhand from Dynapel because it does not allow me to choose which codec to use when saving the video. Steadyhand use the Microsoft DV Codec and therefore you can’t export 16:9 video from Steadyhand!

Joran, Norway

I hadn't thought of using VirtualDub as a splitter, but I checked it out and it does this beautifully. I found this link with a Google search that really explains it well:

http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/cut_avi_with_virtualdub.cfm

So Joran, let me see if I understand you correctly: You change the DV format in Vegas's preferences from the built in Vegas one to the Main Concept DV codec so that Vegas is rendering to this codec as well for better compatability between programs.

If the video hasn't been modified in any way, all Vegas or VirtualDub are doing is copying data. The DV codecs aren't involved in the process in any way. However, any time you modify the video, like adding a filter or using the DeShaker plug-in in VirtualDub, it will require a re-render.

I, too, am of the opinion that the Vegas DV codec is better looking than the MainConcept DV codec (but not by much) so I use the Vegas DV codec when exporting from Vegas and the MainConcept DV codec in everything else.

To answer your last question, there is nothing to be gained by setting up Vegas to use the MainConcept DV codec for this project.

John

So excuse my density, but I just want to be really sure: that means Vegas will do a smart render regardless of DV codec used as long as the video hasn't changed. Is that correct?

Yes, if the video file being written has the same FOURCC code as the source files AND the source files haven't been modified in any way, then Vegas will "smart render." In the case of DV files, the FOURCC code is "dvsd." Vegas will write a "dvsd" file using either its own DV codec or the MainConcept DV codec. If you look at a file written by Vegas with its own DV codec under "File" > "File Information" in VirtualDub, it will identify the decompressor as the MainConcept DV codec. MainConcept and Vegas DV-AVI files are completely interchangeable.

John

That is good. I'll just use the Vegas DV codec in Vegas and the Main Concept DV codec in everything else and stop worrying about it!

Steadyhand doesn't let you chose the codec, but doesn't it save in whatever DV codec is installed: Microsoft DV if you haven't installed another, but Main Concept if you've installed that?