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Metadata editor for the Mac

thiskiwicanfly

thiskiwicanfly

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 14, 2015
63
14
NZ
Can anyone recommend a decent metadata editor for MP4 videos for Mac? I need to add metadata information such as Movie Name, Genre, Release Date, Cast Members, Sort Name etc, as well as poster image.

I understand a lot of video convertors include metadata editors built-in which is fine, although I'm not interested in the video conversion feature. But a lot of the apps I've found so far are either no longer supported or just don't work particularly well - iVI Pro, iFlicks 2, iSkySoft iMedia Converter - which really surprises me to see a lack of metadata-editor software for the Mac.

It would also be great if I could find one that supports file creation/modification date overrides as well, as I currently have to use the setfile tool in terminal which works, but is rather cumbersome to use for lots of files.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.
 
emil said:
I did this a few years ago. I used metaX. Not a great UI. But it worked for me back then. Its seems to be abandoned on the mac platform but still available. Found Mp3tagger wich supports mp4 etc. There is a mac version "sort of".
Click to expand...

Yeah I heard of metaX but I don't believe it's supported under macOS Mojave unfortunately. :-(
[doublepost=1539601211][/doublepost]
whoisyourdaddy said:
The two applications which I've used on macOS Mojave are Meta for audio and MetaZ for video metadata. Other than very minor issues, I've not had a problem with the files being corrupted by the programs after any editing.

Meta: https://www.nightbirdsevolve.com/meta/
MetaZ: https://griff.github.io/metaz/
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks, I'll have a look at these.
[doublepost=1539602750][/doublepost]
chrfr said:
I've used Subler for this for a long time. https://subler.org
Click to expand...

I've just started using Subler and really like the simple minimalistic-looking interface, plus the fact that I can add just the specific metadata as required, with no unnecessary metadata junk. However I was initially concerned that using Subler would change the video format and/or quality at the same time, i.e. convert or mix down the original video, but have been given some assurance from the developer that it can be used solely as as a metadata editor, and will leave the original video characteristics intact.

I've looked at a number of metadata editors for the Mac and am surprised none of them work with a locally-stored database in order to save personalised cast members, studios, producers, etc - rather than the common procedure of retrieving movie tag information from an online source. I enjoy making my own home production movies that involve amateur cast members and crew, which requires me to manually enter the same text each time, so it would be nice to access retrievable entries from a locally-stored database instead.

But my pick so far would have to be Subler. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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In Subler you can save a metadata preset or load a xml (I don't remember the exact format). But a locally-stored database would be difficult because there isn't a single database format.
Or you can just keep some mp4 with only metadata in them.
 
Ritsuka said:
In Subler you can save a metadata preset or load a xml (I don't remember the exact format). But a locally-stored database would be difficult because there isn't a single database format.
Or you can just keep some mp4 with only metadata in them.
Click to expand...

I don’t mean a locally-stored version of the online movie databases, if that’s what you mean.

What I mean is a metadata editor that contains a simplistic text-based repository of all my previously entered metadata entries (of my personalised cast members, producers, genres, etc) that could be re-selected via auto completion as I type in the metadata for my other videos. It could be very similar to how the color tags work on MacOS; it would save each metadata entry that is separated by commas as a text label, such as names of cast members, with the added benefit of adding or removing individual entries from the list as required.

But following your idea - I worked out how to save a metadata preset in Subler, and did the same idea with an mp4-metadata file. The only problem with this approach is that it works as a sort of static text template, rather than like a dynamic selection list as mentioned in the previous paragraph, but it’s definitely better than nothing... and I really appreciate your suggestion as this helps a lot.
 
Last edited:
Hi,
I have searched for DAYS on this and can't find a solution. Hoping someone can help. I am not too technical, rarely use Terminal.

I have an .mp4 file with lots of data (visible with mdls command) which I want to REMOVE. I want to clear ALL metadata, if that were possible.

I can not find any command for deleting metadata. All I can find is conversations about extended attributes, which are not the same thing at all as the xattr command produces totally different info compared to mdls command.

For instance, I have an mp4 file which has a "wherefrom" metadata field which gives the site I used to transfer it from one machine to another. I like my privacy, so I want to clear this. Is it even possible to do so? It would appear not, which I find incredible, but hoping I am wrong :(

Thanks
 
It is later now, Monterey. All I want to do is read metadata, not edit. On the Monterey command line, mdls filename returns a "could not find" error unless the file is on the boot volume. Perhaps I am reading the man page for mdls with dull wits.

So, I moved the file to the boot volume. mdls returns a lot of information, but it does not tell me the codec. Perhaps that is because Handbrake does not write that metadatum in the first place.

Any tips for how I can learn whether a Handbrake (latest) encoded .mp4 file was encoded with H.264 or H.265?
 
Sumleilmus said:
All I want to do is read metadata,
Click to expand...

ExifTool by Phil Harvey

A command-line application and Perl library for reading and writing EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, makernotes and other meta information in image, audio and video files. For Windows, MacOS, and Unix systems.
exiftool.org exiftool.org

or

MediaInfo

MediaInfo is a convenient unified display of the most relevant technical and tag data for video and audio files
mediaarea.net mediaarea.net
 
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Sumleilmus said:
It is later now, Monterey. All I want to do is read metadata, not edit. On the Monterey command line, mdls filename returns a "could not find" error unless the file is on the boot volume. Perhaps I am reading the man page for mdls with dull wits.

So, I moved the file to the boot volume. mdls returns a lot of information, but it does not tell me the codec. Perhaps that is because Handbrake does not write that metadatum in the first place.

Any tips for how I can learn whether a Handbrake (latest) encoded .mp4 file was encoded with H.264 or H.265?
Click to expand...
mdls uses the Spotlight database to retrieve indexed metadata. If Spotlight indexing is turned off for a disk volume, then no metadata will be available for it.

I just tried mdls on an MP4 file emailed to me from a Samsung phone. It outputs values for 'kMDItemCodecs' of "H.264" and "AAC". The file was not processed by Handbrake.
Code: 
kMDItemAudioBitRate            = 127
kMDItemAudioChannelCount       = 2
kMDItemCodecs                  = (
    "H.264",
    AAC
)

I can't imagine a playable file not having codec info, because without it, the file would be unplayable. The codec identifier tells the player how to decode the data. Without it, it's just a big bag of inscrutable bits.

Can you post the complete output from mdls for the file?
 
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Ditto ^^this.

MP3 I downloaded a year ago and not on the boot volume.

kMDItemAudioBitRate = 319999
kMDItemAudioChannelCount = 2
kMDItemAudioSampleRate = 44100
kMDItemContentCreationDate = 2021-11-30 23:25:21 +0000
kMDItemContentCreationDate_Ranking = 2021-11-30 00:00:00 +0000
kMDItemContentModificationDate = 2021-11-30 23:29:25 +0000
kMDItemContentModificationDate_Ranking = 2021-11-30 00:00:00 +0000
kMDItemContentType = "public.mp3"
kMDItemContentTypeTree = (
"public.mp3",
"public.audio",
"public.audiovisual-content",
"public.data",
"public.item",
"public.content"
)
kMDItemDurationSeconds = 111.8563265306123
kMDItemKind = "MP3 audio"
kMDItemMediaTypes = (
Sound
)
kMDItemPhysicalSize = 4489216
kMDItemTotalBitRate = 319999

As mentioned, post output and the command you entered. It sounds like maybe did not quote the filename/path and has spaces, special characters, etc (this is my wife & childs file.mp3).
 
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Sumleilmus said:
All I want to do is read metadata, not edit.
Click to expand...
But which metadata? (rhetorical). This is real source of confusion.

1) Media Metadata - metadata held inside the audio/video/photo file. This metadata has been put there by whatever app/device created the file. To read this you have apps like ExifTool and MediaInfo (as suggested by @HDFan). I use a little app called Scoop! for displaying audio and video metadata.

2) Spotlight Metadata - metadata which is held in the Spotlight index. I think obviously, this is only available for volumes with Spotlight enabled and folders not hidden from Spotlight. This metadata is created by a Spotlight Importer. The Importers are stored in /System/Library/Spotlight, /Library/Spotlight and inside applications you have installed. These importers can be listed with the command
Code: 
mdimport -L

It is the Spotlight Metadata which is being discussed by @chown33 and @NoBoMac.

The Spotlight metadata for a media file will include some (but not all) media metadata from the inside the file. It is this metadata that is displayed with
Code: 
mdls <file path>
This is a mixture of file metadata and media metadata.

Note that mdls never reads metadata directly from inside the media file.
 
Last edited:
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Sumleilmus said:
So, I moved the file to the boot volume. mdls returns a lot of information, but it does not tell me the codec. Perhaps that is because Handbrake does not write that metadatum in the first place.
Click to expand...
That just says that the Spotlight Importer did not import that information from the media file. That could be because a) it is not in the file or b) because Handbrake did not write the codec information in a way that the Importer recognises.
 
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iTunes used to be pretty good at it and had a decent interface for doing it… unfortunaly is no longer available due to Apple greed and short sightedness…. And allowing the wall street types to run the show.
 
thiskiwicanfly said:
Can anyone recommend a decent metadata editor for MP4 videos for Mac? I need to add metadata information such as Movie Name, Genre, Release Date, Cast Members, Sort Name etc, as well as poster image.

I understand a lot of video convertors include metadata editors built-in which is fine, although I'm not interested in the video conversion feature. But a lot of the apps I've found so far are either no longer supported or just don't work particularly well - iVI Pro, iFlicks 2, iSkySoft iMedia Converter - which really surprises me to see a lack of metadata-editor software for the Mac.

It would also be great if I could find one that supports file creation/modification date overrides as well, as I currently have to use the setfile tool in terminal which works, but is rather cumbersome to use for lots of files.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
If I am not too late, I think this is what you need:


MetaDoctor - Video metadata editor for macOS - Starware Software

MetaDoctor / MetaDoctor Pro is a video metadata editor for MPEG-4 and Quicktime video files. Efficiently edit tags, cover art and chapters.
starwaresoftware.com
 
Is there a reason Apple doesn't let us do all this in Finder, like how Windows Explorer lets you edit all sorts of metadata?
 
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