I have noticed the following for some (not all) .mp4 files, e.g. an A.mp4 file I have on my drive:
1) The Subtitle value in Windows Explorer has a different value from what
exiftool -Subtitle a.mp4
shows.
2) When I set the Title (including when I set it in Windows Explorer), the Title will show in Exiftool with
exiftool -Title a.mp4
but it will not show in Windows Explorer.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!ArwfjwSSfFNwoKxkQ3cCJ_LdX-_NOg?e=5n4pa2 (https://1drv.ms/i/s!ArwfjwSSfFNwoKxkQ3cCJ_LdX-_NOg?e=5n4pa2)
A "solution" to address this, is to
1) Make a copy of the file (copy a.mp4 to a-Copy.mp4)
2) Delete all metadata from a.mp4 with
exiftool -all= a.mp4
3) Copy the metadata back from a-copy.mp4 to a.mp4 with
exiftool -TagsFromFile a-Copy.mp4 a.mp4
At this point, I can see the Title value in Explorer. For some reason, the Subtitle does now NOT show in Explorer. However, I can now delete the subtitle with "exiftool -subtitle= a.mp4" and then set it again, and now it will show in Explorer.
https://1drv.ms/i/s!ArwfjwSSfFNwoKxlM_WNOjiv3135Jg?e=WJr5nC (https://1drv.ms/i/s!ArwfjwSSfFNwoKxlM_WNOjiv3135Jg?e=WJr5nC)
Any idea of why this happens, and how this can be resolved in an easier way than shown above?
Have you seen this post by StarGeek (https://exiftool.org/forum/index.php?msg=32875) ?
- Phil
Also, I think this is FAQ #3 (https://exiftool.org/faq.html#Q3).
Exiftool will write ItemList:Subtitle by default, but Windows will instead read Microsoft:Subtitle.
Title can appear in ItemList:Title and Keys:Title. Windows will only read the first one, but I believe Apple programs will write the second one.
Use the command in FAQ #3 to figure out where the tags are located and if there are duplicates in separate groups.
Thanks to both of you (Phil and StarGeek). This seems fairly complex (at least for me).
I understand from the above that Exiftool writes to a different subtitle field (ItemList:Subtitle) than Windows Microsoft:Subtitle. It also seems that when Title is set in Windows Properties, multiple field values are set. Thanks for that information.
Also, any proposals for how I can resolve the issue for mp4 files so that I can set a Title that shows in Explorer (and hopefully also show with Exiftool) that is simpler than what I have listed in my first e-mail. Also, similar for Subtitle?