Synching by timestamps

Georg-Ragaz wrote on 8/27/2021, 8:13 AM

I am trying to sync two videos taken from 2 different cameras based on the metadata timestamp without success, I always get the error message "Some media have no valid offset information and have been skipped". (May not be the exact english text as I had to translate it back from German). I just wonder what kind of a timestamp vegas is expecting, so I can provide it through scripting.

The file contains an encoded date, yet Vegas fails to recognize it for multicamera synch'ing.

(Timecode synch'ing does not work either, even though a timecode has been added in the metadata)

Mediainfo of one of those files is:

General
Complete name                            : tmp/3_VID_20210825_101638_4502.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media
Codec ID                                 : isom (isom/iso2/mp41)
File size                                : 54.3 MiB
Duration                                 : 52 s 224 ms
Overall bit rate                         : 8 728 kb/s
Encoded date                             : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38
Tagged date                              : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38
Writing application                      : Lavf58.20.100

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Main@L4@Main
Codec ID                                 : hvc1
Codec ID/Info                            : High Efficiency Video Coding
Duration                                 : 52 s 219 ms
Bit rate                                 : 8 529 kb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Variable
Frame rate                               : 29.817 FPS
Minimum frame rate                       : 8.523 FPS
Maximum frame rate                       : 29.980 FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.138
Stream size                              : 53.1 MiB (98%)
Title                                    : VideoHandle
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38
Tagged date                              : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38
Codec configuration box                  : hvcC

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : mp4a-40-2
Duration                                 : 52 s 224 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.20 MiB (2%)
Title                                    : SoundHandle
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Alternate group                          : 1
Encoded date                             : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38
Tagged date                              : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38

Other
ID                                       : 3
Type                                     : Time code
Format                                   : QuickTime TC
Duration                                 : 52 s 219 ms
Time code of first frame                 : 08:16:38:00
Time code, striped                       : Yes
Title                                    : VideoHandle
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Encoded date                             : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38
Tagged date                              : UTC 2021-08-25 06:16:38

 

Comments

rraud wrote on 8/27/2021, 10:14 AM

Are you using "File> Import"? In my experience, dragging the file to the timeline or opening with Win Explorer ignores TC stamps.

wwaag wrote on 8/27/2021, 11:02 AM

There's an option for timestamp pre-syncing in the new Happy Otter AudioSyncR. https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/happyotter-audiosyncr-a-new-tool-for-syncing-audio--130392/

A demo can be found at https://tools4vegas.com/wp-content/uploads/TimeStampPresyncing.mp4

AKA the HappyOtter at https://tools4vegas.com/. System 1: Intel i7-8700k with HD 630 graphics plus an Nvidia RTX4070 graphics card. System 2: Intel i7-3770k with HD 4000 graphics plus an AMD RX550 graphics card. System 3: Laptop. Dell Inspiron Plus 16. Intel i7-11800H, Intel Graphics. Current cameras include Panasonic FZ2500, GoPro Hero11 and Hero8 Black plus a myriad of smartPhone, pocket cameras, video cameras and film cameras going back to the original Nikon S.

Georg-Ragaz wrote on 8/28/2021, 3:38 AM

@wwaag: I want to avoid installing additional software.

@rraud: Doesn't make a difference, as I have imported a gopro file that shows the timecode and it worked either ways.

Through some more testing I found out that VEGAS fails to read the timecode information for HEVC files, like the one I posted the mediainfo dump from. AVC files are read correctly if the timecode exists natively or is added through FFMPEG. Seems to be a bug in VEGAS.

Most of my files are AVC so I can work with this.

Yet I would still like to know what's VEGAS the 'metadata timestamp' for file synch'ing. I inserted about all date timestamps that are imaginable in the metadata but VEGAS just won't recognize them.

Kinvermark wrote on 8/28/2021, 7:40 AM

Source timecode support in Vegas is spotty. As you noted, some mp4/avc files show it, some don't. Apple Prores does, as do Grass valley .avi files. So you do have the possibility to transcode to an intermediate or use proxies. I use the latter for Roundtripping to Resolve. Works great!

PS If you don't have too many files, you can enter the timecode manually in the "custom" field of the media properties.

Musicvid wrote on 8/28/2021, 8:23 AM

Metadata time stamps and Timecode are two different things. HEVC does not always have Timecode like your Gopro.

In Multicamera mode, there are new options for laying out tracks by Timecode or Time Stamps, although there is a lot of variation in metadata.

Personally, the AudioSyncR extension mentioned above saved me all the guesswork with mixed sources, as well as a lot of time.

joelsonforte.br wrote on 8/28/2021, 8:23 AM

Timestamp sync doesn't work here either. It only works correctly by Timecode, which in Vegas is a little complicated process that few people know how to use. When I want to sync with Timestamp I use Vegasaur or AudiosyncR.  See my screen recording showing how these tools work.

Vegasaur of the @altarvic can be downloaded here: https://vegasaur.com/Vegasaur

AudioSyncR of the @wwaag can be downloaded here: https://tools4vegas.com/audiosyncr/

More info of the AudioSyncR Here: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/happyotter-audiosyncr-a-new-tool-for-syncing-audio--130392/

Georg-Ragaz wrote on 8/30/2021, 11:26 AM

@joelsonforte.br Thank you for your examples! I am testing the vegasaur option. The easiest for me is to arrange events by file modification time, I can easily set the modification time to the recording start time. In this case I can also include audio files. Since I haven't figured out yet how to add a valid timecode to audio files unless you pack them into mp4 containers, which is not very workable, thus aligning by modification time is the best solution for me.

joelsonforte.br wrote on 8/30/2021, 12:30 PM

@Georg-Ragaz

You can create a custom Timecode for the audio file using the timestamp information contained in the audio file itself.

1.Group a text or similar event to the audio event and create a custom Timecode on that event using the audio recording start time.

2.Create a custom Timecode on just one of the previously synced video events using the timestamp information that was used for syncing and group all the video events together.

3.Select only the video event where Custom Timecode was created and the audio event grouped to text event with Custom Timecode.

4.Use Vegasaur Sync By Timecode option to synchronize videos with audio.

AudioSyncR is able to synchronize video and audio events using date and time stamps without having to use the procedure described above.

Georg-Ragaz wrote on 9/5/2021, 1:27 AM

@joelsonforte.br

Thank you very much for the Tutorial. However I'll stick with the filedate even if the precision is only wihin 1 second, however it is less of a hassle to work with.