Hi, my video collection s getting pretty unwieldy with all the
different coedecs/container etc. I love being able to use something
like winamp with MP3s for its database features (though there are
other good ones out there too) and I want to be able to search my
videos in a similar way. It seems that AVI’s do support a ton of
metadata (and one can use something like abcavi to do it) but AVI
seems to be a pretty old container format and while it supports
metadata there don’t seem to be many programs that actually read AVI
metadata.
So, I was considering keeping the codecs of all my videos intact but
putting them al into the same container. I thought something like
the .MP4 (.M4V?) container or the .MKV container might be good but I
wanted to post and see if I could get any useful input/opinions about
the best container. Any suggestions or recommendations would really be
appreciated!
>Hi, my video collection s getting pretty unwieldy with all the
>different coedecs/container etc. I love being able to use something
>like winamp with MP3s for its database features (though there are
>other good ones out there too) and I want to be able to search my
>videos in a similar way. It seems that AVI’s do support a ton of
>metadata (and one can use something like abcavi to do it) but AVI
>seems to be a pretty old container format and while it supports
>metadata there don’t seem to be many programs that actually read AVI
>metadata.
>
>So, I was considering keeping the codecs of all my videos intact but
>putting them al into the same container. I thought something like
>the .MP4 (.M4V?) container or the .MKV container might be good but I
>wanted to post and see if I could get any useful input/opinions about
>the best container. Any suggestions or recommendations would really be
>appreciated!
>
>Cheers
>
>Gaiko
Forget reading metadata unless you limit yourself to the few file
types that support it. If you have a lot of videos, and your intension
is to catalog them with great detail, then get a program designed for
that task where YOU, not the software does the data entry. On the
surface it might sound time consuming (it is) but only to get caught
up to date. Then you can scan your database any which way you want and
find what you want quickly. For reference I have several thousand
videos. Without a database I'd never find anything.
I've used CATvids for years. Highly customizable, already preloaded
with hundreds of preset fields for making a video library. It uses a
Access engine so it is fast and powerful.
Re: Best Video Container for Metadata/Cataloguing?
TruthSq...@hope.com wrote:
> On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 06:54:33 -0700 (PDT), gaikokujinkyofusho@gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> >Hi, my video collection s getting pretty unwieldy with all the
> >different coedecs/container etc. I love being able to use something
> >like winamp with MP3s for its database features (though there are
> >other good ones out there too) and I want to be able to search my
> >videos in a similar way. It seems that AVI�s do support a ton of
> >metadata (and one can use something like abcavi to do it) but AVI
> >seems to be a pretty old container format and while it supports
> >metadata there don�t seem to be many programs that actually read AVI
> >metadata.
> >
> >So, I was considering keeping the codecs of all my videos intact but
> >putting them al into the same container. I thought something like
> >the .MP4 (.M4V?) container or the .MKV container might be good but I
> >wanted to post and see if I could get any useful input/opinions about
> >the best container. Any suggestions or recommendations would really be
> >appreciated!
> >
> >Cheers
> >
> >Gaiko
>
> Forget reading metadata unless you limit yourself to the few file
> types that support it. If you have a lot of videos, and your intension
> is to catalog them with great detail, then get a program designed for
> that task where YOU, not the software does the data entry. On the
> surface it might sound time consuming (it is) but only to get caught
> up to date. Then you can scan your database any which way you want and
> find what you want quickly. For reference I have several thousand
> videos. Without a database I'd never find anything.
>
> I've used CATvids for years. Highly customizable, already preloaded
> with hundreds of preset fields for making a video library. It uses a
> Access engine so it is fast and powerful.
>
> http://www.fnprg.com/
Thanks for the suggestion. I have considered using a cataloging
program like CATvids but my worry is being tied to one program. With
MP3s i can move them around however I want, use them on any platform
(I use linux and win) and all the work i did adding info and stuff is
not lost, its in the file itself. I use a cataloging program that is
kind of general to keep track of my data dvds, its ok but when i want
to access stuff in linux etc i have to either go into windows or re-
make the whole thing in a similar linux program, or if the catalging
copany goes out of business or is no longer supported i will be stuck
with having to do everything all over again... if all the data is in
the files themselves then i do it once and finished (i just have to
rescan the files with whatever program i am using).
Re: Best Video Container for Metadata/Cataloguing?
In message <14505d35-9dc2-4375-b0a4-b3eeb97780a0@x35g2000hsb.googlegro
ups.com> gaikokujinkyofusho@gmail.com wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestion. I have considered using a cataloging
> program like CATvids but my worry is being tied to one program. With
> MP3s i can move them around however I want, use them on any platform
> (I use linux and win) and all the work i did adding info and stuff is
> not lost, its in the file itself. I use a cataloging program that is
> kind of general to keep track of my data dvds, its ok but when i want
> to access stuff in linux etc i have to either go into windows or re-
> make the whole thing in a similar linux program, or if the catalging
> copany goes out of business or is no longer supported i will be stuck
> with having to do everything all over again... if all the data is in
> the files themselves then i do it once and finished (i just have to
> rescan the files with whatever program i am using).
This isn't a problem. I use a database program, the same one, for
cataloguing photographs going back 140 years, more than four thousand
books, my music index covering fifty years and more than 200
reel-to-reel tapes (among other things of course), my computer discs,
my addresses and telephone numbers, and of course my videos. Almost
any decent database program will do this. I wrote the templates for
each application myself, but most programs come with a set of
templates for all these applications, and for recipes, stamps, you
name it it's there. Most database programs come with software to
convert databases in other formats into their own, and visa versa, so
you will never have to do it all again. Going one stage further, most
database programs have their own discussion groups, and if you want a
template for, say, your collection of pre-Columbian arrowheads the
chances are someone out there has exactly what you need.
I do not know CATvids, but in general terms not all programs written
to meet a very specific need are easy to adapt to your own needs or
well supported. This is of course why most programs written by
teachers are a load of rubbish: the best educational software is
written by *former* teachers who have realised that writing and then
supporting educational software is a very demanding full-time job. (I
write as a retired teacher.)
I only use MP3 for music but I do not find the metadata stored in the
file very useful, except for locating a particular track on my iPod
which of course I cannot do any other way. But all the music in my
iPod originated in my PC and is still there.
Best Video Container for Metadata/Cataloguing? 
Linear Mode
