"Mortimer" wrote in message
news:jOydnc_lVI04YJDVRVnytQA@plusnet...
Is there any software that can perform simple edits on an mpeg file, such
as top- and tailing it and removing commercial breaks, without having to
re-encode the whole file. I'm sure it must be possible: 95% of the file is
unchanged so you do a byte-for-byte copy, with only a few frames around
the edit point needing to be re-encoded. Pinnacle Studio 10 is great for
editing, but then takes ages to generate the finished project - on my PC
it encodes at about 1/2 real time so a one-hour project takes about two
hours to render.

Likewise is there software that can generate DVD VOB files from an
existing mpeg file without having to re-encode?


A free program for top and tailing and removal of commercials is
MPEGStreamclip available in either MAC or Windows version
http://www.squared5.com/

By generating VOB files I take it you mean authoring a MPEG file to the
complete set of IFO, BUP and VOB files ready to burn as a DVD? If so there
will be always some re-encoding depending on how closely the MPEG files
'conform" to the DVD standard. Assuming a "conforming" MPEG file then the
free program DVDAuthorGui is very quick at around 18 minutes on my machine,
no menus just straight into the movie.

VSO ConvertXtoDVD is also very quick especially if the MPEG file contains an
AC3 audio stream then it just copies the stream. On average VSO takes
around 1 to 1½ hours