I haven't extensively used this tool yet, but I would love to be able to set a bunch of in/out points, then quickly preview maybe a second before/after the in/out points in one command.

e.g. I set a bunch of in/out points, then use this function to play the movie as if I had performed the cuts of the various pieces, to make sure all in/out points are correct.

I'm not sure how useful it is though, because cutting is usually very fast anyhow

I'd counter with two points:

1. As the readme indicates lossless cutting is an approximative business. If I wanted to export the cut times for some other application, previewing them in the approximative export is not useful.

2. Even though cutting is fast, opening the resulting file is not, at least UX-wise. Then if you notice you have to make a tiny change, you have to press at least one export button, and open the file again, let alone close the previously opened file to have LosslessCut being able to write on it. (I admit the latter depends on the viewer application, not sure what e.g. VLC does there.)

PS: Sorry for the dupe #344, I searched and could not find this one using the keywords I used 😄

Alrigght no problem. Maybe some day I could implement accurate (near-lossless) cutting too using x264

I would like to have option to stop/freeze playing at cut end point so that I can jump back 1 second and see/hear if point is in proper position (but with jumping back auto start play video). I'm doing something like that with cut start point: video is playing and I'm constantly clicking with mouse "Jump to cut start".
Too bad there is no keyboard shortcut to "Jump to cut start" and something like "Jump to 1or 2 sec before cut end".

Using the 'Segments to export' section for the timestamps/keyframes for playback in the order they are in could be a possibility, add a play button at the bottom next to the add/remove/reorder/rename to Preview the possible output.

I know at least in my case the videofilename-llc-edl.csv is updated every time I change order or modify in/out points, so should be accurate enough to be used for playback/timeline jumping.

Using the 'Segments to export' section for the timestamps/keyframes for playback in the order they are in could be a possibility, add a play button at the bottom next to the add/remove/reorder/rename to Preview the possible output.

I know at least in my case the videofilename-llc-edl.csv is updated every time I change order or modify in/out points, so should be accurate enough to be used for playback/timeline jumping.

This is actually quite a good idea, didn't think of that. Since usually a losslesscut export is already so fast (compared to NLE's), if one wants to have a playback of only the cut points to check them one would be quite happy to wait a few seconds, if that then could play 5-10seconds before and after each cut points while ideally also showing it visually in the timeline.

That would be still easier and a smoother workflow then exporting, opening all exported segments individually and seeking the beginning and end (cut points) as well as possibly then going back into the time line to make some changes.

I'm not sure how useful it is to playback according to the cutpoints though, because the actual exported cutpoints will be different from the ones set by the user, so the preview will not give an accurate representation of how the merged output will look.

If we are going to render a correct preview with ffmpeg of how it will actually look like after cutting, then this will take just as long as actually running the final export+merge (which could take minutes for long videos), so then I don't see the point of having a preview when the user can just preview the outputted file from Finder/Explorer instead.

At least an option to stop playback at the end of the segment selected for export should help, The start points are, depending on setting, still accurate or should be moved up to the nearest keyframe.

Personally it's not a full playback preview of the created segments I'm after, just the 'stop at end of segment' to confirm if the out point is correct or needs tuning, instead of skipping past it and continuing to play the rest of the file.

For actual correct preview jumping through the source file should be a lot faster than export+merge if you start and stop the playhead to the timestamps of (a) created segment(s).

I'm not sure how useful it is to playback according to the cutpoints though, because the actual exported cutpoints will be different from the ones set by the user, so the preview will not give an accurate representation of how the merged output will look.

If we are going to render a correct preview with ffmpeg of how it will actually look like after cutting, then this will take just as long as actually running the final export+merge (which could take minutes for long videos), so then I don't see the point of having a preview when the user can just preview the outputted file from Finder/Explorer instead.

My point is, currently to check the actual exported cut point one has to open the exported segments or merged video file and play them back, time consuming and hassle.

Better and probably quicker/easier would be an export preview button that exports all segments and then plays them back inside the app in sync with the timeline (which doesn't has to be 100% accurate on the timeline, it's the accurate video playback itself that matters), this could be also offered as a setting for the export dialogue 😄
and an option to go full screen so only the video and timeline is visible (the segment section and all buttons is not really needed then).

All this because without export we won't get an accurate play of what the exported cut points will look like.

Maybe two options, as per @Wiethoofd one that just roughly plays back the timeline without exporting and my suggestion with one true render one using the exported segments.

Another option for the final check could be to play back only the first 10 secs of the segment beginning and endings, then the next segments first 10 secs beginning and ending (otherwise one may still have to scrub the timeline to avoid watching the entire edited video in full).

If we were the implement some form of preview than for a rough preview before export we could have an option to hide the deleted segments to see the timeline with only the selected segments.

I think this would apply also for the a real preview using the exported segments (for accuracy) to hide/unhide the deleted segments in order to check how cut points turned out and be able to continue editing (changing segments) in the original video.

Another way could be to have an export options that loads the merged video (or all segments) into LC timeline as a new project with the segments markers still in place, so one can quick an easy review the cut points without having to leave LC.
@mifi would that perhaps in the meantime be an easier/quicker way to implement this?

Another way could be to have an export options that loads the merged video (or all segments) into LC timeline as a new project with the segments markers still in place, so one can quick an easy review the cut points without having to leave LC.

I think users can already do this, if they choose "Create chapters from merged segments" during export, then they open the merged file in losslesscut and choose yes to import chapters as cutpoints, am I right?

@mifi interesting, will try that out tomorrow, if yes and works as expected perhaps this would enable at least to quickly check cut points inside LC instead of manually open seek and close files from within the file explorer, then this could become a nice export option to automatically open (as a preview check).

In contrast a built in preview with hiding/unhiding deleted segments before export would save time during editing and perhaps speed up the workflow of feeling the flow of segments and cutpoints, especially in long video files of 1-2hrs. :)

UPDATE: Nice @mifi works a treat for checking the segments inside LC timeline, even uses labels for chapters. 😄
Can we make this a feature request for merged cuts that have "include chapters" in export dialogue enabled to offer an option there as well to auto load it with chapters (even without the accept chapters dialogue) for purpose of reviewing the exported results?

Ideally also have a more obvious PREVIEW function, that makes it easier, by 1) initiating the merged export followed by 2) automatically starting a new project with the new merged file 3) including chapters loaded 4) but also offering a quick way back to the previous project to make edits if necessary and again perform an exported PREVIEW/REVIEW.

Additionally the enhancement #574 to offer a playback mode that plays a few seconds for the beginning and endings of the various segments to check them in one go without having to do a lot of clicking. :)

I think doing all those steps automatically is gonna cause a lot of code clutter, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea. But we could document how the user can do this for a preview.

Maybe the built in preview workflow is overkill or to complex and we can come up with a better approach.

But loading merged video with chapters after export would only be one additional command, to add to the export dialogue no? Seems like a low hanging fruit to make this workflow easier at least. (one exports, perhaps even without dialogue having this option already enabled to auto load, reviews the cut points and if needed to be changed re-opens the source file/project). Please? 😄

Yes loading the file after export could be an option

have now implemented:

Play current segment
Loop current segment
Loop beginning and end of current segment

Hello @mifi,

I was trying your latest version today and have some issues and would like to tell you here about it if you don't mind.

About segments play. Nice to see that you did add the idea and after setting some keys (1, 2, 3) manually to play & loop the segments and see its working so far. So you forgot the add a play / loop function for all enabled segments what would be the most interesting feature but you missed to add it. All users wanna see the end results of entire pre-cut video before the export process you know. Just add this feature if possible in next release.

Problem about playing segments: Its not working when your app does create a dummy video so then the video is just playing go on but the segments pointer is looping (just for play & loop segment) the just play & loop for begin & start do work. Just try it out.

Next problem are the dummy files. So this is really bad and audio is not working to play. In most cases I cut by audio view (VirtualDub2) if present but in your app the audio graphic / view is just bad and the zoom also dosen't help to get any detailed view. You should need to find / use any open source code to implement any better style like VD2 or similar...


...so you see the different. Is there no way you can fix this dummy problem? By the way, if a dummy file was made then it will be used for other files too after so long till I delete the file.

Info: Just create a video with 10 -30 seconds etc and create different formats of them using diffrent containers. Use (mp4, wmv, flv, avi, ts) and then test your app with them. The dummy file just sucks and gets used for all of them once if it was created.

Example: Avi / wmv / FLV / TS = mkv dummy created. For mp4 / mkv it works without dummy but dummy will used if present what means I have to delete the dummy file first. Just try to get it work without dummy so that we can hear the audio too. Also try to use those different files to test your exports so I see there are also problems with the new made files or add a option for the user to set re-encode paramters manually because the experimental / smart cut version makes trouble. Also in case of using normal cut version / keyframes it can fail when using dummy file. In some cases the preview in your app is not working 1:1 and first second nothing happens and this also happens then in the exported file. Also to export files in diffrent format/s in smart-cut mode (re-encode) it fails "Unable to export this file" when I try to export a mp4 file as webm or other formats. Question is it does not re-encode then? Somehow you can only re-encode video in same format but also here it makes problem using a close video bitrate. I tried a FLV video what has a VBitrate of 432 kb/s and your app did export it with 71.3 kb/s. Anyway, just some infos only for you. Just wanna say, next time if you finished with a new version then make some more tests to be sure whether it works or not.

The timecode is still buggy and right mouse context does not work to paste some TC and there is also no quick paste button to paste anything from CB. The TC also needs the entire value format of all digits what means I have to enter exactly 00:00:00.000 digits (9) etc but I told you that before already. Thats bad if you work with TCs from subtitles. Just make it work better so that we also can enter custom values like 5 to seek on second 5 or 5:00 to seek to minute 5 etc you know. I don't wanna enter entire TC format each time.

PS: Just keep going @mifi.

About segments play. Nice to see that you did add the idea and after setting some keys (1, 2, 3) manually to play & loop the segments and see its working so far. So you forgot the add a play / loop function for all enabled segments what would be the most interesting feature but you missed to add it. All users wanna see the end results of entire pre-cut video before the export process you know. Just add this feature if possible in next release.

this will come in the future but implementation takes time and is not trivial.

Problem about playing segments: Its not working when your app does create a dummy video so then the video is just playing go on but the segments pointer is looping (just for play & loop segment) the just play & loop for begin & start do work. Just try it out.

thanks, i will fix this.

Problem about playing segments: Its not working when your app does create a dummy video so then the video is just playing go on but the segments pointer is looping (just for play & loop segment) the just play & loop for begin & start do work. Just try it out.

You can say that "the dummy file sucks", but isn't it better than having a black canvas with no video at all? (which was the case before the feature was added.) In the future I will try to improve the support for non-natively supported files. there is already an issue for that #88

as for why the dummy file gets reused, that was a feature because it was requested by many people who don't want to regenerate the dummy file every time. You can enable auto-cleanup dummy files after exporting, which should delete that file. does that not work?

Just try to get it work without dummy so that we can hear the audio too.

you can create a dummy file with audio too, from the File menu. also #88

Question is it does not re-encode then?

losslesscut never re-encodes the exported output, except for smart cut. Just disable smart cut if you have problms. it is experimental.

Just wanna say, next time if you finished with a new version then make some more tests to be sure whether it works or not.

If you read README you will see that I consider the newest versions of LosslessCut on Github to be "beta". This mean you are the testers. If you want a more stable experience, buy it from the app store, or download an old version.

The timecode is still buggy and right mouse context does not work to paste some TC and there is also no quick paste button to paste anything from CB. The TC also needs the entire value format of all digits what means I have to enter exactly 00:00:00.000 digits (9) etc but I told you that before already. Thats bad if you work with TCs from subtitles. Just make it work better so that we also can enter custom values like 5 to seek on second 5 or 5:00 to seek to minute 5 etc you know. I don't wanna enter entire TC format each time.

This has already been suggested, please read #1217 and leave a thumbs up there 👍

this will come in the future but implementation takes time and is not trivial.

Ok.

as for why the dummy file gets reused, that was a feature because it was requested by many people who don't want to regenerate the dummy file every time. You can enable auto-cleanup dummy files after exporting, which should delete that file. does that not work?

Thanks, will check this option. Of course a dummy is fine when the audio is also working...now I tried this option you mention about "convert to supported format" and did choose the second entry instead of first (no audio) and now it seems to work to make a dummy with audio. 😃 But also in case of using dummy's the audio does not match (sync) with video in the edit / preview window for some files.

losslesscut never re-encodes the exported output, except for smart cut. Just disable smart cut if you have problms. it is experimental.

So thats the problem. You say it does never re-encode any exported output and thats true even in smart cut mode you don't re-encode any stream and you just using the copy mode. Why do you say then that smart cut does re-encode on the info icon if you choose this smart cut option? So I tried all three export versions and did check all the ffmpeg commands and there are just copy to find. Lets have a look...just did select a single part from start from 10 second with a length of 5 seconds....

Normal Cut:
-i 'Original_480.wmv' -ss '10.00000' -t '5.00000' -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -map_metadata 0 -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -f asf -y 'Original_480-00.00.10.000-00.00.15.000.wmv'

Keyframe Cut:
-ss '10.00000' -i 'Original_480.wmv' -t '5.00000' -avoid_negative_ts auto -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -map_metadata 0 -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -f asf -y 'Original_480-00.00.10.000-00.00.15.000.wmv'

Smart Cut:
-ss '10.09900' -i 'Original_480.wmv' -t '4.90100' -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -map_metadata 0 -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-0.asf'
echo -e "file 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-encode-0.asf'\nfile 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-0.asf'" | -f concat -safe 0 -protocol_whitelist 'file,pipe' -i - -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-00.00.10.000-00.00.15.000.wmv'

...first two cut methods are pretty same except to set the start time offset after input or before input and the question is what is better in copy mode. None of them is better just to pick a earlier or later keyframe so that for the most people pretty confusing maybe. Also if you try to cut a part of video out just using the keyframe marker (to make a clean KF-cut) then the keyframe cut method is a bad choice to make a exact KF cut and you add just more video of pre keyframes into the cut. Also the smart cut does same like your Keyframe cut. So you have added three possible different output copy types but why? So I think what you should do is to clean out the copy types and just use 2 methods only. Use a normal keyframe cut to cut really by the keyframes what also means the user has just to use the keyframe markers to cut segments and in case of custom cuts you need to re-encode the video stream of course. I always prefer keyframe cuts if possible but in some cases I have to do custom exact cuts what needs a re-encode of video stream/s and this is missing in your app. Just make it simple.

1.) Keyframe cut / exact cuts on matching keyframe / otherwise print error to user to use KF marker
2.) Re-Encode cut / exact cuts anywhere the user want

I would be more happy to have those 2 cut versions only in your app. Just my opinion.

PS: Yes, the timecode problem I did already post last year and you did not fix the problem and the question is why because its a simple problem.

Thanks, will check this option. Of course a dummy is fine when the audio is also working...now I tried this option you mention about "convert to supported format" and did choose the second entry instead of first (no audio) and now it seems to work to make a dummy with audio. 😃 But also in case of using dummy's the audio does not match (sync) with video in the edit / preview window for some files.

you can also make a "slow" preview, where it will re-encode both the video and the audio for the preview and youshould then get correct video/audio sync in the preview.

So thats the problem. You say it does never re-encode any exported output and thats true even in smart cut mode you don't re-encode any stream and you just using the copy mode. Why do you say then that smart cut does re-encode on the info icon if you choose this smart cut option? So I tried all three export versions and did check all the ffmpeg commands and there are just copy to find. Lets have a look...just did select a single part from start from 10 second with a length of 5 seconds....

I think you missed one command: Original_480-smartcut-segment-encode-0.asf - this file has indeed been encoded.

...first two cut methods are pretty same except to set the start time offset after input or before input and the question is what is better in copy mode. None of them is better just to pick a earlier or later keyframe so that for the most people pretty confusing maybe. Also if you try to cut a part of video out just using the keyframe marker (to make a clean KF-cut) then the keyframe cut method is a bad choice to make a exact KF cut and you add just more video of pre keyframes into the cut. Also the smart cut does same like your Keyframe cut. So you have added three possible different output copy types but why? So I think what you should do is to clean out the copy types and just use 2 methods only. Use a normal keyframe cut to cut really by the keyframes what also means the user has just to use the keyframe markers to cut segments and in case of custom cuts you need to re-encode the video stream of course. I always prefer keyframe cuts if possible but in some cases I have to do custom exact cuts what needs a re-encode of video stream/s and this is missing in your app. Just make it simple.

been trying to find a simple solution, but it's not that simple. most files need keyframe cut, although some codecs/files need normal cut, so I cannot just remove these options unless i find one method that covers all use cases (people use losslesscut for a LOT of different file types). there are tons of discussions around this already, please continue discussion here: #1216

PS: Yes, the timecode problem I did already post last year and you did not fix the problem and the question is why because its a simple problem.

If you see the issues tab you can see that there are currently 158 open issues, most of which are new feature requests. Because time is limited in this world, I usually prioritise the most popular feature requests. The request for this feature #1217 has 0 thumbs up and so I prioritised other more popular features over it.

Hi again @mifi,

I have test your latest version "LosslessCut-win-x64_3.52.0" today using smart cut you said it does re-encode. Now lets have a look on this cut + your output log...

Segments to export:
1
00:00:10.000 - 00:00:15.000
Duration 0:05
5000 ms, 125 frames
2
00:00:20.000 - 00:00:23.000
Duration 0:03
3000 ms, 75 frames
3
00:00:25.000 - 00:00:27.000
Duration 0:02
2000 ms, 50 frames
Segments total:
00:00:10.000
00:00:10.000
00:00:15.000
Last ffmpeg commands
 echo -e "file 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-encode-2.asf'\nfile 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-2.asf'" | ffmpeg -hide_banner -f concat -safe 0 -protocol_whitelist 'file,pipe' -i - -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-00.00.25.000-00.00.27.000-seg3.wmv'
 echo -e "file 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-encode-1.asf'\nfile 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-1.asf'" | ffmpeg -hide_banner -f concat -safe 0 -protocol_whitelist 'file,pipe' -i - -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-00.00.20.000-00.00.23.000-seg2.wmv'
 echo -e "file 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-encode-0.asf'\nfile 'file:Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-0.asf'" | ffmpeg -hide_banner -f concat -safe 0 -protocol_whitelist 'file,pipe' -i - -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-00.00.10.000-00.00.15.000-seg1.wmv'
 ffmpeg -hide_banner -ss '10.09900' -i 'Original_480.wmv' -t '4.90100' -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -map_metadata 0 -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-0.asf'
 ffmpeg -hide_banner -ss '20.17900' -i 'Original_480.wmv' -t '2.82100' -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -map_metadata 0 -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-1.asf'
 ffmpeg -hide_banner -ss '25.45900' -i 'Original_480.wmv' -t '1.54100' -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -map_metadata 0 -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -video_track_timescale 1000 -f asf -y 'Original_480-smartcut-segment-copy-2.asf'
 echo -e "file 'file:Original_480-00.00.10.000-00.00.15.000-seg1.wmv'\nfile 'file:Original_480-00.00.20.000-00.00.23.000-seg2.wmv'
file 'file:Original_480-00.00.25.000-00.00.27.000-seg3.wmv'" | ffmpeg -hide_banner -f concat -safe 0 -protocol_whitelist 'file,pipe' -i - -map '0:0' '-c:0' copy -map '0:1' '-c:1' copy -movflags '+faststart' -default_mode infer_no_subs -ignore_unknown -strict experimental -f asf -y 'Original_480-cut-merged-1676835435124.wmv'

...so as you can see I tried to make 3 segments I want to merge them into one output file using smart-cut because you say it does re-encode the video. In this case I also do expect a clean exact cut using the right times / length I did set in my segments but as you can see you did not use the set start / durration time. In the icon info about smart cut you told us...

This experimental feature will re-encode the part of the video from the cutpoint until the next keyframe in order to attempt to make a 100% accurate cut.

..but why? Just use the right times I did set and not the time stamps of the next / near keyframe so this is not exactly and makes also no sense if the user want to have a exactly cut if you do already "re-encode" you know. Now in case above I don't get a exactly cutted video out = bad. Just export the segments in re-encode mode (basic / no copy command) and after that concat them together. As I said before, for me its important to have just 2 cutting methods, KeyFrame cut & Re-Encode cut and both should work & cut exactly where I set the cut points or keyframe markers. Just don't understand why do you think that it should be a good idea to cut near on a keyframe before or after the real cutpoint. Why? If a user wanna make some low level round about cut then use a accurate KeyFrame cut and for a real accurate cut use a re-encode. Anything else should be superfluous. Anyway, so if you don't wanna change your cut methods then just add another one to re-encode (basic & advanced user can enter custom parameters). All in all I like the segments list and to play / loop them but also need some excat cut output. Anyway, its just my opinion. Thanks again so far @mifi and think about it to add also a re-encode method (extra) for all who would need it like me. Otherwise let the user decide what ffmpeg commands to use in re-encode case. Lets try it out if you don't mind. Thank you and keep going @mifi.

PS: Ok preview works now with sound after choosing "convert to supported format" point 2. 😃 Yes I see, you got many requests you can't handle so fast of course. I do understand.

PS2: One more thing, nice to see that you did add playing all segments play button. I have another small idea. Just add a check / uncheck option in the GUI to enable / disable "play in loop". In this case we can play all segments together one time or in loop. At the moment just loop mode is possible by using the second playbutton. Also it would be a good idea if you would add a tiny play button on each single segment so that the user can click on it and just play the segment itself (once or loop if checkbox is checked or not). What do you think?

I think this went very off-topic. For lossy fully encoded cuts, see #372

i’ll close this issue because most functionaliy was implemented