Get my chapter markers from Premiere (DV-AVI) to Handbrake (.mp4)

[tzippy]

I have digitized several old tapes and I got them in Premiere as DV-AVI files. When I add chapter marks to the timeline and export as DV-AVI I was expecting the chapters to be embedded in the .avi file. Especially while there was an option for this exact purpose.
Now I am using Handbrake to convert to h264 video in a mp4 container and I would like to keep those chapters.
But Handbrake doesn't recognize the chapters in the file.
Also, when I want to use Premiere to encode to h264 video in a mp4 container, none of the Chapters are in the output file.
I tried all available kinds of markers (annotation, encore chapter marks).
Thanks in advance!

[tzippy]

Does no one have a clue?

[Baldrick]

I doubt it will work with handbrake. And I don't know any other simple h264 converter that support chapters embedded in avi files.

Can you export the chapters to a text file or something?

[mBrane]

IIRC, AVI doesn't support embedded chapters.

[ndjamena]

(He's converting TO mp4)

convert the files first, then use MediaInfo and a script to create a text chapter file then append the files with mp4box cat while adding the chapters.

I'm not aware of anything off the shelf that will let you do that.

(hmmmm, or you could convert the files, add a single chapter to each, then cat the files... that would work too.)

[ndjamena]

Another solution, if you'd like a GUI, mux the avis into MKVs using MMG, then add a single chapter to each at 00:00:00.000 using the chapter editor, append the files using MMG again, THEN run the merged file through Handbrake.

[mBrane]

(He's converting TO mp4)

That's not what I read:

... When I add chapter marks to the timeline and export as DV-AVI I was expecting the chapters to be embedded in the .avi file.

[Cornucopia]

You are both partially right. He was going DV-AVI -> Premiere -> DV-AVI -> Handbrake -> AVCinMP4. And yes, AVI does NOT natively have support for chapters. Premiere does generate "embedded markers" along with "embedded projects" in their exports, but AFAIK Premiere has never specified to WHICH formats this applies (it may not be all of them). And even if AVI is included, this is very likely a proprietary feature that is only usable in other Adobe products (or maybe just in other premiere projects!).

How hard is it to go to the timeline, skip to each chapter marker, WRITE DOWN the time, and than manually add it into Handbrake, MP4Box, etc when creating/muxing the MP4? Unless you have hundreds, it's not that big a deal - I've done it.

Scott

[seanmcnally]

I know this is an old thread, but I wrote a script that solves this problem. See my post here: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/403282-Embedding-Premiere-Pro-markers-inside-an-MP...le-as-chapters