Is it supposed to work with MTS (AVCHD) files?

Yes, it works with AVCHD* and HDV files.

*It works with the AVCHD files from my Canon M52.

I prefer the older version of SVDTS, but it doesn't work with VP12, so I have kept VP10 installed specifically for stamping dates on clips.

This is a function I would like Sony to introduce into Vegas (Movie Studio if not Pro). Magix has it, and it's one feature I really miss.

No problem with DV, but doesn't seem to work with my Sony HDR-CX760V files...

the applications extension directory is not on my machine.
Can I create it mysellf Which I have tried, but vegas does read it ??

Yes you can.
Or, you can use this path:
C:\ProgramData\Sony\Vegas Pro\12.0\Application Extensions
At least for me both work (Windows 7)

Make certain that you are an admistrator user of the machine you are creating these installs and that you are looking at all system files hidden or not.

That's really strange !
I'm using Windows 8.1 and creating exactly the path described and copy the dll file to that directory. But Vegas does see it.
I have tried to change the ownership to administrator with the same result.

>>No problem with DV, but doesn't seem to work with my Sony HDR-CX760V files...<<

Carlos, same here with my HDR-CX760V files.

After allowing SVDTS to set up the profile the first time it is selected from View/Extensions, and then restarting VP12, if I select a clip/event in the timeline and open the extension, when I choose "Selected Clip" from the drop down and click "Add", it tells me to select a clip first (which I already have done). If I change the drop down to "All Clips", then when I click "Add" nothing happens - there is no error message, but no time stamps are added.

I am administrator of my Win 7-64 system, but I also tried it by running VP 12 "as Administrator" with the same result.

Well, in my case it does create them, but showing only "01.01.0001 00:00", so I understand that SVDTS is working, but not reading the timestamp from these files.
Changing "Source For Recorded Date Time value" to "File Name" works fine, but it is not what I need.

By the way, did you insert a new video track? It must be in the very top of the timeline! That is where SVDTS will create the timestamps.

>>By the way, did you insert a new video track? It must be in the very top of the timeline! That is where SVDTS will create the timestamps.<<

Thanks, that was the problem. I was not inserting an empty video track above the main video track. Now that I do that, I do get a timestamp, but it's the same as you got: 01.01.0001.00.00 (when using the dd.MM.yyyy.HH.mm FormatString and "Media" as the source).

I sent an e-mail to the author, maybe this plugin is still under development.

Here is the answer, now version 2.71 installs under Vegas Pro 12, and works.
It still cannot read HDR-CX760V files, maybe because there are differences in the metadata layout. Didn't tested it with .moff sidecar file (don't have any here), but I think it will do the job!


Hi,

I have pretty much discontinued to work with svdts. Older version 2.7 supports avhcd files, but does not support vegas 12. So I’ve just made a quick update, svdts 2.71 supports now vegas pro 12 and avhcd files. The 2.x versions does not support OFX media generators, so you need to create DateTimeFormat preset using (legacy) text media generator. Please check out all the instructions available at http://www.elisanet.fi/paavo.jurvelin. Especially check the Readme about previous 2.x versions link for more information. Please find 2.71 attached, I’ll publish it later.

Thanks for using svdts!

Br, Paavo

In reading through the readme files, it would appear that Sony AVCHD files require a .moff sidecar file. The date/time is therefore not included as metadata in the main .MTS or .m2ts file (as the case may be).

After transferring my AVCHD files from my camera with Sony PMB, a sidecar .modd file (XML format) is created which does have the date/time, in the form of the number of days (and part thereof) since 1 Jan 1900. I was curious to see if this would be read by SVDTS, but it complains that the DateTimeFormat preset is missing. A search reveals that DateTimeFormat.xml does exist in
C:\Users\Peter\My Documents\OFX Presets\com.sonycreativesoftware_titlesandtext\Generator\ folder.

Any suggestions?

I am actually very confused with all this stuff... I imported videos from my camera using PlayMemories Home (the "new" PMB) and it does not create .moff sidecar files.
It just renames the clips to yyyyMMddHHmmss.m2ts (and I guess it also merges clips splitted by the camera's file size limits), but that's all.
The only hidden file in the created folder is the .modd one, no .moff.
Playing the m2ts file in DVMP Pro 5 shows all metadata, even the GPS position, so I understand that it is really embedded in the m2ts file.
Any clue?

"In reading through the readme files, it would appear that Sony AVCHD files require a .moff sidecar file. The date/time is therefore not included as metadata in the main .MTS or .m2ts file (as the case may be)."

In any MTS clip (from avchd cams) there is actually a PGS file (subtitle file) which contains the date and time so it's already there. Vegas's problem is that it does not read subtitle files on import

"Playing the m2ts file in DVMP Pro 5 shows all metadata, even the GPS position, so I understand that it is really embedded in the m2ts file.

Again, that's because there is a subtitle file included with each clip. Most players are capable of reading/displaying subtitles.

Vegas on the other hand deletes/ignores the subtitle file on import

Seems that AVCHD metadata is stored in so called H264 MDPM Tags.
Some info here:
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/TagNames/H264.html

"In any MTS clip (from avchd cams) there is actually a PGS file (subtitle file) which contains the date and time so it's already there. Vegas's problem is that it does not read subtitle files on import"

To be strictly correct, the PGS is a subtitle stream, not a file, along with the video stream and the audio stream, all contained within the MTS/m2ts file.

My hardware media player (Dune HD Base 3) displays the date/time in the PGS stream of each clip as a subtitle. Vegas ignores it.

"To be strictly correct, the PGS is a subtitle stream, not a file"

Well... yes... and no.

If I take my raw and unchanged avchd clip from my sony cam (xxxx.MTS) and drop it into TsmuxeR, it will show THREE streams. A video stream, an audio stream, and a PGS stream.

If I take it a step further and actually demux I will get THREE completely independent files;

.264 (video) file
.AC3 (audio) file
.SUP (subtitle) file.

In the below sample I simply imported the (unedited) avchd clip to TSmuxeR.
Tsmuxer clearly shows 3 streams, and when I demux iget 3 files (in folder to the right)
So yes. there is ACTUALLY a SUP file.

[IMG=http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt245/Bob_sanders/Untitled_zps8d1419a0.jpg]

I normally use HDVSplit to transfer HDV, but I came across a folder which looks like I had used PMB to do the transfer. Each clip is named according to shooting date and time, the same as for AVCHD files, but with a .m2t extension. Each .m2t file is accompanied by a .modd file, but in three cases there is also a .moff file as well, with the same creation date. The .moff file is much larger than the .modd (e.g. 91404 bytes vs. 588 bytes) and appears to be mainly binary data, but I see at the start the name of the associated .m2t in 16 bit characters.

Wheels within wheels!

"but with a .m2t extension."
A raw avchd clip will ALWAYS have the MTS extension. If it has anything other than that then it has been altered while coming off the cam (PMB will alter the file).

If you want a raw avchd file then open the file folder on the cam and do a simple copy/paste to your computer.

I said that the HDV file had a .m2t extension. My post was about the mysterious .moff file that SVDTS likes.