dnerf

Q: iPhoto knows time and timezone, but punts anyway?

I have an iPhone video of a noontime clock performance in Munich.  iPhoto in Seattle displays 3AM for the clip, which is correct Zulu time, but esthetically stupid. Can I get iPhoto to use German time for display?  The clip location is set to Munich, so the app has the info it needs.  (I know I can brute-force a time change, but I'd hate to just fudge the data, since the underlying system knows the right answer.)

 

Richard

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 29, 2014 6:44 PM

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Q: iPhoto knows time and timezone, but punts anyway?

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  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 29, 2014 6:47 PM in response to dnerf
    Level 10 (84,540 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 29, 2014 6:47 PM in response to dnerf

    suggest to Apple - iPhoto menu ==> provide iPhoto feedback

     

    LN

  • by dnerf,

    dnerf dnerf Nov 3, 2014 1:59 PM in response to dnerf
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    Nov 3, 2014 1:59 PM in response to dnerf

    The original post correctly identifies the image as a video clip.  It wasn't until I started looking at some other images from the trip that I discovered that stills are correctly labeled with the local time at the image location, but that the videos are labeled with the time at the display iMac.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Nov 3, 2014 2:56 PM in response to dnerf
    Level 10 (84,540 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Nov 3, 2014 2:56 PM in response to dnerf

    Photos have EXIF metadata included that the camera supplies and includes the time and date of the photos - video has no such data and iphoto depends not he file metadata which is much less complete and is not necessarily associated with the video in any way since it is all about the file not the video

     

    LN

  • by dnerf,

    dnerf dnerf Nov 4, 2014 10:55 AM in response to LarryHN
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    Nov 4, 2014 10:55 AM in response to LarryHN

    Larry,

    That certainly explains why video is treated differently than still images, but I'm surprised that H264 doesn't have date/time somewhere internal to the file.  Videotape DV files have timestamps on each frame.  And however iPhoto gets it, it has the correct GMT, (and the location) so it should be able to do the right thing.

    Richard

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Nov 4, 2014 11:49 AM in response to dnerf
    Level 10 (139,532 points)
    iLife
    Nov 4, 2014 11:49 AM in response to dnerf

    No, it can't show you data that is not there. DV tapes have no metadata either as they are analogue, and time code is not digital metadata.

  • by dnerf,

    dnerf dnerf Nov 4, 2014 2:17 PM in response to Terence Devlin
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    Nov 4, 2014 2:17 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    Terence,

     

    I must respectfully disagree. DV stands for digital video, and it is the format that the original iMovie used on disk and on tape.  Perhaps you are remembering Sony's Hi-8 analog format (which I think still encoded the date/time for display by the camcorder).  I have written apps that decoded the DV timestamp, which as I recall was in BCD or some other oddball coding. 

     

    Richard

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Nov 4, 2014 3:52 PM in response to dnerf
    Level 10 (139,532 points)
    iLife
    Nov 4, 2014 3:52 PM in response to dnerf

    Actually, you're right, DV is digital I was thingkning of older formats, I apologise. But the issue still stands. DV is a stream not a file, it has to be captured to a file on the computer. H264 is a codec not a file. Without files you cannot have file metadata. The computer knows nothing about where and when the video is shot unless the camera tells it. And videos don't record that information. The real issue is that there is a vast array of video formats and codecs and very little standardisation. But the bottom line is there same: your Mac can't show you information that isn't there.

  • by dnerf,

    dnerf dnerf Nov 4, 2014 6:52 PM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 4, 2014 6:52 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    Terence,

     

    I understand the limitations you mention (and do recall some agonies dealing with DV video clips when the camcorder clock was mis-set).  However, the information you deny is manifestly there.  The camera in this case was an iPhone so it knows GMT for the creation of the clip.  This is verified because the clip's Info display in iPhoto displays the correct time, but just uses the wrong time-zone, PDT, (ignoring the Places info I have entered).  And iPhoto correctly handles the interleaved still photos I took with the iPhone, using the correct European time zone for their Info displays.  I haven't verified whether the Places info for the various files was automagically generated by the iPhone, or was imposed by iPhoto entry, since my iPhone went in and out of Airplane Mode on any given day.

     

    Richard