VIdeoClipper, SimpleSub and FFMpegGUI Inputs and Info

Ok, here it is. A thread to give your inputs on the video editing software I have written for AmigaOS4. This includes the following:

VideoClipper:
Cut and paste multiple video together while applying effects and converting files.

SimpleSub:
Create Subtitles and save them as .srt files. Can also encode subtitles into the video.

FFMpegGUI:
A GUI for the powerful ffmpeg program ported by mickjt. Use it to convert, cut and add effects to a single video. Can also convert to many graphics file formats. Assemble pictures into a video, capture pictures from a video. Also convert audio files and add effects. The possibilities are endless and it includes many pre-saved setup files for accomplishing many tasks.

You can find out more about these programs and find download links at the following webpage:

Ktadd's Software Applications for AmigaOS4

As mentioned in another thread, I've been asking for inputs on this software. I've heard input that the software is hard to learn. I'll use this topic to provide usage information, answer questions, take suggestions for improvements and collect bug reports.

I'll start by providing usage overview of VideoClipper as my next entry. I would encourage all interested parties to participate. Based on user inputs in another topic, I've already made changes to all three programs and have added a feature to VideoClipper that will make encoding with libx264 much faster. More info and releases to come. The more input I get, the more motivated I'll be, and the sooner new releases will happen.

As promised above, here is a copy of the revamped usage section from the user guide for VideoClipper. My hope is that people will read it and use it as a way to get started with editing videos on our AmigaOS4 machines. While it might be a bit slow right now, you can even do some editing of videos using an A1222 or SAM machine. I'm working on adding some features to help speed that up. I suggest using ffmepg8 which was just released by Mickjt. Thanks Michael!

Taken from the "Usage" section of the VideoClipper.guide file.
Applies to VideoClipper version 2.5 found on OS4Depot.
Let me know if this is helpful.

Install VideoClipper as described in the "Installation" section.

NOTE: Each GUI element has an associated hint that provides a fairly complete explanation
of the associated action. It is recommended that new users enable the hints by clicking
on the "Hints" button at the top left of the window. Hints will then be displayed when the
pointer is left over a GUI element for ~3 seconds. This includes the list areas.

Getting started:
Once installed, start VideoClipper by double clicking on it's icon. The program will start
with the "Clip Editor" tab selected. This is the page where you will add the video files
you want to cut and/or join. To get started either load a previously saved project by
selecting "Load" from the Load/Save drop-down menu at the top of the page, or click
the "Add" button to start a new project and add an video file to the list. The list serves
as a timeline. So the first video will be at the beginning of the output video, the
second video, second, etc. Once you have loaded a project or a file the disabled
gadgets on the page will be enabled, with the exception of "Play Output".

A this point it's recommended to select one of the "DRAFT..." profiles from the
"Pre-defined settings" area on the "Video/Audio/Files" tab. This uses setting that will
produce low quality video but will be much faster when encoding. After selecting a
profile you can change any available setting if you prefer. After you have finished setting
all your desired edit parameters, you can choose a higher quality setting profile or manually
set any settings you desire for the final encoding to create your finished video. It is also
recommended to set the "Output File" field at this time. This sets the location where
the temporary clips and final output video will be stored.

Once you have your files loaded go back to the "Clip Editor" and click on the desired
video in the list and set the start and stop times using the controls in the "Enter Cut Times"
section of the interface. You can preview the video by clicking on "=>" or
select a viewing mode with the "Play Preview" drop-down menu. The times
entered will be used when previewing. You can preview from the point of the
selection down by selecting one of the "Multiple...." selections in the "Play Preview"
drop down menu. Use the controls in the "Video Player Controls" and the "Enter Cut Times"
section to find the time in the video where you want to make the cut. "Enable Frame Update"
will allow you to easily view each frame of the video for precise cuts. See gadget hints for
details on each control. At any time you can cut an individual file by selecting it and
clicking on the "Cut" button under the "Video Files List". This will cut and apply all settings
to the individual file. You can then play that file and adjust settings as needed. Once a video
has been cut, it will not need to be cut again unless settings are changed. A cut video will
be indicated by a "*" in the "Cut" field of the "Video Files List".

Once you have all your videos loaded and cut times set (if any are required), go to the
"Video Effects" tab and set any effects you desire. The "File Effects List" corresponds to
the "Video Files List". Effects selected here apply only to the selected file. You can click
the "Cut" button and the video will be encoded with any selected effects.. Use the "||>"
button to view the video with affects applied if desired.

In addition to adding effects, you can "Crop" and "Pad" the video in the "Crop/Pad" tab.
This allow adding a border around your video or cropping out black borders as desired.
The values set can be absolute values or relative to the min and max video size.
"Auto Crop" will analyze the video to auto fill values to cut any black boarders around
the video. After setting you values, you can preview the results and a still picture taken
from the video will be displayed with the settings applied. if you get an error when
previewing, it is most likely your setting are invalid. Reset and try again. Once you are
satisfied with the setting, click "Apply Settings" to use these values.

Now we return to the "Video/Audio/Files" tab where you can set the settings encoder settings
for the final output video. Either select a "Profile" and/or choose your own setting. If you
would like to add an separate audio file to your final video, use the "Audio File" gadget to
select a file. If you want to add subtitles in ".srt" format, select it using the "Subtitle File"
gadget. The audio and subtitles will be added after the video has been converted and
the individual files have been joined, so they apply to the whole video. The "Audio File"
selected will replace the audio in the individual videos. The subtitles will be "burned" into
the video and will become part of the resulting video.

If you are an ffmpeg expert and would like to add your own commands for specific effects,
you can use the "Enter additional options" section to do that. See gadget hits for using
these fields.

Now that everything is setup, click "Cut & Join" to create your final video. The files will be
cut, joined and and audio files and/or subtitles will be added. Once complete, the "Play Output"
gadget will be enabled and you can use it to view your final video.

A last note about "Cut Only" and "Join Only". "Cut Only" can be used to apply cut and encode
all the videos in the list but not join them or apply the Audio or Subtitle files. This can be use
to cut any files that haven't been cut so you can preview your output. You can also use it if
you are working on just a single file. The output will be stored in the "Output File" location
with a number appended to the filename. "Join Only" can be used to join already cut files.
It can also be used to just join video files that already have the same setting. Codec, bitrate,
size, etc. For example, it's an easy way to join all your video files from the same camera. Just
load multiple files into the video files list and click "Join Only" to join them all together. Note
that no cuts or effects will be applied. The files will simply be joined into one bigger file and
saved in the location and name specified in the "Output File" field.

Don't forget to save your Project using the "Save" selection in the "Project" section. It's good
practice to save often so you don't lose work or can can finish it at a later point. Under certain
situations a backup of the project file will be created. If you need to, you can reload the back
file to "undo" some actions. It's stored in the project file location.

There it is. A pretty detailed overview of how to use VideoClipper. If you still have questions,
please take a look at the appropriate section in the included guide file, which can be accessed
from within the program from the "Help" menu. The "Hints & Tips" section can be useful. Also
turn on "Hints" in the program. Most of the hints include some valuable details and information.
If you still have questions, comments, find a bug or just need help, feel free to email me at the
address listed in the "Author" or "Thanks" section of the "VideoClipper.guide" documentation file.

A new version of VideoClipper (v2.6) has just been uploaded to OS4Depot. Several changes are as a result of user requests. As always, I appreciate any feedback and will consider any suggestions for improvements.

When avaliable, you can download it here.

In addition I've created a demo video of how to cut files using VideoClipper. You can view/download them here.
(Thanks to eliyahu for posting to his channel.)

Download 480p Version
Download 1080p Version

VideoClipper version 2.6 includes enhancements to help speed up encoding. MPlayer v1.5 is now supported. Also supports .ass format subtitle file encoding. Many other user requested enhancements and a few bug fixes are included.
See below for full list of changes.

VideoClipper is a program for cutting and optionally joining various format video files while converting the files to a common format During conversion several adjustments (Video Effects) can be made to the individual files.

Version 2.6 changes:
Expanded "Usage" section of help to provide a walk through of how to use VideoClipper.
Added support for libx264 presets with options to speed up encoding.
Changed Video/Audio fade in/fade out from 1 second to .1 second increments.
Added support for encoding .ass format subtitles.
Increased accuracy of video position slider to .1 sec. in reverse direction.
(If encoded with frame accurate video codec.)
Changed PROJFILE tooltype to accept just a path if ends with a '/'.
Added tooltypes CON_XPOS and CON_YPOS to set the output console location.
Added tooltypes CON_XSIZE and CON_YSIZE. to set output console size.
Add "Save" selection to project Load/Save drop-down. Now has save as... and save.
Added new profile settings to allow easier setup of video/audio settings.
Added DRAFT_ACC profile: allows accurate stepping with MPlayer controls.
Added DRAFT_AC2 profile: allows accurate stepping, very fast encoding, huge files.
Added auto coupling for vcodec "ffvhuff" to ensure compatible file format of "mkv".
Updated YouTube profile settings.
Added support for MPlayer version 1.5.
Added full backward compatibility with older project files.

Bug Fixes:
Fixed misspelling in video player warning requester.
Fixed so "additional options" settings are cleared when profile is selected.
Fixed bug where changing "Keep Aspect" did not set custom profile.
Fixed bug where changing "File Format" did not set custom profile.
Fixed bug where "Output File" could not be set if no files in video list.

@ktadd

Impressive demostration how to use videoclipper!!!

@All

eliyahu has kindly posted YouTube videos of VideoClipper and SimpleSub to his channel. Go back a couple of posts for the VideoClipper link. Here is the SimpleSub one.