DV --> MP4 (H.264/AAC) With Datecode Subtitles, Timecode, and Metadata

[funkydoobie]

I am a newbie to H.264, MPEG-4, etc., and the various tools that support these technologies. This website has been extremely valuable in helping me to understand how to put the tools to use, but I am still struggling with a few things. I was hoping to post my desired outcome and see if someone could point me in the right direction.

My basic desire is this:

• Capture (Mini)DV video to hard drive and automatically split into scene clips
  (No problems here)

• Convert DV video into (spec compliant) H.264 video / AAC audio

• Extract datecode (e.g., 05/11/2005 12:45:31 PM) and timecode (e.g., 00;00;01;23) from original DV file, and (somehow) store in new H.264/AAC file. (I have figured out how to extract the timecode from the DV file as a subtitle file -- various utilities exist to do this; however, I haven't figured out how to embed or otherwise change timecode in an H.264 file. Note that I also do NOT want the datecode/timecode to be part of the video -- I just want it somehow embedded in the file.)

• Store everything in a (spec compliant) MP4 container

• Eventually, I would hope to "tag" these files with keywords and other meta data (such as what you can do with image files (EXIF) or mp3 files) and then import them into a digital media catalog (such as iView Media Pro or similar).

The eventual goal is to be able to keep small video clips on the hard drive that can be searched by keyword, etc. Once I figure out which clip I want, I can easily check the timeocde and meta information (e.g., tape number) and then easily find and re-capture the source video from the original tape.

I don't think the last bullet (above) is possible today, but I'm hoping all other steps can be accomplished. There is a utility that seems to do everything (CatDV Pro: http://www.squarebox.co.uk/professional.html), but it's not free and I don't like that it creates QuickTime MP4 files (I think I read that the QuickTime mp4 format is not spec compliant...?).

I've been using DVDate (http://paul.glagla.free.fr/dvdate_en.htm) to create the datecode subtitles from the DV files, and have been trying to use MeGUI to do the rest. I think I can actually create MP4 files (x264: H.264, NeroDigital: AAC), but when I also try to "mux" the subtitles, I get an error. I also tried using Nero Recode, which seemed to work, but -- again -- I think I read that Nero doesn't create spec compliant files either.

Eventually I'd like to write up and contribute a guide on this, so I was hoping someone else in this forum has already figured this out and can point me in the right direction.

Any suggestions?

I thank you in advance!

[Jedi787Plus]

Maybe you could use iTunes to "tag" your MP4 files. iTunes can tag AAC files when they are stored in MP4 containers (iTunes uses the .m4a file extension for AAC files, but still they are MP4 containers containing only AAC audio streams); it also tags those MPEG4 videos (MP4 containers containing AVC/H264 video and AAC audio) you purchase or rent from iTunes Music Store. As for timecode and datestamps, I don't know a solution.