Trim/cut/clip MKV files

[ldoodle]

Hey,

I have some 2 disc films (as in the actual film is on 2 discs). I'd like to merge them in one MKV which I can do. Think LotR Extended.

But some of them have really long padding/fades at the end of disc 1 and start of disc 2. I'd like to trim this padding so it's seamless.

1) Ideally I'd like to get right on the millisecond the padding starts so I don't end up with a frame or 2 of this padding. What software can I play the MKV in that will give me the time including milliseconds?
2) How do I actually trim them?
3) Can the chapter numbers be auto incremented based on the number of chapters in the first file? Just done a test and ended up with Chapters 1 - 23 followed by Chapters 1-23 (instead of 1-46). Or do I need to change them before-hand?
4) How will this work with subtitles. Obviously SRT files contain the time the subtitles should appear. If I'm chopping of 5 (or more) seconds from the video, will the subtitles be auto fixed or will they be 5 seconds late?
6) For films that don't have any padding but have forced subtitles, how will this work? The SRT file for the 2nd file will be expecting from 00:00. If the file is merged as the 2nd file will the subtitles still be expecting from 00:00 so they'll actually show much earlier? Make sense?

Thanks!

[Woodstock]

To do what you want requires a full video editing suite, to be perfectly honest.

[ldoodle]

Yeah thought so.

It's probably easier to just get Blu versions of the 2 disc DVDs I have, as there'll likely be only 1 disc for a Blu.

[Woodstock]

Don't count on them being one big file, even on BD... I've seen some movies that are split in the same place on BD as DVD.

[aecad]

I've been using mkvmerge (which comes along with mkvToolNix) to trim and merge 2 parts of a movie into 1. To determine the amount to trim I view the files in VLC and note the time points.
This may be not get video editing console perfect but I've come very close (seamless or ~1 frame of black) without determining the exact time point(s). mkvmerge allows one to set the trim time point to xx:xx:x.nnnnnnnnn (hrs:mins:secs) so if you want to get it exact a bit of trial and error might be needed.
I don't find it all that time consuming but you might want to have:
a) a fast quad core processor
b) separate drives for the source files (to be read) and the re-muxed file (to be written)
It usually takes me <15 mins. or so after creating the initial two mkv.s to get the new file. The completed mkv can be dropped into mkvmege's Chapter Editor so you can change the numbering. One can also re-flag any sub-title track and/or re-order the audio tracks.
If you have any questions on using mkvmerge shoot me a pm.

[ldoodle]

Thanks aecad.

What about subtitles? Let's say I rip a film with no subtitle tracks, then get the forced only srt files online and embed them into the 2 MKV files (also using MKVMerge).

If I then merge the 2 MKV files together what will the result be? This is a sample of the forced only srt for Fury:

1
00:17:45,966 --> 00:17:48,717
What's your favorite color?

Let' say Fury was on 2 discs and this was 17:45 into disc 2. If I merge this with disc 1, will the above subtitle show at 17:45 into disc 1 or disc 2? It might think 17:45 from 00:00 of the whole file, so it would show during disc 1, which would obviously be wrong.

Would I have to edit the srt file to take into account the length of the first disc and add it to the time the subtitle is set to show?

[ldoodle]

Don't count on them being one big file, even on BD... I've seen some movies that are split in the same place on BD as DVD.

Really? I assumed they would re-author the file!

In your examples, do they still have the same padding? That would be really naff (and even more lazy)!

[Woodstock]

Oh, they HAVE to do a complete re-authoring, because the formats are different, but that doesn't mean they change the cutting.

The one I'm remembering has a musical intermission section at the split, because it was copied verbatim from the theatrical release.

[aecad]

Let' say Fury was on 2 discs and this was 17:45 into disc 2. If I merge this with disc 1, will the above subtitle show at 17:45 into disc 1 or disc 2? It might think 17:45 from 00:00 of the whole file, so it would show during disc 1, which would obviously be wrong.

Would I have to edit the srt file to take into account the length of the first disc and add it to the time the subtitle is set to show?

In mkvmerge the 2nd mkv file is appended to the 1st, the subtitle chapter numbering is automatically adjusted in the completed mkv.