Changes made in TimeWiz revert back to the original value almost immediately

[Damit]

Hello,

I am trying to change the Date Subject Created in the Time Wiz.  I set everything appropriately and then I click the pencil to write metadata changes.  I see the date change but almost immediately I see the date change back to the original value I just changed.  Any ideas on what may be occurring?

[digedag]

Hi Damit,
RAW format photo (with sidecar file)? - Then maybe data in RAW are not in sync with those in XMP.

Try in ExifTool Command Processor <F9,E> : "Delete XMP metadata".
Bernhard

[Damit]

Hello Digedag,
They are MP4 files.  It is strange, because I tried to work with the on another time correcting software and in that software, the date created was changed.  I double checked and explorer confirms the date correction but for some reason I match still reports the old date. I would attach the file but it is almost 1 Gb in size. I restarted iMatch and also re-scanned the directory but IM continues to report the wrong date.

[Mario]

1. Check the folder containing the MP4 file for a .XMP file with the same name.
Since MP4 files use embedded XMP metadata, an additional external .XMP file would require IMatch to merge information from the embedded XMP record and the XMP data in the XMP file.

2. Check the ExifTool Output Panel after the write-back to see if ExifTool reported any problems.

3. Run the Metadata Analyst to check the file for problems.
If problems are reported, use the GREEN button to copy the info into the clipboard and paste them into your reply.

4. Provide a sample MP4 file which exhibits the problem (upload into your cloud space and provide a link).

[Damit]

There is no other file other than the MP4 file. I checked the ExifTool Output Panel and this is what it reported:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-execute9999

Writable file extensions:
  360 3G2 3GP 3GP2 3GPP AAX AI AIT APNG ARQ ARW AVIF CIFF CR2 CR3 CRM CRW CS1
  DCP DNG DR4 DVB EPS EPS2 EPS3 EPSF ERF EXIF EXV F4A F4B F4P F4V FFF FLIF GIF
  GPR HDP HEIC HEIF HIF ICC ICM IIQ IND INDD INDT INSP J2K JNG JP2 JPE JPEG JPF
  JPG JPM JPS JPX JXL JXR LRV M4A M4B M4P M4V MEF MIE MNG MOS MOV MP4 MPO MQV
  MRW NEF NKSC NRW ORF ORI PBM PDF PEF PGM PNG PPM PS PS2 PS3 PSB PSD PSDT QT
  RAF RAW RDF RW2 RWL SR2 SRW THM TIF TIFF VRD WDP WEBP X3F XMP

----- Runtime: 1 s.
-execute9999

Writable file extensions:
  360 3G2 3GP 3GP2 3GPP AAX AI AIT APNG ARQ ARW AVIF CIFF CR2 CR3 CRM CRW CS1
  DCP DNG DR4 DVB EPS EPS2 EPS3 EPSF ERF EXIF EXV F4A F4B F4P F4V FFF FLIF GIF
  GPR HDP HEIC HEIF HIF ICC ICM IIQ IND INDD INDT INSP J2K JNG JP2 JPE JPEG JPF
  JPG JPM JPS JPX JXL JXR LRV M4A M4B M4P M4V MEF MIE MNG MOS MOV MP4 MPO MQV
  MRW NEF NKSC NRW ORF ORI PBM PDF PEF PGM PNG PPM PS PS2 PS3 PSB PSD PSDT QT
  RAF RAW RDF RW2 RWL SR2 SRW THM TIF TIFF VRD WDP WEBP X3F XMP

----- Runtime: 0.9 s.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a Yellow Triangle Warning that says the file is not writable and that the warning will go away when I rescan the file.

All the while I still see the pencil, even though I have instructed IM to write back media changes.
I checked the properties and made sure that the file was not read-only.  Some files were (I don't know why) and I set all files and subfolders so they were not read-only.

I tried to write the changes and I still got the pencil and yellow warning triangle, even though now, IM was reporting the corrected date.

I had a copy within a nested folder and I tried to apply the changes to that file.  I used the Time Wiz and then wrote back changes.  This time I got this on the ExifTool Output:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Runtime: 0.9 s.
-overwrite_original_in_place
-charset
FILENAME=UTF8
-m
-use
MWG
-charset
ExifTool={PTETCHARSET}
-ex
-tagsfromfile
N:\Temp Import\2022-12-XX Disney go pro\2016-01-01\HERO10 Black 1\GX011556.MP4
-@
C:\Program Files\photools.com\imatch6\arg_files\exif2xmp.args
--Exif:rating
-@
C:\Program Files\photools.com\imatch6\arg_files\iptc2xmp.args
-@
C:\Program Files\photools.com\imatch6\arg_files\gps2xmp.args
-sep

-XMP-photoshop:DateCreated=
-XMP-exif:DateTimeOriginal=
-XMP-photoshop:DateCreated=2022:11:29 11:28:54
-XMP-exif:DateTimeOriginal=2022:11:29 11:28:54
-XMP-xmpMM:InstanceID=xmp.iid:8f455be9-d7e3-4e1b-8a7e-93b6e8ea89e2
-xmp:InstanceID=xmp.iid:2f576999-deb4-4911-836d-ff6b77d1bc5f

-XMP:MetadataDate=now
-XMP:ModifyDate=now
N:\Temp Import\2022-12-XX Disney go pro\2016-01-01\HERO10 Black 1\GX011556.MP4
-execute
-execute9999

    1 image files updated

----- Runtime: 20 s.
Warning: No writable tags set from N:\Temp Import\2022-12-XX Disney go pro\2016-01-01\HERO10 Black 1\GX011556.MP4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So now, I have the file in N:\Temp Import\2022-12-XX Disney go pro\

https://attractingsolutions2-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/ms_responsiblehearing_com/EYOlHITxK6tKopchZZkOut8Bxlyb2PY-gKEDPTlOaEindw?e=A9T4jA

where IM is showing the corrected date, but still has the pencil and yellow warning triangle. This file has no XMP data using another program to view the exiftool data.

AND I have the same file copied to N:\Temp Import\2022-12-XX Disney go pro\2016-01-01\HERO10 Black 1\

N:\Temp Import\2022-12-XX Disney go pro\2016-01-01\HERO10 Black 1\

with no pencil or yellow warning triangle but IM not reflecting the date I corrected in TimeWiz. However, when using another program to view the XMP data the Date Created reflects the changes made in TimeWiz. 

I am really confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Damit]

The only thing that seemed to change in IM is the
XMP exif, which is reported as
Date/Time Original    2022:11:29 11:28:54

But everything else remains the same.

I then reopened TimeWiz and changed the settings to change not just Date Subject Created, but also Date Created and I thought that worked, but it did not.  I got the following from the exiftool output:

ADMIN: Removed 200 lines of text data and put it into the text file attached.

[Mario]

PLEASE do not flood the community posts with all 200 lines of copy & paste text data.
It makes your posts impossible to read on small screens and stuffs the search engine with nonsense. Attach the data in a text file, thank you. I did this for you this time.

I have no idea why ExifTool would list writable extensions when IMatch is trying to write to a file. Never seen that.

Which version of IMatch are you using?

I have downloaded the file from your FIRST linke (more than one GB!) and I had no problems changing the date and time in the TimeWiz or the Metadata Panel.

I shifted the time by 2 hours in TimeWiz and wrote back. This created the XMP record in the file and the date and time initially read from the embedded QuickTime stream into XMP were updated. IMatch shows the new time.

Then I changed the "Create Date" and "Date Subject created" by one month in the Metadata Panel and wrote back again. IMatch updated the XMP record in the MP4 to the new dates. IMatch shows the new dates.

From all the ton of text you have posted, it is not precisely clear to me what you did and in which order. Or with which file.

After downloading one GB and finding that IMatch works as intended, I would need more precise instructions of what you did and with which of the files. I see no problem with the video, ExifTool reports no errors and XMP data is written just fine. I used IMatch 2021.18.4 for my test.

[Damit]

I am using 2021.18.4. Everything was done in the order it was listed in the post and in the text file. I just tried again. Here is the order of events, as closely as I can report them:
I apply the changes in TimeWiz, the changes reflect in IMatch, but the File now has a pencil and Yellow Warning Triangle, which when I hover over says something to the effect that the file is not writable and that the error would go away once re-scanned.

The triangle has gone away while I was writing the above. This is the first time this happened.  Previously the Yellow Warning triangle would persist and never went away, even if I re-scanned.  I did not even re-scan this time, it just disappeared. I am reporting this in case it may give a clue to what is occurring.

I erase everything in the ExifTool Output to try to only report what is occurring when I write back the changes.

I click on the pencil to write the metadata changes.

I have attached the text of the Exiftool output.  I do not know if this is the output of just this last action, or all the actions since I opened this session of IMatch, I believe the former.

It seems that it worked this time.  I don't know why it worked now and not before. I have done nothing to the file. It would be nice to know why this occurred to be able to deal with this issue if it occurs again.

I apologize about the size, but it is what it is, that is the size of the file. If I could attach something smaller I would.

[Mario]

I apply the changes in TimeWiz, the changes reflect in IMatch, but the File now has a pencil and Yellow Warning Triangle, which when I hover over says something to the effect that the file is not writable and that the error would go away once re-scanned.

The TimeWiz does not write-back files, it only applies changes to the database.
Since metadata was changed, the file becomes pending for write-back, so the pen is OK.
There should be no warning icon unless it was there before or you write back. Or do you have configured IMatch to automatically write-back changes after every metadata change?

IMatch displays the warning icon when ExifTool reports a problem while reading or writing a file.
When you write-back, the warning icon will go away, unless ExifTool reports an error again.

The attached ExifTool output looks strange.
It does not start with any commands being sent, but with -execute9999, which is only sent at the end of a list of commands.
What is also puzzling is that the ExifTool output lists the available file formats multiple times. This is not something I expect to see during write-back. Very strange.

I though this was maybe caused by the many blanks you use in your folder and filenames.
But I don't get if after moving the video file into a folder named exactly like the one in your log file.

Besides of this strange effect, the write-back and subsequent reload of the generated metadata from the MP4 worked fine on your end.

What kind of drive is N: ?

I apologize about the size, but it is what it is, that is the size of the file. If I could attach something smaller I would.

The size of attachments (up to 5MB per post) does not bother anyone.
But copying & pasting 200 lines of log file or ExifTool output is not a good idea.

[Damit]

N: is a seagate EXOS enterprise HHD.  It is directly connected to one of the main SATA ports in my AsRock x570 Phantom gaming X motherboard.

It is the home of all of my image files that can be edited.  I keep a pristine unadulterated copy of all my files in the same model drive in the same computer named O:

Any ideas why all this odd behavior?  There must be something going on. I am willing to do any diagnostics you require. The only thing odd about my system is the massive amount of data it holds, with many probably excessively large files, but I cannot be alone in that regard. I have a good to great hardware, and nothing is networked or external as far as my image files. I have a powerful video card, 64 Gb of memory and I reinstalled and cleaned up windows about 6 months ago.

I am waiting for the new Xeon w790 motherboards, memory and CPUs to become available so I can upgrade.  It will be curious to see if that may help things and if any of my issues are hardware based. With over 2 TB of memory capability (I may start with a mere 512 GB) plenty of cache and 10 to 56 cores IMatch should be lightning fast, considering I have fast Nvme SSDs for my workspace, database and, in a seperate Nvme my operating system.  The last bottle neck is the N: drive as it is a regular HHD.  I want to move that to an Nvme, but I need 12 TB and that is cost prohibitive, for at least another year.

The size of attachments (up to 5MB per post) does not bother anyone.
But copying & pasting 200 lines of log file or ExifTool output is not a good idea.

I thought the file was large, but you asked me to attach it, so I did. I apologize, some forums regularly post long texts, some don't. I do agree it is not presentable, but it did not occur to me to attach it in using the notepad. I will try my best to remember to do so in the future.

[Mario]

I have no idea why this failed for you and then worked.
I've downloaded the sample video and could change the date and time in both the TimeWiz and Metadata Panel. No errors after write-back or when reading the file.

Let me know when you by chance find a video file and steps which reproduce this behavior reliably. In that case we have more data to work with.

[Damit]

I guess all is well that ends well.  I will report back if this happens again.  Thank you!