When you open a video with DGindex, you'll see an edit window like the one below. The file opened here is from a home recorded DVD.
9. The green arrow in the lower left of the image points to the rapid advance scroll tool.
10. The green arrow in the lower right points to the key frame and selection tools.
- The "
[" tool is used to mark the start frame of a selection.
- The "
<" tool moves the video backward, one group of key frames at a time. with most mpg's, there is a new key frame every 12 to 18 frames. To avoid any re-encode, DGindex makes selections only on key frames.
- The "
>" tool moves the video forward, stopping only on key frames.
- The "
]" tool is used to mark the end of the selection.
11. Move to a keyframe in the portion of the video where you want to begin your cut. "
<" and "
>" automatically stop only on key frames. Mark the start of your cut by clicking "
[". Now click the forward "
>" button until you have several seconds of video, then click "
]" to mark the end of your cut.
The image below shows a selection of about 10 seconds in this DVD video. The green arrow points to the blue marker that indicates the selection. About 16 to 20 key frames would equal 8 to 10 seconds of playing time. If you change your mind about the selection, the best way to clear the edit window is to simply re-open DGindex the way you did in previous steps.
12. When you've selected your cut, click the "
File..." menu, then click "
Save Project and Demux Video".
A dialog window will appear asking where to place the new sample. Navigate thru the Windows dialog and indicate where you want the sample placed. Note that you cannot save a sample to a burned DVD disc -- find an existing PC folder or make a new one for the VOB sample. If your file is an MPG that's already on your hard drive, the default location will be the folder containing your MPG.
13. As soon as you click "
Save project and demux video," you'll see the DGindex information panel showing the operation's progress. A small sample takes a few seconds, a 90-minute video would take a few minutes. Wait until the word "
FINISH" appears at the bottom of the panel. The image below shows the results window after DGindex creates your sample.
14. Close the information panel and close the DGindex window.
The next post illustrates how to upload your sample video.