VidCutter For Linux

If you only need to perform a wide range of video processing/editing operations and you want the best possible results, then relying on one of the many feature-packed video editors (which usually have relatively high learning curves) is, more often than not, the way to go.

However, if you just want to cut, splice, and join videos with fairly decent accuracy, then using a full-blown video editor might be a bit of an overkill.

That's exactly why VidCutter was created - to help you effortlessly and swiftly cut and join media files/videos.

Upon first starting the app, you're forgiven for thinking that this is just one other, hum-drum video cutter + joiner app, since the GUI is relatively straightforward.

Spend a bit of time checking out VidCutter, however, and you're bound to discover a surprisingly capable video cutter and joiner that punches way above its class.

For starters, let's talk about some of the technologies used to create VidCutter. These include Qt5 for the GUI, libmpv for the OpenGL hardware acceleration playback, and FFmpeg for super fast and lossless media cutting and joining.

In terms of features, you get chapter support (allows scene chapter names to be included in the final media metadata), timeline thumbnails (for more accurate seeking), detailed media metadata info (via MediaInfo), and a frame-accurate SmartCut technology (which is disabled by default, mind you).

Other nifty features include media stream selection for both audio and subtitle channels, a "black detect" video filter (automatically detects scene changes, useful for skipping potential commercials in TV recordings), as well as support for manual toggling individual audio tracks (which is something that even some of the most advanced video editors don't offer).

As mentioned at the start, VidCutter is all about simplicity and speed. Even though it is limited in scope, thanks to a modern and well-designed GUI, as well as all its under-the-hood technologies, VidCutter is a surprisingly competent video/media cutter and joiner. What's also really good is that it's free and open-source, as well as the fact that it works on all major OSes out there, including Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Is it perfect? No, not really. VidCutter does not come with support for multi-track/non-linear timelines, and it can be rather limited when it comes to frame rates (even though it supports a lot of popular formats out there).