[FFmpeg-user] Removing metadata from MOV files

Werner Robitza werner.robitza at gmail.com
Wed May 23 19:41:07 CEST 2012


I'm trying to remove all metadata from a MOV file I have. For earlier
(?) versions of FFmpeg, the map_metadata -1 switch should have
stripped all metadata, but it doesn't appear to do so anymore.
The metadata record has gone down from ~80 lines to about 50, but
still things like creation_time etc. are preserved. According to this
post <http://askubuntu.com/a/139581> even these timestamps should be
deleted, but this used an ancient FFmpeg version.

So, how can I remove as many metadata entries as possible?

Best regards,
Werner Robitza

###############################################

This is the command used, and full output below:

ffmpeg -i in.mov -map_metadata -1 -c:v copy -c:a copy out.mov

ffmpeg version 0.10.3 Copyright (c) 2000-2012 the FFmpeg developers
  built on May 14 2012 23:40:56 with gcc 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)
  configuration: --prefix=/usr/local/Cellar/ffmpeg/0.10.3
--enable-shared --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-nonfree
--enable-hardcoded-tables --enable-libfreetype --cc=/usr/bin/gcc-4.2
--enable-libx264 --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-librtmp
--enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libxvid
--enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libass
--disable-ffplay
  libavutil      51. 35.100 / 51. 35.100
  libavcodec     53. 61.100 / 53. 61.100
  libavformat    53. 32.100 / 53. 32.100
  libavdevice    53.  4.100 / 53.  4.100
  libavfilter     2. 61.100 /  2. 61.100
  libswscale      2.  1.100 /  2.  1.100
  libswresample   0.  6.100 /  0.  6.100
  libpostproc    52.  0.100 / 52.  0.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'in.mov':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : qt
    minor_version   : 537199360
    compatible_brands: qt
    creation_time   : 2009-05-20 12:36:37
  Duration: 00:00:25.06, start: 0.875828, bitrate: 1076 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(eng): Video: mpeg4 (Advanced Simple Profile) (mp4v /
0x7634706D), yuv420p, 640x480 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], 881 kb/s, 25.80 fps,
30 tbr, 30k tbn, 1k tbc
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2009-05-20 12:36:37
      handler_name    : ?Apple Alias Data Handler
    Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz,
stereo, s16, 125 kb/s
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2009-05-20 12:36:37
      handler_name    : ?Apple Alias Data Handler
File 'out.mov' already exists. Overwrite ? [y/N] y
Output #0, mov, to 'out.mov':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : qt
    minor_version   : 537199360
    compatible_brands: qt
    creation_time   : 2009-05-20 12:36:37
    encoder         : Lavf53.32.100
    Stream #0:0(eng): Video: mpeg4 (mp4v / 0x7634706D), yuv420p,
640x480 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], q=2-31, 881 kb/s, 25.80 fps, 30k tbn, 30k
tbc
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2009-05-20 12:36:37
      handler_name    : ?Apple Alias Data Handler
    Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, 125 kb/s
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2009-05-20 12:36:37
      handler_name    : ?Apple Alias Data Handler
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (copy)
  Stream #0:1 -> #0:1 (copy)
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
frame=  669 fps=  0 q=-1.0 Lsize=    3206kB time=00:00:25.91
bitrate=1013.5kbits/s
video:2789kB audio:398kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.576301%

###############################################

The metadata record before:

ExifTool Version Number         : 8.91
File Name                       : in.mov
Directory                       : .
File Size                       : 3.2 MB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2009:05:20 14:37:09+02:00
File Permissions                : rwxrwxrwx
File Type                       : MOV
MIME Type                       : video/quicktime
Major Brand                     : Apple QuickTime (.MOV/QT)
Minor Version                   : 2005.3.0
Compatible Brands               : qt
Movie Data Size                 : 3354576
Movie Header Version            : 0
Create Date                     : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Modify Date                     : 2009:05:20 12:37:09
Time Scale                      : 30000
Duration                        : 25.07 s
Preferred Rate                  : 1
Preferred Volume                : 100.00%
Preview Time                    : 0 s
Preview Duration                : 0 s
Poster Time                     : 0 s
Selection Time                  : 0 s
Selection Duration              : 0 s
Current Time                    : 25.07 s
Next Track ID                   : 3
Track Header Version            : 0
Track Create Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Track Modify Date               : 2009:05:20 12:37:09
Track ID                        : 1
Track Duration                  : 25.07 s
Track Layer                     : 0
Track Volume                    : 0.00%
Image Width                     : 640
Image Height                    : 480
Clean Aperture Dimensions       : 640x480
Production Aperture Dimensions  : 640x480
Encoded Pixels Dimensions       : 640x480
Graphics Mode                   : ditherCopy
Op Color                        : 32768 32768 32768
Compressor ID                   : mp4v
Vendor ID                       : Apple
Source Image Width              : 640
Source Image Height             : 480
X Resolution                    : 72
Y Resolution                    : 72
Compressor Name                 : MPEG-4 Video
Bit Depth                       : 24
Video Frame Rate                : 25.795
Matrix Structure                : 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Media Header Version            : 0
Media Create Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Media Modify Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Media Time Scale                : 44100
Media Duration                  : 25.96 s
Handler Class                   : Data Handler
Handler Vendor ID               : Apple
Handler Description             : Apple Alias Data Handler
Audio Channels                  : 2
Audio Bits Per Sample           : 16
Audio Sample Rate               : 44100
Audio Format                    : wave
Handler Type                    : Metadata Tags
Audio Gain                      : 1
Trebel                          : 0
Bass                            : 0
Balance                         : 0
Pitch Shift                     : 0
Mute                            : Off
Brightness                      : 0
Color                           : 1
Tint                            : 0
Contrast                        : 1
Player Version                  : 7.6 (7.6)
Version                         : 7.6.0 (1290) 0x7608000 (Mac OS X,
10.5.6, 9G55)
Window Location                 : 263 67
Play Selection                  : 0
Play All Frames                 : 0
Avg Bitrate                     : 1.07 Mbps
Image Size                      : 640x480
Rotation                        : 0

###############################################

The metadata after:

ExifTool Version Number         : 8.91
File Name                       : out.mov
Directory                       : .
File Size                       : 3.1 MB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2012:05:23 18:44:02+02:00
File Permissions                : rw-r--r--
File Type                       : MOV
MIME Type                       : video/quicktime
Major Brand                     : Apple QuickTime (.MOV/QT)
Minor Version                   : 0.2.0
Compatible Brands               : qt
Movie Data Size                 : 3263748
Movie Header Version            : 0
Create Date                     : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Modify Date                     : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Time Scale                      : 1000
Duration                        : 26.84 s
Preferred Rate                  : 1
Preferred Volume                : 100.00%
Preview Time                    : 0 s
Preview Duration                : 0 s
Poster Time                     : 0 s
Selection Time                  : 0 s
Selection Duration              : 0 s
Current Time                    : 0 s
Next Track ID                   : 3
Track Header Version            : 0
Track Create Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Track Modify Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Track ID                        : 1
Track Duration                  : 26.80 s
Track Layer                     : 0
Track Volume                    : 0.00%
Image Width                     : 640
Image Height                    : 480
Graphics Mode                   : srcCopy
Op Color                        : 0 0 0
Matrix Structure                : 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Media Header Version            : 0
Media Create Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Media Modify Date               : 2009:05:20 12:36:37
Media Time Scale                : 44100
Media Duration                  : 26.84 s
Balance                         : 0
Handler Class                   : Data Handler
Handler Type                    : URL
Handler Description             : DataHandler
Other Format                    : mp4a
Software Version                : Lavf53.32.100
Avg Bitrate                     : 973 kbps
Image Size                      : 640x480
Rotation                        : 0


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