Cut video with ffmpeg

To cut a snippet from a video based on timestamps like 02:52 to 04:20, the best tool is FFmpeg, which is fast, free, and doesn’t re-encode the video (so it keeps original quality if you don’t want re-encoding).

Here’s the command you can run in a terminal or command prompt:

ffmpeg -i "Narcos.1x06.Explosivos.(Spanish.English.Subs).BDRip.1080p.x265-EAC3.by.Legan.mkv" -ss 00:02:52 -to 00:04:20 -c copy output_snippet.mkv

Explanation:

• -i specifies the input file.
• -ss 00:02:52 is the start time (hh:mm:ss).
• -to 00:04:20 is the end time.
• -c copy tells FFmpeg to copy the streams without re-encoding.
• output_snippet.mkv is the name of your output file.

Optional Note:

If -ss before -i gives more accurate cuts but slower, and placing it after -i (as above) is fast but might not be frame-exact depending on the codec. You can try both if accuracy is important.

For a social-media-friendly .mp4 output, and especially if you’re okay with a slightly slower but cleaner cut, you should re-encode the snippet to ensure full compatibility and accuracy.

Here’s the recommended FFmpeg command:

ffmpeg -i "Narcos.1x06.Explosivos.(Spanish.English.Subs).BDRip.1080p.x265-EAC3.by.Legan.mkv" -ss 00:02:52 -to 00:04:20 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac -movflags +faststart output_snippet.mp4

Explanation of new parts:

• -c:v libx264: re-encode video using H.264 (widely supported).
• -c:a aac: re-encode audio using AAC (social media-friendly).
• -movflags +faststart: optimizes MP4 for streaming and social media.
• output_snippet.mp4: your final output file in .mp4 format.

This will cut and convert the snippet cleanly for platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc.