Mpegstreamclip and editing video output from Snagit

[tjodork]

I have captured some video with Snagit which has several different outputs

snagit video option.png

but the only option in Snagit that I can then see the video in MpegStreamClip is the Cinepak Codec. The problem is that the the Cinepak Codec doesn't produce very good video output compared to like Microsoft MPEG-4. Is there a way to make MpegStreamClip show an MPEG4 or if not is there any other freeware editor for simple trimming without having to regenerate the entire video. MPegStreamclip is very fast! Note I AM able to trim the Microsoft MPEG-4, I just can't see it so I have to base it off of audio.

[Steve Grisetti]

I would expect Quicktime Pro to be able to do what you need, TJ. For $29 from the Apple site, it's a great tool!

[Bob]

The MPEG-4 you see in the Snagit menu is not referring to the file type, it is the codec. Snagit is producing AVI files. Where did the MPEG-4 VKI codecs come from? It's my understanding that the VKI ones are hacked versions of the Microsoft codecs -- not the original Microsoft codecs. Microsoft even restricted the MPEG-4 V3 codec for use with ASF and WMV only and got after the authors of programs like VirtualDub and had them remove support for it.

I don't know why MpegStreamClip is having problems with those AVI files. Maybe it's the hacked codecs. Although, it shouldn't have had a problem with video 1 or uncompressed. For AVI, I've always liked VirtualDub.

What does GSpot say about the problem avi files?

[tjodork]

Bob and Steve,
Thanks for the helpful info....I downloaded Gspot and ran on one of the MP4 files and it said
Codec: MPG4 Name: MS MPEG-4 v1
Container: AVI v1.0

I tried VirtualDub and the interface is very nice AND I SEE THE VIDEO with the MPEG4 codec along with audio !! When I saved the file after a cut it had to re-render the video....oh wait...I changed it to direct stream copy under video and it went quit fast. Is there anything wrong with doing direct stream copy after snipping the end off ? What about if I snip a piece out of the middle ? I tried both and they seemed to work but curious if there is any gotchas ?

It seems like a great solution to my problem. THANKS !!

[Bob]

Direct stream copy in VirtualDub won't leave stranded delta frames. If you are using a codec that contains delta frames, VirtualDub may adjust the position of the cut to prevent that from happening. See the 3rd question on this page for details: http://www.virtualdub.org/docs_processing.html