This chapter details the video camera, camcorder and smartphone video file types that are supported by DVMP Pro when playing, time-stamping, or using any of its tools. Some of the tools can only be used with particular file types and these are detailed below.
Apart from tape-based DV and HDV camcorders, most modern video cameras store each recorded clip in a separate video file on its recording media - depending on the camera model, this may be an SD memory card, a built-in hard disk drive (HDD) or a recordable DVD disk. Video can quickly consume a lot of space, so to fit as much recorded footage as possible on the recording media, the camera will usually compress the video frames so that they take up less space before writing them into the video file.
Supported file types in the player's File > Open dialog box
When a video camera is designed by a manufacturer, they may in theory choose from many different video compression schemes and file container types. They may also choose to store the camera metadata in many different ways, or not to store any metadata at all. Consequently it is impossible for any software application to guarantee support of all possible compression and file types and metadata storage methods for all available camera models.
Fortunately, most models fall into a small number of categories which have published specifications that dictate the file type and compression scheme that should be used by the camera manufacturer. The category can often be found written on the outer case of the camera - for example "AVCHD" or "HDV".
DVMP Pro supports the most commonly occurring categories, and the corresponding supported file types are listed below. For the reasons explained above, DVMP Pro does not give any guarantees about being able to support all camera models, so it is a requirement that all prospective customers try out the DEMO version of DVMP Pro with files from their own camera to ensure that they are supported before they commit to purchasing a license.
DVMP Pro can play the supported file types and display the camera metadata in real time. It also has a collection of tools which can be used on the supported file types - but some tools are only available for some file types. You will find below a table of supported file types with the corresponding supported tools for each type.
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IMPORTANT: DVMP Pro supports only camera-original files (i.e. files copied directly from the camera without any further processing). Remember that the vast majority of video processing software does not understand the camera metadata or completely ignores it. If the file has been through any form of processing, filtering or transcoding, then the software that performs that processing will throw the metadata away - so its output files will contain no date, time or any other metadata. This is why only camera-original files are supported by DVMP Pro. |
Supported DV file types
DVMP Pro supports the following DV and HDV file types.
•AVI Type 1
•AVI Type 2
•Raw DV (.dv)
•Canopus AVI
•DVCPRO25 AVI
•DVCAM AVI
•DV MOV (.mov)
They are all subtle variants, but are all classified as DV file types.
DV file types originate specifically from DV video cameras. DV video cameras (camcorders) record digital video in standard-definition onto a tape cassette, and they usually have a "DV" logo on their casing. The tape recordings are usually transferred from tape via a firewire cable to the computer where they are stored on the hard drive as one of the above DV file types. The process of transferring the recordings from tape to DV files on a computer is termed "Capturing".
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INFORMATION: The HDV file type must not be confused with the DV file type. HDV video cameras record digital video in high-definition onto a tape cassette, and usually have the "HDV" logo on their casing. The only thing they have in common is that HDV video cameras record onto the same physical tape cassettes as DV, but the file format and even the way that the video data is recorded onto tape are totally different. You should think of DV and HDV file types as being completely unrelated. |
Supported MPEG-2 Program Stream file types
DVMP Pro also supports the following file types:
•Sony HDD and DVD standard definition
•MOD (.mod)
Both of these types are actually MPEG-2 Program Stream (often abbreviated to MPEG-2 PS) files with a fixed packet length of 2048 bytes. This is a common file type used by many MPEG-2 devices (not just video cameras). You may therefore find that MPEG-2 Program Stream files from other unsupported devices can be played by DVMP Pro but it is unlikely that there will be any metadata to be displayed - only the above 2 file types will contain metadata that can be displayed by DVMP Pro.
The Sony HDD and DVD standard-definition files are created by a range of Sony standard definition camcorders that record their video files onto a built-in hard disk drive (HDD), a recordable DVD disk or a memory card. These files usually have a file name extension of .mpg or .vob
MOD files are created by a range of standard definition camcorders from JVC and some other manufacturers. As the name suggests, MOD files have the file name extension .mod. These camcorders do not actually store metadata, but they do store the date and time of recording in a separate MOI file which has the same file name but with the extension .moi. For each MOD file there is usually a partner MOI file. DVMP Pro will display the recording date and time provided it can find the MOI file in the same folder as the corresponding MOD file. Consequently, whenever you make a copy of MOD video files, you must also copy the MOI files into the same folder - MOD and MOI files must always travel together!
The best way to check whether files from your own HDD/DVD camcorder are supported is to simply attempt to open the files in DVMP Pro and see whether they play and if any metadata is displayed in the window pane beneath the playing video.
Also, please note that a quirk of MOD files is that some software does not interpret the display aspect ratio correctly and may display 16:9 (widescreen) files as horizontally-squeezed 4:3. However, DVMP Pro will always play 16:9 MOD files with the correct display aspect ratio. You can also use the Fix Aspect Ratio tool which tweaks a header in the MOD file that should then persuade other software that the file's real aspect ratio is 16:9.
Supported HDV file types
DVMP Pro also supports the following HDV file types that usually have the file name extension .m2t:
•HDV1 (720 line variant)
•HDV2 (1080 line variant)
Note that some video editors and utilities may use different file name extensions for HDV m2t files (e.g. .mpeg or .mpg), but the actual file structure is the same.
HDV video cameras (camcorders) record digital video in high-definition onto a tape cassette, and they usually have an "HDV" logo on their casing.
The HDV file type should not be confused with the DV file type which is completely different - see Supported DV file types above for more details.
Note that some HDV camcorder models have a switch or menu setting that can set it to record in DV mode instead of HDV mode. When set to DV mode it will behave like a DV camcorder and record standard definition DV video onto tape.
Supported AVCHD file types
DVMP Pro supports a wide range of AVCHD files, resolutions and frame rates. It also supports Sony's NXCAM files including those recorded with LPCM audio.
Some cameras use a .m2ts file suffix and others a .mts suffix. DVMP Pro plays the .m2ts or .mts file directly, and does not usually require any of the additional index and administrative files that are also stored on the camera's storage media (for some camera models it may require .mpl or .thm files).
Supported MP4 and MOV file types
DVMP Pro also supports MP4 and MOV files (closely related to each other) that are created by a wide range of video cameras and mobile devices (e.g. smart phones). GoPro, Insta360, Contour models are supported, a variety of iPhone and Android smartphones and DSLR cameras.
Please note that MP4 and MOV are general purpose file container types that may be created by lots of devices and software with non-standard features, and may contain video and audio in many different formats. Consequently, although DVMP Pro tries to support files from as many camera devices as possible, it will reject files that are created by some devices. The only way to know if MOV or MP4 files from your device are supported is to try playing them in DVMP Pro - an error message will appear if the file structure is not recognized. You can use the DEMO version of DVMP Pro to check this before you decide to purchase a license for the full version.
4K (Ultra HD, 3840 x 2160 resolution) video in MP4 or MOV files is also supported.
The amount of metadata information available varies depending on the device that recorded the file - some devices do not store any information at all! Also, some devices may store the recording date and time without a daylight time adjustment, or as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) instead of local time - see the Understanding Metadata Sources - File Header topic for more details.
The file name extensions for these files are .mov or .mp4.
Please note that although DV MOV files use the same MOV file container, they contain video encoded in DV format (like DV AVI files) and are therefore treated as a special case and separately classified as a "DV MOV" file type. Consequently, whenever we refer to MOV files in this documentation it excludes DV MOV files unless we specifically mention "DV MOV".
Tools Available For Each File Type
The table below summarizes the available tools for each supported file type. These are the tools that are available on the Tools menu. Click on the name for more details of the corresponding tool.
DV file types |
MPEG-2 Program Stream file types |
Other file types |
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Tools Menu |
DV AVI |
Raw DV |
DV MOV |
Sony HDD & DVD |
MOD |
HDV M2T |
AVCHD MTS/M2TS |
MOV & MP4 |
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There are also an additional set of tools which are only available in the Batch Processor - see the Batch Processing section for more details.
The availability of some tools may vary depending on the model of camera that recorded the video file. For example, Export GPS Track is only available for models which actually store GPS information in the file.
See Also:
