How do I splice video files together?

When editing HDV's MPEG-2 data directly, a single frame cannot be changed without re-encoding subsequent frames from the same group. Any editing of the native MPEG-2 video, whether it be a complex transition or a simple scene-change, requires a decompression and recompression of the entire HDV frame group. Especially over many generations, this may result in increased artifacting, for example in the next frame group after a splice. However, because HDV's 1080i bitrate is 25 Mbit/s, these should be not as obvious as those seen when lower bitrates, such as those used for encoding clips for download, are used.