Parsing Video Metadata with Batch.md

Parsing Video Metadata with Batch

Note: This script can be easily adapted or reduced to extract different metadata entries by modifying the findstr lines to match the desired fields.

The metadata is saved in a text file named output.txt.

---

Prerequisites

1. FFmpeg: Ensure you have FFmpeg installed on your system.

   • FFmpeg includes ffprobe, which is required for this script.
   • Add FFmpeg to your system's PATH to use it from the command line.
   • Download FFmpeg

2. File Setup:

   • Place your video files in the folder specified in the script.
   • Update the folder variable in the script with the correct path to your video files.
   • Update the file_ext variable in the script with the correct extension for your video files.

---

Script

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set "file_ext=<EXT>"
set "folder=<SOURCEDIR>"
set "output_file=output.txt"

echo. > "%output_file%"

for %%A in ("%folder%\*.%file_ext%") do (
    set "filename_written=false"

    for /f "usebackq tokens=* delims=" %%B in (`ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams "%%A"`) do (
        set "line=%%B"

        if !filename_written! == false (
            echo Filename: %%~nxA >> "%output_file%"
            set "filename_written=true"
        )

        rem Check for color_transfer
        echo !line! | findstr /C:"\"color_transfer\":" > nul
        if !errorlevel! == 0 (
            echo !line! >> "%output_file%"
        )

        rem Check for color_primaries
        echo !line! | findstr /C:"\"color_primaries\":" > nul
        if !errorlevel! == 0 (
            echo !line! >> "%output_file%"
        )

        rem Check for color_space
        echo !line! | findstr /C:"\"color_space\":" > nul
        if !errorlevel! == 0 (
            echo !line! >> "%output_file%"
        )
    )
    echo. >> "%output_file%"
)

pause

---

Script Explanation

1. Batch Initialization:

   • setlocal enabledelayedexpansion: Enables delayed variable expansion to process variables dynamically within loops.

2. Variables:

   • file_ext: The extension of the video files to be processed (e.g., mov, mp4, avi).
   • folder: The path to the folder containing video files.
   • output_file: The name of the output text file where results are saved.

3. Main Logic:

   • The outer for loop iterates over each video file matching the specified extension in the folder.
   • The inner for /f loop reads metadata output from ffprobe for the current file.

4. Metadata Filtering:

   • The script checks for lines containing color_transfer, color_primaries, and color_space using findstr.
   • If a match is found, it appends the filename and the matching line to the output file.

5. Output:

   • Metadata is written to output.txt, located in the same directory as the script.
   • Each video file's metadata is separated by a blank line for clarity.

6. Pause:

   • The script pauses at the end, allowing you to review any output in the command prompt.

---

How to Use

1. Edit the Script:

   • Open the script in a text editor (e.g., Notepad).

   • Update the folder variable with the full path to the folder containing your video files.

     Example:

     set "folder=C:\Users\<YOURUSERNAME>\Videos"

   • Update the file_ext variable with the extension of your video files.

     Example:

     set "file_ext=mp4"

2. Save the Script:

   • Save the file with a .bat extension, e.g., extract_metadata.bat.

3. Run the Script:

   • Double-click the .bat file to execute it.
   • Alternatively, you can run it from the command prompt:

     path\to\extract_metadata.bat

4. Check the Output:

   • After the script completes, open output.txt in a text editor to review the extracted metadata.

---

Customizations

• Change the Output File: Modify the output_file variable to use a different file name or location.

  Example:

  set "output_file=C:\Users\<YOURUSERNAME>\Desktop\metadata_output.txt"

• Filter Additional Metadata: Add more findstr conditions for other metadata fields.

  Example:

       rem Check for Codec
       echo !line! | findstr /C:"\"codec_tag_string\":" > nul
       if !errorlevel! == 0 (
           echo !line! >> "%output_file%"
       )

---

Troubleshooting

• FFmpeg Not Recognized: Ensure FFmpeg is installed and added to your system's PATH.

• Empty Output File: Verify that:

  • Files with the specified extension exist in the folder.
  • ffprobe is functioning properly by testing it manually:

    ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_format -show_streams path\to\video.ext

• Script Errors: Check for syntax errors in the script and ensure the paths are correct.