EXIF data for converted DV tapes

[Persio]

Gentlemen,
I have converted some old DV tapes to AVI and further along to MP4 using Handbreak.
I have tried to use Exiftool to show me the original creation date of the recordings using the following command line: exiftool d:\exif\video.avi
This command line only shows the current dates manipulated by the conversion software; however, the Sony conversion software is capable of showing the original creation date.
Is it possible to have Exiftool dig further into the available tags to find the original Create Date? What command line should I use?

The Sony software is good for conversion but lousy overall that is why I prefer to use Exiftool to properly create a correct video timeline.
The camera that recorded the tapes is a Sony DCR-PC 101.

I would appreciate comments and suggestions.
Persio.

[StarGeek]

This command should show you all time related tags.
exiftool -time:all -g1 -a -s

Is the Sony software showing you the date of the original DV tape or the avi?  What happens if you rename the avi and load it into the software?  Does it still show the correct date?

Exiftool should show you all the tags in the file.  My only thought would be maybe the Sony software is keeping a db of the files it converted, though that seems unlikely.

[Persio]

StarGeek,
Thank you for you reply.
The Sony software is a consumer product called Play Memories Home which has an add-on called Import from Tape which is responsible for reading the tape from the camera and converting it to an AVI file. Camera and computer are connected with a Firewire cable.
Once the tape is converted the Sony software reads the information from the AVI file and can also play the movie using its internal player.
I tested the command line you have suggested and I receive only the file related dates, as shown below, which are current dates.
FileModifyDate                  : 2019:01:27 16:27:52-02:00
FileAccessDate                  : 2019:01:29 18:11:02-02:00
FileCreateDate                  : 2019:01:29 18:10:57-02:00

I explored the EXIF content from another file (dated 2004) with the MOV suffix and saw "Media Create Date", "Media Modify Date", "Track Create Date" and "Track Modify Date" tags.
Can these tags be hidden somewhere else in the AVI file?
Thanks,
Persio.

[StarGeek]

I explored the EXIF content from another file (dated 2004) with the MOV suffix and saw "Media Create Date", "Media Modify Date", "Track Create Date" and "Track Modify Date" tags.
Can these tags be hidden somewhere else in the AVI file?

No, because that info is actually part of the Quicktime specs which is used by newer video formats such as MOV, MP4, and MKV.  AVI is older, using the RIFF container format. 

Is Sony Play Memories Home still able to show a correct timestamp for a renamed file?

[Persio]

Yes, I changed the file name of a file and Sony software shows exactly the same info (except for the changed name).
Sony software shows the Properties of a file and the tags are: Date Taken (with the original date) and Date Modified (with the tape import date).
I have attached two images showing the Properties (as per the Sony software) of the same file before and after the name change.
Regards,
Persio.

[StarGeek]

How about if you move it outside of the directory?  It appears from those images that the directory is date based.

Other than that, you will probably have to wait until Phil (the author) gets back from vacation.  If the date is embedded in the file, then he'll probably want to take a look at it.

If you click the "Notify" button just above your first post, you'll get an email letting you know when there's a response to this thread.

[Persio]

Yes, the directory is date based but it was created by me.
It was the most suitable organization I found the group video clips taken on the same date.
Sony software will properly identify the Date Taken when I "load" any directory into its database.

Thank you for the hint on the "Notify" button.
Persio.

[rich_and_poor]

[Forgive my resurrecting an old topic, but I have a very similar issue, and it's not clear the solution (if any), so figured it made sense to post here rather than create clutter...]

Like the OP, I have AVI files cut via Sony from mini-dv tapes.  The correct capture date is stored in the filename, but also must be somewhere else because Sony Play Memories would display the correct date... but most other programs only identify the following tags:
FileModifyDate                  : 2019:01:27 16:27:52-02:00
FileAccessDate                  : 2019:01:29 18:11:02-02:00
FileCreateDate                  : 2019:01:29 18:10:57-02:00

I am able to reset these using:
exiftool -ext AVI -overwrite_original "-filecreatedate<filename" C:\Users\alist\Desktop\2004-12-25_19-20.00.avi

However, this value will not persist if the file is copied... so I am looking to find a way to persist the capture date in the metadata in a way that software (e.g. Plex) will correctly timeline the files.

I did try to add new tags like "Media Created" or "OriginalDateTime" (that seem to occur in some other AVI file types) ... but it would not allow me to execute:
C:\Users\alist>exiftool "-datetimeoriginal<filecreatedate" C:\Users\alist\Desktop\2004-12-25_19-20.00.avi
Error: Writing of AVI files is not yet supported - C:/Users/alist/Desktop/2004-12-25_19-20.00.avi
    0 image files updated
    1 files weren't updated due to errors

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how/where to persist the capture date on these AVIs?

[StarGeek]

FFmpeg can be used to embed metadata in AVI files, but I have no experience doing that with AVIs.

Another thing you might try is to change the file to an MP4 without re-encoding, which exiftool can write.  But you would probably lose whatever data Sony Play Memories is reading.   An example command would be this.  It will copy all video/audio/subtitle streams and the metadata without a re-encode.
ffmpeg -i Input.AVI -map 0:v -map 0:a -map 0:s? -map_metadata 0 -c copy Output.MP4

But not all AVI codecs are compatible with MP4.  I think XVID/DIVX are.  Codecs that aren't MP4 compatible usually will work with MKV, just change the extension in the above command.  Exiftool can't write MKV files, but there are some programs with GUI that can do so, such as MKVToolnix.  I haven't tried it, so I can't comment on how it works.

[rich_and_poor]

Thanks, StarGeek - that's what I needed to know about exiftool... and I appreciate the suggestion of ffmpeg.  I will run some tests.
Much appreciated.