Sidecar files

[Bryson Jones]

Thanks Rolf!

bryson

bryson “at” northshoreautomation.com

northshoreautomation.com

[John Heagy]

I have side car files working in 10.0.6 but have a workflow question when it comes to the order of things. I don’t want the xml cataloged so I set .xml files be excluded.

Here’s what I’m seeing in CatDV 10.0.6…

If I catalog a folder containing both media and xml, CatDV will assign the proper metadata while excluding the xml.

If I catalog a folder with just the xml then nothing appears in the catalog as expected. If I then add a media file in the folder and do a “Scan For New Files”… nothing appears in the catalog. If I reverse the order the media file is cataloged first without the xml metadata as expected, but adding the xml and doing a “Scan For New Files” does not transfer the metadata to the media file.

My ultimate goal is to have a Worker job export ref files with filename and Tape from the xml. Based on the above behavior in CatDV I don’t see a way of getting files and xml metadata on the same page considering the xml and media files will not always appear in the watched folder at the same instant or even minute/hour.

Is there a way to require a sidecar file before an action is triggered? Presumably this would be done in the “Conditions” tab where one could check a box that requires a matching xml in order to trigger the action.

Thanks
John Heagy

[Toni Popovic]

So it is possible to set the timecode from an XML sidecar file? I have tried to do this multiple times with .MOV or .MP4 videos that have a timecode of 0:00:00.00 to begin with. I edited an exported CatDV XML file by changing the in and out fields 10 seconds forward:

After saving and importing the same video file again it has the same 0:00:00:00 timecode as opposed to 0:00:10.00.

I use 9.0.6 in Windows. Is this a bug or is it supposed to be like that?

Best,
Toni Popovic

[Bryson Jones]

Toni, sorry, I missed this post.

You can’t change the TC embedded in a clip with XML to my knowledge.

. To do that you need to write into the wrapper. CatDV can do that in the client or you can do it with an external tool (some of which can be scripted with the Worker I’m sure.)

Most of the high end transcoding systems can take a start TC in a sidecar XML and embed that into the wrapper but those are generally pretty expensive.

bryson

bryson “at” northshoreautomation.com

northshoreautomation.com

[Bryson Jones]

John,

The only way we’ve been able to do this is to “hold” the first file and then through an external script do a lookup based on name in the “holding” folder once the other file arrives. (media or xml arrival triggers the “lookup”.) That, or create a record via XML and then have the media file attach itself by landing in the correct path and then move on with the actions once the file is linked. But again, that requires that you write the path into the XML with outside scripting.

Both options require a little work outside Worker Node.

We did this sort of thing with a client that wanted to archive high res versions of assets from a remote office, that they sent into their Approval-Q hosted at their home office, during the day. So they wouldn’t swamp their internet pipe, we sent the proxy and xml immediately and held the high res at the remote location. A copy of the XML was staged and “waiting” for the high res files. At 8pm, after the day shift was gone, the high res went over via Aspera and met the XML on the other side. We ingested the high res, matching its path with the proxy that arrived earlier and then sent it into the Archive system through another Worker action. (SDNA in that case.)

bryson

bryson “at” northshoreautomation.com

northshoreautomation.com

[Toni Popovic]

Thanks for the quick reply Bryson.

This is what I thought as well. We’ve been doing it externally in ffmpeg so far like you suggested. Doing it manually in CatDV is sometimes nice for quick fixes, but it’s not generally an option for us.

Best,
Toni Popovic

[John Heagy]

Thanks for all that Bryson!

Would you agree that a “Wait for matching xml” in the Conditions tab in Worker would go a long way in making sidecar files easier to use?

John

[Bryson Jones]

It’s a good idea, but since the script is such a simple “if then” and the market is so tiny, I’m not sure I’d push too hard. (We’ve got our own “wish-list” for the next build.)

If this is stopping your work, you should be able to get a script written to do this fairly easily.

bryson

bryson “at” northshoreautomation.com

northshoreautomation.com

[Matt Babcock]

Anyone have any information on sidecar files not importing in 10.0.7?

I’ve have look for metadata in side care files turned on and here is a copy of the sidecar file. It is just trying to write into one user field.

6973_alaksa4.xml.zip
(Creative cow added the 6973_ and of course the .zip)

The file name of the video is alaska-4.mov and they are both in the same directory. I’ve tried both dragging the video file in and selecting it from inside of catdv by right clicking and choosing Import into Catalog

Any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

[Dougal Matthews]

hi Matt

i’ve tested your xml and it works fine for me

have you set up a user field 58 in preferences by default only the first 10 or so are created above that you need to manually add them in in the user columns section of the preferences

thanks dougal

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