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VideoReDo is a simple, intuitive editor for mpeg2/mpg files. Its functions center around the concept of taking a recorded mpg file and deleting portions of it (e.g., commercials). You can also combine multiple mpg files together to create a single mpg file.
It is fast -- it will take you only a couple of minutes to mark the desired deletions in a 30 minute program, and the program will save the video (actually making the revised mpg file) usually in another 3 to 5 minutes.
Compare that to the 50-60 minutes your DVD editing/burning software needs to re-encode a similar file, excluding the time required to burn a DVD. VideoReDo does not re-encode the entire file — it re-encodes only the small sections necessary to adjust for the sections deleted. VideoReDo also forces you to save the edited video with a different name than the original, preventing accidental overwrite mistakes. More importantly, it retains the mpg size/quality option of the original, rather than converting the file to the 4GB/hr of standard DVD-quality mpg’s.
VideoReDo is strictly editing — MPEG in, MPEG out. Of course, there are also a number of converters on the market designed to convert from MPEG to WMV, WMV to AVI, WMV to MPEG, AVI to MPEG, etc.
At first glance, VideoReDo seems expensive — $50 for a very specialized function. On the other hand, if you are saving programs to view later, consider that the average 1 hour show actually has 18-22 minutes of commercials. If you record at 2GB/hour, you can cut the required space to 1.3GB. The program can easily pay for itself by letting you avoid the purchase of another hard drive.
There is little to no learning curve for this program. It has a very intuitive design and operation. If you consider the ease of use, you will find that this is a very good buy for simple mpg editing. It also includes a "batch processor," so you can define your edits to several videos in individual "project files" and then let the batch processor do the actual processing of multiple videos later.
VideoReDo is available in two trial forms from DRD Systems, the developers. They are the same file — the difference is whether you use a trial key or not. You can download the trial version that, without a key, is will write mpg files up to 30 minutes in size. You can request a trial key via their website. The trial key unlocks the full capabilities of VideoReDo for 20 days. When you purchase VideoReDo, you receive a license key for your copy.
VideoReDo is priced at $50 and can be purchased direct from DRD Systems using Paypal or other payment options. VideoReDo is available only via download. As of this writing, DRD Systems is offering a free upgrade to VideoReDo Plus, due to be released within a few weeks, to purchasers of the current VideoReDo.
Registered users of VideoReDo can download and use beta copies of new versions. After the beta was relesed to customers, I’ve used the beta version of VideoReDo Plus because of the enhancements. Now, VideoReDo Plus 2.1 has been released, as has version 2 of VideoReD. VideoReDo Plus is my MPG editor of choice.
Copyright © 2004-2008 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
