From 1b2291a04ce8fd1d71cc25bb09c3d947d265b3c9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mikael Finstad Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2022 23:13:59 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] improve readme --- README.md | 87 ++++++------------------------------------------ cli.md | 31 +++++++++++++++++ import-export.md | 20 +++++++++++ issues.md | 60 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4 files changed, 121 insertions(+), 77 deletions(-) create mode 100644 cli.md create mode 100644 import-export.md create mode 100644 issues.md diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 44376a81..201c526e 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -48,12 +48,13 @@ The main feature is lossless trimming and cutting of video and audio files, whic - Undo/redo - Give labels to cut segments - Annotate segments with tags -- Import/export segments: MP4/MKV chapter marks, Text file, YouTube, CSV, CUE, XML (DaVinci, Final Cut Pro) and more +- [Import/export](import-export.md) segments: MP4/MKV chapter marks, Text file, YouTube, CSV, CUE, XML (DaVinci, Final Cut Pro) and more - MKV/MP4 embedded chapters marks editor - View subtitles - Customizable keyboard hotkeys - Black scene detection - Divide timeline into segments with length L or into N segments or even randomized segments! +- [Basic CLI support](cli.md) ## Example lossless use cases @@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ If you prefer to download the executables manually, this will of course always b If you find LosslessCut useful, I'm very thankful for [donations](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut#donate-). -### Difference between App Stores and Github download +### Difference between App Stores and GitHub download They have exactly the same in-app features, except for a few platform limitations. Apple doesn't allow opening VOB files with App Store apps. Apple App Store apps need to prompt for output directory. LosslessCut version in the App Stores is a few versions behind the GitHub version, because I want to be sure that the new versions work perfectly before releasing in the App Stores. GitHub version can contain new, untested features and may contain some bugs. I consider the newest GitHub versions to be a public "beta" test. @@ -134,7 +135,7 @@ Unsupported files can still be converted to a supported format/codec from the `F - Press SPACE to play/pause or ◀▶, ,. or mouse/trackpad wheel to seek back/forth. - Select the cut segment's start and end time by moving the time marker and then pressing I to set start time, and O to set end time. - Note that all segments you create will be **preserved** and exported as new files. You can change this behavior with the **Yin Yang** symbol ☯️, in which case it will instead **remove** all selected segments and export the parts **between** segments. - - Note also that start times will not be accurate, see [Known issues](#known-issues--limitations) + - Note also that start times will not be accurate, see [Known issues](issues.md) - *(optional)* If you want to add more than one segment, move to the desired start time and press +, then select the next segment start/end times with I/O. - *(optional)* If you want to re-merge all the selected segments into one file after cutting, toggle the button `Separate files` to `Merge cuts`. - *(optional)* If you want to export to a certain output folder, press the `Working dir unset` button (default: Input file folder) @@ -147,87 +148,19 @@ Unsupported files can still be converted to a supported format/codec from the `F - **Then press `Export` again to confirm the export** - Press the **Camera** button (or C) if you want to take a JPEG/PNG snapshot from the current time - If you want to move the original file to trash, press the **trash** button -- For best results you may need to trial and error with another output format (Matroska takes nearly everything), change keyframe cut mode or disable some tracks (see known issues below). +- For best results you may need to trial and error with another output format (Matroska takes nearly everything), change keyframe cut mode or disable some tracks (see [known issues](issues.md)). - Press H to view help and all keyboard shortcuts. - **Note:** The original video file will not be modified. Instead, a file is created file in the same directory as the original file with from/to timestamps in the file name. -## Known issues & limitations +## [Import / export](import-export.md) -- **Cutting times are not accurate!** Start cut time will be "rounded" to the nearest **previous** keyframe. This means that you often have **move the start cut time to few frames after** the desired keyframe. - - Lossless cutting is not an exact science. For some files, it just works. For others, you may need to trial and error depending on the codec, keyframes etc to get the best cut. See [#330](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/330) - - Your mileage may vary when it comes to `Keyframe cut` vs `Normal cut`. You may need to try both, depending on the video. [ffmpeg](https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Seeking) also has documentation about these two seek/cut modes. `Keyframe cut` means `-ss` *before* `-i` and `Normal cut` means `-ss` *after* `-i`. - - If you're seeing a blank video at the beginning of the resulting file, try `Keyframe cut` instead. - - You may try to enable the new "Smart cut" mode. However it is very experimental and may not work for most files. -- When exporting you may lose some proprietary data tracks (like `tmcd`, `fdsc` and `gpmd` added by GoPro). These can however be losslessly exported to separate files. -- If you cut a file, but the duration of the exported file is incorrect (or the same as input), try to disable all tracks except for the video track. -- EXIF/metadata can be preserved (see Export Options dialog), but it doesn't always output compliant files, so use it carefully. -- Some codecs are not natively supported, but will preview with low quality playback and no audio. You may convert these files to a supported codec from the File menu, see [#88](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/88). +## [Command line interface (CLI)](cli.md) -## Troubleshooting / FAQ +## [Developer notes](developer-notes.md) -- **Can LosslessCut crop, resize, stretch, mirror, overlay text/images, watermark, blur, redact, re-encode, speed-up/slow-down, create GIF, slideshow, burn subtitles, color grading, fade/combine/mix audio tracks or change audio volume?** - - [No, these are all lossy operations, but in the future I may start to implement such features](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/372). -- **MPEG TS** files have a tendency to be a bit problematic. It may help to **first** remux them to another format like MP4/MKV. Then you can open the MP4/MKV file an work on that. -- Can LosslessCut be batched/automated using a CLI or API? - - No, it was never designed for that. However there are a few feature requests regarding this: [#980](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/980) [#868](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/868) -- **Linux**: If you get an error like `FATAL:setuid_sandbox_host.cc(157)] The SUID sandbox helper binary was found, but is not configured correctly. Rather than run without sandboxing I'm aborting now.`, try to run it as `./lossless-cut --no-sandbox`. See [#258](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/258) +## [Known issues, limitations, troubleshooting, FAQ](issues.md) -### Windows issues - -- If you get an error immediately when starting up LosslessCut, try to disable your anti-virus or whitelist LosslessCut. See [#18](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/18) [#1114](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/1114) -- How to uninstall LosslessCut? There is no installer. Just delete the folder. Settings and temp files are stored in your [appData](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/api/app#appgetpathname) folder. -- Completely white window when starting up? Try to run with `--disable-gpu` - See [781](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/781). -- Where did the `.exe`/`.zip` downloads go? I decided to stop distributing exe and instead just 7zip, due to the [problems that the exe download was causing and the large size of zips.](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/1072#issuecomment-1066026323) -- [APPX is not signed and **does not work**.](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/337) Please use [7z package](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/releases/latest/download/LosslessCut-win-x64.7z) instead. - -If any other problem, check [Known issues](#known-issues--limitations), or please search for existing issues before you file an issue here on GitHub. You can check the developer tools for any errors or clues. Menu: `Tools` -> `Toggle Developer Tools`. -Also you are welcome to hang out on [Discord](https://discord.gg/fhnEREfUJ3) 🤗 - -## CSV import/export - -- The CSV export/import function takes CSV files with one cut segment on each line. Each line contains three columns: `segment start`, `segment end`, `label`. -- `segment start` and `segment end` are expressed in seconds or left empty. Empty `segment end` means segment ends at the duration of the video. -- Use comma `,` to separate the fields (**not** semicolon `;`) - -### example.csv -```csv -,56.9568,First segment starting at 0 -70,842.33,"Another quoted label" -1234,,Last segment -``` - -## Command line interface (CLI) - -LosslessCut only has limited support for automation through the CLI. Note that these examples assume that you have set up LosslessCut in your `PATH` environment. Alternatively you can run it like this: -``` -# First navigate to the folder containing the LosslessCut app -cd /path/to/directory/containing/app -# On Linux: -./LosslessCut arguments -# On Windows: -./LosslessCut.exe arguments -# On MacOS: -./LosslessCut.app/Contents/MacOS/LosslessCut arguments -``` - -### Open one or more files: -```bash -LosslessCut file1.mp4 file2.mkv -``` - -### Override settings (experimental) -See [available settings](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/blob/master/public/configStore.js). Note that this is subject to change in newer versions. ⚠️ If you specify incorrect values it could corrupt your configuration file. You may use JSON or JSON5: -```bash -LosslessCut --settings-json '{captureFormat:"jpeg", "keyframeCut":true}' -``` - -### Multiple instances - -By default, only a single running instance of LosslessCut is allowed. If you start a new LosslessCut instance from the command line, it will instead pass the list of files onto the already running instance. You can override this behavior by passing `--allow-multiple-instances` via the command line. Running multiple instances is experimental. - -## Developing - -See the [developer notes](developer-notes.md). +If you have any problem or question, [please read this](issues.md) before creating an issue. I try to answer most common questions here. ## Donate 🙈 diff --git a/cli.md b/cli.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..cbc01e28 --- /dev/null +++ b/cli.md @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +# Command line interface (CLI) + +LosslessCut has limited support for automation through the CLI. Note that these examples assume that you have set up LosslessCut in your `PATH` environment. Alternatively you can run it like this: +```bash +# First navigate to the folder containing the LosslessCut app +cd /path/to/directory/containing/app +# On Linux: +./LosslessCut arguments +# On Windows: +./LosslessCut.exe arguments +# On MacOS: +./LosslessCut.app/Contents/MacOS/LosslessCut arguments +``` + +## Open one or more files: +```bash +LosslessCut file1.mp4 file2.mkv +``` + +## Override settings (experimental) +See [available settings](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/blob/master/public/configStore.js). Note that this is subject to change in newer versions. ⚠️ If you specify incorrect values it could corrupt your configuration file. You may use JSON or JSON5: +```bash +LosslessCut --settings-json '{captureFormat:"jpeg", "keyframeCut":true}' +``` + +## Multiple instances (experimental) + +By default, only a single running instance of LosslessCut is allowed. If you start a new LosslessCut instance from the command line, it will instead pass the list of files onto the already running instance. You can override this behavior by passing this option via the CLI: +```bash +LosslessCut --allow-multiple-instances +``` diff --git a/import-export.md b/import-export.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d14ef8df --- /dev/null +++ b/import-export.md @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +# Import / export + +LosslessCut allows importing/exporting your project (segments) in a variety of file formats. + +## CSV + +- The CSV export/import function takes CSV files with one cut segment on each line. Each line contains three columns: `segment start`, `segment end`, `label`. +- `segment start` and `segment end` are expressed in seconds or left empty. Empty `segment end` means segment ends at the duration of the video. +- Use comma `,` to separate the fields (**not** semicolon `;`) + +### example.csv +```csv +,56.9568,First segment starting at 0 +70,842.33,"Another quoted label" +1234,,Last segment +``` + +## More formats? + +See https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/1340 diff --git a/issues.md b/issues.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d79d7831 --- /dev/null +++ b/issues.md @@ -0,0 +1,60 @@ +# Known issues, limitations, troubleshooting, FAQ + +## Cutting times are not accurate! + +Start cut time will be "rounded" to the nearest **previous** keyframe. This means that you often have **move the start cut time to few frames after** the desired keyframe. + - Lossless cutting is not an exact science. For some files, it just works. For others, you may need to trial and error depending on the codec, keyframes etc to get the best cut. See [#330](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/330) + - Your mileage may vary when it comes to `Keyframe cut` vs `Normal cut`. You may need to try both, depending on the video. [ffmpeg](https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Seeking) also has documentation about these two seek/cut modes. `Keyframe cut` means `-ss` *before* `-i` and `Normal cut` means `-ss` *after* `-i`. + - If you're seeing a blank video at the beginning of the resulting file, try `Keyframe cut` instead. + - You may try to enable the new "Smart cut" mode. However it is very experimental and may not work for most files. + +## Output file has same length as input + +If you cut a file, but the duration of the exported file is incorrect (or the same as input), try to disable all tracks except for the video track. + +## When exporting you may lose some proprietary data tracks + +For example `tmcd`, `fdsc` and `gpmd` added by GoPro. These can however be losslessly exported to separate files if you want to keep this data for later. + +## EXIF / metadata +EXIF/metadata can be preserved (see Export Options dialog), but it doesn't always output compliant files, so use it carefully. + +## Low quality playback + +Some codecs are not natively supported, so they will preview with low quality playback and no audio. You may convert these files to a supported codec from the File menu, see [#88](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/88). + +## MPEG TS / MTS + +MPEG TS (`.mts`/`.ts`) files have a tendency to be a bit problematic. It may help to **first** remux them to another format like MP4/MKV. Then you can open the MP4/MKV file an work on that. + +## Smart cut +Smart cut is experimental, but if you're having problems, check out [this issue](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/126). + + +## FAQ + +- **Can LosslessCut crop, resize, stretch, mirror, overlay text/images, watermark, blur, redact, re-encode, speed-up/slow-down, create GIF, slideshow, burn subtitles, color grading, fade/combine/mix/merge audio tracks or change audio volume?** + - No, these are all lossy operations (meaning you have to re-encode the file), but in the future I may start to implement such features. [See this issue for more information.](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/372) +- Can LosslessCut be batched/automated using a CLI or API? + - While it was never designed for advanced batching/automation, it does have a [basic CLI](./cli.md), and there are a few feature requests regarding this: [#980](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/980) [#868](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/868). +- Is there a keyboard shortcut to do X? + - [See this issue.](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/254) +- When will you implement feature X? + - I have limited time and I have a lot of projects to work on, so I cannot promise any timeline. I will usually prioritize the issues with the most likes, [see here for a list of the most popular issues](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/691). + +## Linux specific issues + +- If you get an error like `FATAL:setuid_sandbox_host.cc(157)] The SUID sandbox helper binary was found, but is not configured correctly. Rather than run without sandboxing I'm aborting now.`, try to run it as `./lossless-cut --no-sandbox`. See [#258](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/258) + +## Windows specific issues + +- If you get an error immediately when starting up LosslessCut, try to disable your anti-virus or whitelist LosslessCut. See [#18](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/18) [#1114](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/1114) +- How to uninstall LosslessCut? There is no installer. Just delete the folder. Settings and temp files are stored in your [appData](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/api/app#appgetpathname) folder. +- Completely white window when starting up? Try to run with `--disable-gpu` - See [781](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/781). +- Where did the `.exe`/`.zip` downloads go? I decided to stop distributing exe and instead just 7zip, due to the [problems that the exe download was causing and the large size of zips.](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/1072#issuecomment-1066026323) +- [APPX is not signed and **does not work**.](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues/337) Please use [7z package](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/releases/latest/download/LosslessCut-win-x64.7z) instead. + +## Cannot find an answer? + +If any other problem please search for [existing issues](https://github.com/mifi/lossless-cut/issues) before you file an issue here on GitHub. You can check the developer tools for any errors or clues. Menu: `Tools` -> `Toggle Developer Tools`. +Also you are welcome to hang out on [Discord](https://discord.gg/fhnEREfUJ3) 🤗