Canon EOS Movie Utility...What Utility Does It Have?

Granted, this is a rant:

First, it only supports a subset of Canon's video-capable cameras: 1Dc, 1Dx, 5D Mk III, 6D, 7D Mk II, and 70D.

Second, it will only merge clips from the 1Dc or the 70D Mk II...which is the single most important task anyone would specifically need this kind of camera-manufacturer video utility to perform.

Considering the 4gig limit for DSLR video clips, why for that matter does the task of merging them seem to be an afterthought relegated to obscure third-party utility programs? It's a clumsy operation even in Premiere Pro.

Search for "split a clip" and everybody does that, but search for joining, merging, or concatenating a clip and only third-party utilities readily step up to that plate.

Pardon my ignorance, but why would one need to merge clips? Is it to organize your clips better? Is it to make editing easier?

My video editor syncs up all my clips, but I'd like to know if merging them will provide some benefit.

And to your rant, are you suggesting that Canon purposely did not include functionality for older cameras in order to sell their newer cameras?

Edit: Could a user not just combine the clips within the editor and export as a single clip? How is this different from what the EOS movie utility does?

I'm new to video, but I'll take a rookie stab at an answer. Just because you have a dozen clips doesn't mean they are well suited to be put next to each other into a single playable video. So, you edit and then make a story out of it.

I've never used the utility but I can't really see a situation where I would simply merge clips to produce an end product. After all, with the limitations in place there will always be a gap in the merged video.

If that's all you want / need to do however, MPEG Streamclip will join clips. It is a free application and many can vouch for it.

joeblack2022 wrote in post #17606721
I've never used the utility but I can't really see a situation where I would simply merge clips to produce an end product. After all, with the limitations in place there will always be a gap in the merged video.

If that's all you want / need to do however, MPEG Streamclip will join clips. It is a free application and many can vouch for it.

Actually, when the camera creates a new file when it hits its 4 gig file limit, there is no gap at all. Not a single frame is missed.

That new file creation occurs strictly because of the operating system file size limit, so if the intent was to create a continuous recording, there is every reason in the world to merge those files quickly and simply in a utility and handle it as the intended continuous recording thereafter.

RDKirk wrote in post #17609763
Actually, when the camera creates a new file when it hits its 4 gig file limit, there is no gap at all. Not a single frame is missed.

That new file creation occurs strictly because of the operating system file size limit, so if the intent was to create a continuous recording, there is every reason in the world to merge those files quickly and simply in a utility and handle it as the intended continuous recording thereafter.

Ah my apologies - I was thinking of recordings going past the 29 minute limit, not the file size limitation.

Have you tried out MPEG Streamclip? There is also a way to do it via the command line in Windows as well if you're into that kind of thing.

I guess we should have asked what kind of clips- like random clips, or contiguous recording like a performance recording. I'm pretty sure programs like Photoshop Premiere Elements would do this also. It the selective cutting of each clip that you'll need a more robust program.