Video Editing Tools: An Introduction To
Avidemux
In the world of video editing tools,
Avidemux exists to save time when it
comes to cropping and editing videos of
every format. As well as featuring some
advanced options, Avidemux makes
simple cutting, editing and re-encoding
very easy. As a brief introduction, it will
be useful to examine some of the key ways
in which it makes editing easier.
How Does it Compare?
Avidemux is not as powerful as other
video editing tools available, but it does
have plenty of features. It can be used
effectively with most formats of video, it
lets you control subtitles and the editing of
audio files and converts files to different
formats, all via one screen interface. One
highlight of Avidemux is that an entire
project, complete with options and
preferences, can be saved in one file - very
useful when you need to save time.
First Toolbar
The first toolbar is for simple functions
such as opening and saving your work.
Other buttons allow for viewing basic
information and allow you to see the
output of what is to be played. While the
input function is extremely useful, the
output function (as mentioned before)
lacks the ability to present the effects of
compression. It simply shows the ways in
which filters applied will modify the
video. The output feature works when the
video is in motion and the preview
function when it has been stopped.
Second Toolbar
To the left of the interface is the second
toolbar, which is used for setting which
codec is for audio and which for video. For
both, settings are present to allow for
different configurations. The video filters
function is certainly one of the key
features of this software. Several filters
can be applied simultaneously, and it
features a long list to choose from.
Through making use of these filters, a
large number of effects can be achieved.
Remember to press the V and the A
buttons when resizing in order to make use
of the software's bitrate calculator. If you
fail to press these then the software will
not encode.
Third Toolbar
Beneath the actual video is the toolbar for
controlling playback. All the necessary
controls are present here. From here you
can control where a file begins and ends,
and it's not hard to imagine that a first time
user would find it easy to use.
Avidemux is less complicated and less
powerful than other tools on the market,
but it benefits a lot in terms of usability
from being relatively simple. Avidemux is
essentially software that will best serve a
non-professional, but that means that there
is a lot of scope for it to be of use to a
great many users. Choosing a free
Avidemux video editing program can be a
great option because once you're used to
the way it functions, it is a tool that can be
used repeatedly and effectively. Most
users should find that they're used to the
way it works after just a few attempts at
using it. The preview functions may leave
a little to be desired, and the toolbars may
be relatively unsophisticated, but the
program on the whole does what it is
supposed to.
Quickstart
Avidemux is a simple tool for simple
video processing tasks. The keyword here
is simple: it does not offer tools like a
timeline, multitrack editing, you cannot
freely move or splice audio and video clips
from various sources. However, Avidemux
allows you to do elementary things in a
very straightforward way.
When you open a video file using the
Open button (Ctrl+O) on the main toolbar,
there are 3 basic things you can do with it
in Avidemux:
1. Cutting
Why: For example, cutting out ads
from a TV recording, or saving
only a small part of a video you are
interested in.
How: Select a portion of the video
with the mark A and mark B
buttons, and either delete, copy,
paste or save that part. If you do
not reencode the video (that is, if
the encoder is set to Copy), make
sure all segments start with
keyframes, or the resulting video
will be broken at cut points. See
the Cutting chapter for more
details.
2. Encoding
Why: You may want to convert the
video to a different video format
that your hardware or software
players understands, or you just
want to compress the video to a
smaller size, for archiving or
publishing it on the Internet.
How: Encoding in Avidemux
means selecting an encoder that
does the video compression. That
is, the drop-down menu on the left
cannot be set to Copy. See the
Main window chapter for more
details.
3. Filtering
Why: Basic filters applied to the
picture like deinterlacing or
resizing come in handy for various
format conversions. Other filters
may be used for adding subtitles to
the picture, color correction etc.
How: Filters require reencoding. So
you have to select an encoder first,
then you can add filters using the
Filters button. See the Video filters
chapter for more details.
When you are done with cutting, setting
encoders or filters, save the resulting video
file using the Save button (Ctrl+S).
In addition, there are other small features
you can use, like saving or replacing the
audio track from the video, joining several
video files or saving a snapshot of your
video.
To encode or not to encode
Avidemux works in two basic modes:
copy mode and encoding mode.
Copy mode
When the audio or video encoder is set to
Copy, it means no reencoding takes place,
and the audio or video track from the input
file is just copied to the resulting file as-is.
This means it is very fast (usually a couple
of minutes at most), and there is no quality
loss.
Use the copy mode when:
1. you just want to cut out parts from
the video, without changing the
output format
2. you want to append several files
(using either FileAppend or the
automatic appending that
Avidemux provides) if the
resolution (width, height), video
format, audio format, audio bitrate
 and sampling rate is the same for
all files, you can use the copy
mode
3. you want to fix constant
audio/video desync (using the Shift
option in the audio section)
4. you want to perform technical
changes like saving the video to a
different container
Encoding mode
When you select an audio or video
encoder, the audio or video track is
reencoded. If the compression is lossy
(with most encoders it is), this implies
quality loss. Encoding is also much slower
than copying. Depending on the speed of
your computer, it can take hours to
complete.
Use the encoding mode when:
1. you want to perform audio or video
format conversion
2. you want to compress the file to a
smaller size (at the expense of
quality)
3. you have to do precise cutting
that's not possible to do on
keyframes
4. you want to use filters (it is
impossible to filter audio or video
without reencoding it)
5. you want to join several files with
differing properties (different
formats, different resolution etc.)
Basic terms
Since Avidemux is a tool that does not do
things automagically for you and only
executes the steps you directly tell it to
perform, you should really understand
what you are doing and why. Before you
use Avidemux, you should understand
basic characteristics of multimedia files,
such as:
Container format: audio and
video tracks are stored in a single
file, in a container. The container
format does not influence the audio
or video quality, it is only a way of
storing video and audio in a single
file. In Avidemux, the container
format is selected in the (Output)
Format section at the left.
Note: Always select an appropriate
container format for the file you
are saving! See the Output formats
chapter for more details. You
should also add a suitable
extension to the file name when
you save the video, like .avi for the
AVI container format, or .mkv for
the Matroska container format.
Avidemux version 2.5 or older
does not add the extensions
automatically!
Video format: this is the way the
video stream is encoded in the file,
usually in compressed form.
Modern compression fomats
usually offer better quality/size
ratio than old ones. Common video
formats include H.264, MPEG-4
Part 2 or MPEG-2 Part 2.
Audio format: the way the audio
stream is stored in the file.
Common audio formats include
AAC, MP3, MP2, Vorbis or PCM
(uncompressed).
Note: Do not confuse audio and
video formats with audio and video
codecs. Codecs are tools used for
encoding and decoding, while
formats are methods of encoding
the data. See the Common myths
chapter for more details.
Encoder: this is a tool used for
encoding the audio or video stream
into the desired format. Some
encoders are better than others
even if there are multiple encoders
for the same format, one of them
may offer higher quality at the
same size. In Avidemux, you can
select the software encoder in the
 Video and Audio sections. Of You have a video saved from a
course, the selected encoder then DVB-T recorder, DVD or other
implies the output format as well. sources and want to archive it in a
Decoder: a tool used for decoding more compact form. So after you
the input video or audio stream. open the file and do some editing,
Avidemux uses internal built-in select a video encoder with the best
decoders. If it does not have an quality/size ratio, that is x264,
appropriate decoder for the video configure it, add video filters like
or audio format, there will be no deinterlace, crop and resize to
video or audio. make the video more compressible,
select Matroska or MP4 as the
So, what does this all mean? Let's see a container format and save the file.
couple of use cases: You may even save the original
audio track in copy mode if you
You want to cut out unwanted parts want to avoid any quality loss, as
from a video, losslessly (in copy audio in DVB-T or DVD is already
mode). You have to know the compressed and does not take as
source audio and video format. much space as video.
Avidemux can show you the file
properties using the Info button Audio/video sidebar
after you open it. Then you select
an appropriate container format
The toolbar on the left can be used for
that's suitable for the video and
setting audio and video encoders, filters
audio format combination
and the output format.
(typically the same container
format that's used for the source
Audio and video encoders are listed in a
file), leave audio and video
format (encoder) form, where format is
encoders at Copy, do the editing,
the specification, standard, while encoder
and finally save the file.
is the particular software library,
You have a Matroska (*.mkv) file
implementation, that encodes the stream to
with H.264 video and AAC audio.
the chosen format. For example, MPEG-
The Matroska container format is
4 ASP (Xvid4) means the output video
not supported (and therefore not
format is set to MPEG-4 ASP and the
playable) by default on Microsoft
chosen software library used for encoding
Windows, Mac OS X (without
the MPEG-4 ASP video is Xvid. MP3
additional software) or various
(LAME) means the output audio format
hardware devices, but H.264 and
is set to MP3 and LAME is the MP3
AAC is! This means you can open
encoder.
the file in Avidemux, change the
output format to MP4 (which is the
The Format menu is mainly used for
container format supported by
setting the output container. A container
default on those platforms), and
contains audio and video streams
save it in copy mode. Audio and
multiplexed into a single file. It is
video tracks will be left untouched,
important to select a suitable container
so it will be quick and lossless.
format for the audio and video stream
Only the wrapper, the container,
types selected in the Audio and Video
will be different. If the H.264 video
menus. For example, MPEG-2 (DVD,
was encoded with basic features
SVCD) or MPEG-1 (VCD) video should
supported on those platforms, the
not be saved into an AVI container. Some
file should now be playable there.
popular A/V format/container Filters button); if a supported encoder does
combinations include: not appear in the list, it means Avidemux
has not been built with support for it
video: MPEG-1, audio: MP2,
container: MPEG-PS (suitable for a
VCD, universally playable on most
computers and operating systems
including Microsoft Windows,
without installing additional
codecs)
video: MPEG-2, audio: MP2/AC3,
container: MPEG-PS (suitable for
DVDs)
video: MPEG-4 ASP, audio: MP3, The default audio encoder is Copy,
container: AVI (a very popular which means no audio encoding, audio
format, playable on standalone from the input will be copied to output
DivX compatible players, in selecting an audio encoder for encoding
software players like MPlayer, from the drop-down list allows you to
VLC or xine and in Windows- configure it (the Configure button) and set
based players if an MPEG-4 ASP audio filters (the Filters button); when the
decoder such as DivX, Xvid or the A/V shift checkbox is checked, audio
ffdshow is installed) will by shifted by the number of
video: H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC), milliseconds set in the A/V shift spin box
audio: AAC, container: MP4 (the
MPEG-4 standard)
video: H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC),
audio: Vorbis, container: Matroska
(an efficient free software choice
for playback on computers, players Select the output format; the default A/V
like MPlayer or VLC can play the container format is AVI
files out-of-the-box, for playback
in Windows Media Player, an
H.264 decoder such as ffdshow and
a Matroska splitter such as Haali Type of the current frame (I-frame, P-
Media Splitter is needed) frame or B-frame), the number between
brackets shows the quantizer used to
encode the displayed image (meaningful
only when used with a quantizer type
codec like the MPEG codecs)

The default video encoder is Copy,

which means no video encoding, video
from the input will be copied to output
(filters cannot be applied in Copy mode)
selecting a video encoder from the drop-
down list allows you to configure it (the
Configure button) and set video filters (the
Cutting
Simple cutting
Audio/video sync
If you are editing a file with variable
bitrate audio, run AudioBuild VBR Time
Map before you do any editing. Otherwise
your audio will be out of sync.
Markers
Video edits are done inside of marked
sections, from the start and end of a
selection. Markers A and B are used to set
the start and end of a sequence. You can
set them using the and buttons.
You can also jump to marker A or B using
the GoGo to Marker A or GoGo to
Marker B menu entries.
Marker positions are also displayed at the
bottom of the screen, under the Selection
section:
Obviously, marker A can't come after
marker B. If you try to set marker A to a
frame after marker B, Avidemux will set
marker B to that point, and marker A to
the frame after where marker B used to be.
So, for example, if marker A is at frame 0
and marker B is at frame 10, then you set
marker A to frame 20, Avidemux will
actually put marker A at frame 11 and
marker B at frame 20.
Saving
You can save part of a stream by going to
FileSaveSave Video. Every frame
from marker A to marker B will be saved,
excluding the frame at marker B.
Mathematically speaking, the set of frames
saved is [A,B).
Removing
The EditDelete menu entry will remove
frames from [A,B) from the stream. It can
be used, for example, to remove
commercials from a video capture.
Avidemux will make sure to keep the
audio in the stream in sync with the video,
unless you have an external audio source.
External audio source
When doing cutting or deleting, if the
video has an external audio source,
Avidemux will not cut sections of the
external audio to synchronize or match the
video timing.
There are two options for getting your
external audio source to sync properly
with Avidemux when you are
cutting/deleting video frames:
1. You can edit the audio file yourself.
Basically this means cutting the audio
file yourself in an audio editing
program.
2. A good work around for the external
audio source problem is to edit the
video two times using Avidemux.
o First, use Avidemux to add
the external audio source and
then save your video.
o Second, now the external
audio source is internal audio
source in the video you saved.
Open the saved video in
Avidemux and it will now
automatically sync the audio
with the video when you do
edits.
Intra frames and SmartCopy
This section only applies when video is in
copy mode (encoder is set to Copy). In
process mode (an encoder is selected for
encoding), Avidemux internals ensure
everything is alright.
Warning: When Format is set to AVI,
unpack VOP, Avidemux will use copy
mode for all frames (including the
broken ones) even if a video encoder is
selected for encoding. SmartCopy mode
will not work either, because SmartCopy
needs to re-encode the broken frames.
Usually, each frame of video isn't that
different from the one before(nbsp)(ndash)
someone's mouth moves a bit, the
background shifts around, etc. Most video
codecs use this fact to save space, by
saving a complete frame every few
seconds, and making the other frames
simply a modification of the reference
frame. Complete frames are referred to as
Intra frames, or sometimes I-frames or
keyframes.
Markers don't have to be at key frames, so
your stream might look like this:
abAdeIghBjklInop
Where lowercase letters are intermediate
frames, A and B are marked frames, and I
is an intra frame. When you cut frames
[A,B), you will end up with:
abjklInop
Where frames jkl are broken, because they
specify changes relative to an I-frame that
no longer exists. There are two ways of
dealing with that:
Make sure the B marker is an I-frame.
In that case no problem.
If your file uses MSMPEG-4
(DivX(nbsp);-)(nbsp)3) or MPEG-4
video, you can use smart copy mode.
Smart copy will leave most frames
unchanged, but re-encode the part
that lost its reference images with a
fixed quantizer. So in our example,
frames ab and nop would remain
unchanged, while frames jkl would be
re-encoded to use a different
reference frame. Smart copy will ask
you for a value for the quantizer to
use(nbsp)(ndash) 4 or 5 is generally
OK.
Copy/paste
Frames can be copied and pasted by doing
Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. When copying, you
must make sure the first frame you copy is
an I-frame; when pasting, the frame after
the insert point must be I-frame. Smart
copy will work in that case, but not with
streams containing B-frames.
Example of cutting/deleting frames
Build VBR time map
1. If you are editing a file with variable
bitrate audio, run AudioBuild VBR Time
Map before you do any editing. Otherwise
your audio will be out of sync.
Markers
2. Use the Marker A button to set the
start of what you want to edit.
3. Use the Mark B buttons to set the
end of what you want to edit.
You can confirm the start and end edit
positions the frame displayed at the bottom
of the screen, under the Selection section:
Cut/delete

4. The EditDelete menu entry will

remove frames from [A,B) from the
stream.

Save video

5. Save the video with the section deleted.

You can use the menu FileSaveSave
Video. You may be able to use Video
Copy and Audio Copy modes to do this
edit, but you may not and you may have to
encode the video.

Advanced cutting
Autosplit

Using FileAVI Muxer Options, you can

specify a file size in megabytes. Each time
that file size is reached and an intra frame
is present, Avidemux will create a new
file. You will end up with foo.avi.1,
foo.avi.2 etc.

As the new file must begin at an I-frame,

the file size you specify is only accurate to
within about 5 megabytes.