batch convert videos and preserve date creation info

[xizar]

I have several videos in different formats I want to convert to the same format for the sake of both uniformity and hard disk space. I've looked at the difference in quality after a test conversion, and I'm not bothered by the essentially non-existant decrease in quality (especially since the publication medium for these is going to be YouTube).

For this, I've used MPEG Streamclip, and it's super-awesome. The batch file tool is like sliced bread, toasted, glazed with a whisper of butter and honey.

My problem comes in when I look at the output information... everything is created and modified today... right now.

It's sufficiently important that the date be when the video happened that I'd *almost* keep the original videos at their bloated state, drifting across my media like bloodflies fattened up after a night draining hapless yeoman on a sultry night rather than lose the info.

I'm also sufficiently lazy that I don't want to go in and change the information by hand (which I'm not sure how to do, yet, anyway), as it's more than a handful.

Is there a setting in streamclip that I've not yet divined that will allow me to keep the date/time stamp? If not, is there some tool which will copy the metadata over between two files (identically named or otherwise), in batch-quantities?

Edit:
There's a note about version 1.9.3b3 that says it preserves the modification date of files in some conversions, but I can't find any details beyond that.

 

[czaras]

This is a hell good question ! Anyone with the solution please?

 

[evil_santa]

use automator to rename the original file with the created / modify date then re encode.

use the Add Date or Time Action and make a droplet, then drop all your original files on and it will rename them with the added date.

 

[xizar]

Just so I make sure I understand, if

I have Movie.MOV created on New Year's of 2001,

I rename it to "Movie 2001/1/1.MOV", then

encode it to "Movie 2001/1/1.MJEG" (or some other format).

I'm not sure I understand that this method will change the date attribute of the converted file.

This looks like a great way to keep the information, but it's not as searchable (specifically through apps that use attrib/metadata, like FCPX, as far as I can tell).

Thanks for your interest in my problem.

 

[czaras]

use automator to rename the original file with the created / modify date then re encode.

use the Add Date or Time Action and make a droplet, then drop all your original files on and it will rename them with the added date.

I'm using this solution for current videos I'm saving on computer and it works ok but preserving creation data in metadata would be very usefull for editing a lot of videos from a few last years.
So if anyone know some good solution, please let us know.

 

[xizar]

I came up with a less than satisfactory workflow.

If you're willing to spend $15, you can get PublicSpace's "File Multitool", then add all the files whose date you want to change and go through them one by one.

Because I'm willing to preserve only the date, rather than both date and time, I could go through and covert the whole batch (regardless of when it was done) to proper date for the file at the top of the list, and then remove it (along with any others that shared that date) from the batch.

Like I said, this is a *very* less than satisfactory solution in my opinion.

I wrote to the developer about extracting creation times based on file name. I don't know if I'll hear back from them.