Bandicut 3.0

Many of the software programs available in the market to cut and split video files will also re-encode your videos in the process, causing an unavoidable loss in quality that varies in each case. Bandicut can cut and split any video file not only quickly and easily, but also without interfering with the original quality of the video file. Likewise, this tool can also merge any fragments or full video files into a larger one and even extract their audio stream and save it as an MP3 file in a breeze.

Its attractive dark-colored interface opens with a sort of the main menu where you can choose among the three main tasks mentioned above – cut, split, or join video files. Each option opens on a new window with all the features required to perform the selected task. The Cut option will offer you two modes – a High-Speed Mode and an Encoding Mode. They work similarly, except for the fact that the second option will re-encode the original video file into the format of your choice. Though you can use this mode with any of the formats supported, the High-Speed Mode (lossless mode) works only with AVI, MP4, MKV, WMV, ASF, and FLV files. Both modes will allow you to remove any unwanted fragment(s) easily – all you’re asked to do is select the start and end points of the sections you wish to get rid of and add all the unneeded segments to the list. You can select those points either using the slider provided or by entering the exact time positions, and the program’s built-in video player will help you make the right selections. Alternatively, you can check the “Extract audio tracks (.mp3)” box for audio extraction and the “Merge Segments” to save all the fragments in one single file.

The Split function will also cut the selected video file into a number of segments, but here the start and end points are decided by the program. All you need to do is tell Bandicut how many fragments do you want or their duration, and it will calculate where to cut your video and in how many pieces. I expected to find a third option that is fairly common in other similar tools – split by size, but it’s nowhere to be found. This is useful to split large videos into smaller files so that they fit various CDs or DVDs, for instance.

The Join option will merge any fragments or entire video files into a bigger one in no time. As with the Cut option, here you can choose between a High-Speed and an Encoding Mode. The latter is really useful when joining files in different formats or with different resolutions so that you can “normalize” the output quality using the codec and the settings of your choice.

Bandicut works like a charm. While other video editors re-encode your files without even warning you about it, Bandicut offers you two clearly-labeled modes for you to decide what’s best for your video files. It is both easy to use and reliable, and though it still offers room for improvement in terms of functionality, it is a serious improvement over the majority of cut-and-merge tools available out there.