What Is Video Cut & Merge?
Video Cut & Merge is a fast, lossless video editing tool built into SoundWorks. It lets you trim unwanted sections from video files, extract specific segments, and combine multiple clips into a single file — all without re-encoding the video. Lossless operation means zero quality loss and processing that completes in seconds rather than minutes.
For situations that require re-encoding (speed changes, format conversion, or combining clips with different codecs), SoundWorks also supports full transcoding with customizable output settings.
Why Use Video Cut & Merge?
Lossless cutting. Trim video without re-encoding. The original video quality is preserved bit-for-bit, and cutting is nearly instant regardless of file size or duration.
Merge multiple clips. Combine several video files into one. Concatenate clips from the same recording session, merge chapters, or assemble a sequence from separate takes.
Speed control. Slow down or speed up video with adjustable playback rates. Create time-lapse effects, slow-motion segments, or speed through long sections.
No quality loss. When using lossless mode, the video stream is not re-processed. What comes out is identical to what went in, minus the trimmed sections.
Fast processing. Lossless operations complete in seconds because only the container is modified, not the actual video data. Even large 4K files are processed almost instantly.
What You Can Do
Remove unwanted sections. Cut out dead air, mistakes, or off-topic segments from recordings. Keep only the content that matters.
Extract highlights. Pull specific segments from long recordings — a key moment from a presentation, a clip from a live stream, or a scene from a longer video.
Assemble video sequences. Merge individual clips into a final sequence. Combine interview segments, compile highlights, or join parts of a multi-session recording.
Create time-lapse and slow motion. Adjust playback speed to create time-lapse sequences from long recordings or slow-motion effects for dramatic emphasis.
Prepare clips for social media. Trim long videos to platform-appropriate lengths. Extract the most engaging segments for short-form content.
How It Works
Step 1: Import video. Load your video file into SoundWorks. All major formats are supported: MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WebM, and more.
Step 2: Set cut points. Use the timeline to mark start and end points for segments you want to keep or remove. Preview cuts before applying them.
Step 3: Merge or trim. Choose to extract the selected segment, remove it from the original, or combine multiple files. Select lossless mode for instant processing or transcode mode for format conversion.
Step 4: Export. Save the result. In lossless mode, export is nearly instant. In transcode mode, configure output format, codec, and quality settings.
Offline Video Editing
Video files can be large and contain content you may not want to upload to cloud editing services — personal recordings, client footage, confidential presentations, or unreleased content. SoundWorks processes everything on your local machine. No file uploads, no cloud processing, no waiting for remote servers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “lossless” cutting mean? Lossless cutting modifies only the video container (the file structure), not the encoded video data. The visual quality of the output is identical to the input. No re-encoding occurs.
What video formats are supported? SoundWorks supports MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WebM, TS, FLV, and most other common container formats. The codecs inside those containers (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1, etc.) are all handled.
Can I merge videos with different formats? Merging works best with clips that share the same codec, resolution, and frame rate. For clips with different parameters, SoundWorks can transcode them to a common format during the merge.
How accurate is the cut point? Lossless cutting is constrained to keyframe boundaries (typically every 1 to 5 seconds in most video). For frame-accurate cutting, SoundWorks can re-encode the segments around the cut point while keeping the rest lossless.
Can I undo a cut? SoundWorks operates on copies of your files by default. The original file is never modified. You can always go back to the original.
Is GPU acceleration used? GPU acceleration is used for transcoding operations and video preview. Lossless operations do not need GPU power since no encoding takes place.