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[Gatherum]

This request arises out of a long-standing problem I'm having. Basically, what I am asking, should it be possible, is for particles to do the following:

• Allow for frame-accurate timecode ranges (00:00:00.000) or just frame ranges.
• Allow for multiple, comma-separated, disparate ranges in a single particle (00:00:00.000-00:03:24.571,00:05:13.394-00:11:49.231,etc)

This would save me a lot of time and effort looking for smart-encoding video editors with a full feature set (subpicture, chapter support).

Can it be done?

[RD James]

I agree, it would be great if particles could actually eliminate the need to destructively edit source files.

[Gatherum]

I agree, it would be great if particles could actually eliminate the need to destructively edit source files.

So much this!

[Hendrik]

I don't see this happening, at least for video.

Frame-accurate seeking (and stopping for that matter) is a very complex task which from the nature of how video files work requires a lot of pre-processing to gather the needed information, which is not really suitable for playback applications. Video editors that offer frame-accurate operations typically index the entire video file first, which is a very slow process, and absolutely not suitable for playback.

[Gatherum]

Damn...

At this point, I'd be willing to pay extra for it. Dx

[mojave]

The Playback Range tag already supports more precision than you are requesting.

14.0.55 (08/21/2009)
NEW: Playback Range field is user editable to allow custom cue-in and cue-out points.
NEW: Playback Range field accepts high resolution times like '1:22.343344 - 3:21.3902013'. (still accepts low resolution times like '1:22 - 3:21' or simple millisecond numbers like '82000 - 201000')

Use Chapterfy from jmone's Swag of Tools to create Particles for each Playback Range that you require.

Download a chapter txt file from ChapterDB.org to use as a template. Create "chapters" for your cue points.
Use Chapterfy to automagically create Particles from your txt file.

If you use the Series and Season tags, you can give your original video and the Particles the same Series name. I just put =[Name] in the Series tag. For the Season tag, you can use Original and Edited. Create a view similar to how TV is displayed. You will be able to select your video and then watch either the Original or the Edited. Note that the Edited will have a small break between clips since each Particle is treated as a separate video.

[Gatherum]

Ahh, nice! That may well help quite a bit!

Does [Playback Range] support comma- or semi-colon-separated ranges, or would I need to create a particle for each range, and then use the Link Tracks feature?

...Does the Link Tracks feature work with video?

[mojave]

Playback Range only supports one entry.

I just tested some video Particles with Link Tracks and it didn't work.

JRiver also supports ComSkip. Once could theoretically treat portions they want edited out as commercials and just have JRiver automatically skip over them.

Since ComSkip works, one would think using multiple Playback Ranges couldn't be implemented in a similar fashion.

[Gatherum]

Just tested this.

Works pretty okay, actually. I noticed a few things, good and bad:


• [Playback Range] supports the timecode format I requested previously (00:00:00.000). This is convenient because I can just copy timecodes straight from MPC-HC's Go to... feature.
• The cue end is respected, but not perfectly. Video runs for about a second or so after the cue end before going on to the next particle. This could theoretically be compensated by editing the cue end to be slightly sooner. Anybody know the error margin, here? EDIT: Further testing indicates that this effect is not consistent. Sometimes, it's 500 ms; other times, it's a whole second. Really, it jumps around. What is the cause of this, and can it be remedied?
• The transition between particles isn't smooth, with a clear divide akin to JRiver closing a video and then opening the next. I can accept this as a limitation of this methodology, though.
• Chapter markers are no longer respected after the first particle.

I guess the last piece of this puzzle is to enable the Link Tracks feature for video particles. Can it be done?

[Gatherum]

Bump.

[mojave]

#2 - I've never noticed the issue you are having.
#3 - This is how it has to be with the way Particles are now. I suggested trying Comskip in a previous post. This would make it so there are smooth transitions from one range to the next.
#4 - This doesn't really help you, but I set the Use Bookmarking tag to Off for all my Particles. I always want them to start at the beginning.

You can create a playlist with all of your required Particles. Then create a view to show your Playlists as if they are videos. Just select a playlist and the entire video will play with all of your edits.

[blgentry]

You have a very specific unusual requirement.  You really should be using a video editor.  In my humble opinion.

#2 Almost certainly happens because of key frames.  As far as I know, all modern video players start playback *at* a keyframe.  If your position is on a non-key frame, MC is probably jumping to the nearest key frame and starting playback from there.

Brian.

[Gatherum]

#2 Almost certainly happens because of key frames.  As far as I know, all modern video players start playback *at* a keyframe.  If your position is on a non-key frame, MC is probably jumping to the nearest key frame and starting playback from there.

I don't think this is it. It's not so much when the next particle begins playback as it is when the previous particle stops playback. As stated, this varies.

#2 - I've never noticed the issue you are having.

I think it's a matter of processing?

You have a very specific unusual requirement.  You really should be using a video editor.  In my humble opinion.

The lack of a video editor with smart encoding that handles subpictures is why I'm in this predicament in the first place. I agree with you; it just doesn't seem to exist.

#3 - This is how it has to be with the way Particles are now. I suggested trying Comskip in a previous post. This would make it so there are smooth transitions from one range to the next.

Comskip doesn't appear to support h.265/HEVC, but I'll bite: How does it work, exactly?

You can create a playlist with all of your required Particles. Then create a view to show your Playlists as if they are videos. Just select a playlist and the entire video will play with all of your edits.

I could try it, but then, this seems entirely unnecessary if the Link Tracks feature could be enabled for video. Is it one of those things that would be much harder to implement than it sounds?

[Gatherum]

Any more thoughts on this?