Auto date/time added to Timeline

Ivo1602

Newbie Joined: Dec 07, 2010 23:56 Messages: 4 Offline

Solved by

Apr 09, 2012 09:48

Hi all

I've been google-ing and searching the forum about my issue for a while, and wanted to hear from people who had the same problem how they resolved it or what the workaround is. I have a Sony HD camera that records to AVCHD, files I import onto my HD are in the *.mt2s format. After doing an import first thing I noticed is that Powerdirector does not put the time/date information into the filename. This would not be an issue if Powerdirector would have an option to add the time/date to the timeline when the clip is imported/added to a project.

At the moment I import my video with the default Sony Software which creates files with a naming standard "20111213140700.m2ts" which which can be breken down into year,month,day,hour,minute,second from what I can understand. AFter the import I have to manually add the date into my clips.

So my question is: what is the best/easier automatic way to import date/time using PowerDirector?

p.s. I'm not interested in converting to DV and reimporting etc.

Thanks Q6600, 8GB DD3, 120GB SSD, 6TB FlexRAID, ATI HD 5500 1GB Win 7 ULT x64
i7 2720QM, 8GB DDR3, 240GB SSD, nvidia GT540M (2GB), win 7 ULT x64

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Apr 09, 2012 10:02

Powerdirector does not have any mechanism to time stamp videos.

However there is some third party software that can.

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/20497.page

If you import the videos that have the time/date file names, Powerdirector will show those file names in the time line. Just not stamped on the video.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Ivo1602

Newbie Joined: Dec 07, 2010 23:56 Messages: 4 Offline

Apr 09, 2012 10:09

Thanks for the fast reply...... looks like I'll have to keep doing it manually

Q6600, 8GB DD3, 120GB SSD, 6TB FlexRAID, ATI HD 5500 1GB Win 7 ULT x64
i7 2720QM, 8GB DDR3, 240GB SSD, nvidia GT540M (2GB), win 7 ULT x64

kou689

Newbie Joined: Sep 05, 2012 22:49 Messages: 4 Offline

Sep 05, 2012 22:53

I am in the same exact position as you. I have to have the date and time stamp. I am also using a Sony HD camera and when I upload the mt2 files am noticing that in PD and other editing software there are no options for applying the date and time stamp.

Maybe something that could help, when I open the files in VLC player, if you turn on subtitles track 1, the original date and time stamp shows, however there is no way to save it this way without recording and converting, which I do not want to do. I cannot find out how to do this in PD.

In the meantime, may I ask you how you are "manually adding the date and time stamp?"

Thanks!

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Sep 05, 2012 23:29

In the meantime, may I ask you how you are "manually adding the date and time stamp?"

It is done using a Title.
In the Title room select the Default 3D like title.

Drag it to the Title Track.

It is a Transparent title that you can and should modify in the Title Designer,
You can add any text or font or color of text and position anywhere in the video frame.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sep 05. 2012 23:30

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

kou689

Newbie Joined: Sep 05, 2012 22:49 Messages: 4 Offline

Sep 06, 2012 21:29

Thank you, that is very helpful. However, does that mean I will have to add it frame by frame in order to get a time stamp?

ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Sep 06, 2012 21:41

Hi kou689 -

I don't think Carl was suggesting that you manually insert a new time stamp every frame. That would be bordering on ridiculous

Even though this isn't exactly what you're after, you can add a time code display over your video. Here's a tutorial http://youtu.be/dpNSrP6G6k0 In the video description, you'll find the links to download the time code display videos.

If you prefer higher resolution displays, they've available in the description too.

Cheers - Tony
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kou689

Newbie Joined: Sep 05, 2012 22:49 Messages: 4 Offline

Sep 06, 2012 21:57

Thanks, I stumbled onto media college yesterday. I found another software I think solves this issue, however, it is not freeware.

http://www.dts8888.com/index.htm

Claims to pull the information from the AVCHD file and superimpose it on the top. We knew from adding the subtitle track in VLC player that the info was there. This is the exact solution I was looking for, as I needed the exact time not a running stopwatch.

Thanks to everyone for their input. I have found these forums very helpful and this software excellent. I will definitely continue to utilize this forum as a knowledge base for any issues I have.

Thanks again everyone!

kou689

Newbie Joined: Sep 05, 2012 22:49 Messages: 4 Offline

Sep 06, 2012 21:57

FYI, tested the d8888 software and it worked like a charm.