This is all certainly accomplishable without converting the video file twice. <video> tags support a mute attribute, and with minor javascript you can set a lo

This is all certainly accomplishable without converting the video file twice. <video> tags support a mute attribute, and with minor javascript you can set a looping playback from a timestamp. Best of both worlds if you really want that. I can't help but feel these tools are evolving in the wrong direction. And not even in a "Stop liking what I don't like!" kind of way; simply that the solution could have been reached with far fewer steps.