IMatch Not Writing Back Metadata for Video Files

[ms9601]

I have a growing queue of video files that IMatch has stopped writing back metadata for.   Results for Metadata Analyst below.  This didn't used to be a problem and am guessing maybe 6 months ago it stopped writing back for videos.  

Metadata Analyst below for a very recent video file that I have made zero changes to metadata after downloading from my camera.  If anyone else has figured out a fix for this let me know.



Metadata Analyst Results. Version 2025.1.14. 5/25/2025 9:31:14 AM
File analyzed: E:\Photos\2025\2025-03-07\X-H1_DSCF0283.mov
Errors: 0
Warnings: 6

Warning: [System] File has unwritten metadata (pending write-back).<br/>The metadata loaded from the image and the data in the database may not match.
Warning: [System] IMatch is configured to not update the 'last modified' file system timestamp on write-back.<br/>This will cause issues with detection of modified files.
Warning: [EXIF] Offset TimeOriginal missing. 'Date Subject Created' may have no time zone offset.
Warning: [EXIF] Offset TimeDigitized missing. 'Create Date' may have no time zone offset.
Warning: [XMP] [IFD0]:Artist and [XMP-dc]:Creator (embedded) mismatch.
Warning: [XMP] [IFD0]:Artist and [XMP-tiff]:Artist (embedded) mismatch.

[Mario]

Match is configured to not update the 'last modified' file system timestamp on write-back.

Why have you enabled this option. It is dangerous and should by off in 99.99% of all use cases.

I have written XMP data to about 200 MP4 files today, no problems.
When IMatch "does not write back", what does that mean, exactly? Error message or warning shown? ExifTool dumping errors into the output panel? Explosions?

The Metadata Analyst results indicate that the MOV file has embedded XMP data and that there is also a XMP file with the same name in the folder. This means you have two sources of truth for metadata for this video, which is not good. IMatch writes XMP data into MOV files, but when reading metadata, it must consider both the embedded XMP data and the XMP data in the sidecar file. Which results in different values for multiple tags as the MDA indicates.

Try removing the XMP file from the folder and then write back again.

Note that there was a change about how IMatch and ExifTool work with XMP metadata and video files a couple of years back. At the time, users were advised to import XMP data from sidecar files into video files and then delete the XMP files. I explained that all over the release notes and in the "New Version, here are your TO-DOs". Maybe you have missed that and did not do this step at the time? See Upgrading to IMatch 2021 for the details and instructions at the time (only relevant if you used IMatch 2020 or older).

[ms9601]

Match is configured to not update the 'last modified' file system timestamp on write-back.

Why have you enabled this option. It is dangerous and should by off in 99.99% of all use cases.

I have written XMP data to about 200 MP4 files today, no problems.
When IMatch "does not write back", what does that mean, exactly? Error message or warning shown? ExifTool dumping errors into the output panel? Explosions?

The Metadata Analyst results indicate that the MOV file has embedded XMP data and that there is also a XMP file with the same name in the folder. This means you have two sources of truth for metadata for this video, which is not good. IMatch writes XMP data into MOV files, but when reading metadata, it must consider both the embedded XMP data and the XMP data in the sidecar file. Which results in different values for multiple tags as the MDA indicates.

Try removing the XMP file from the folder and then write back again.

Note that there was a change about how IMatch and ExifTool work with XMP metadata and video files a couple of years back. At the time, users were advised to import XMP data from sidecar files into video files and then delete the XMP files. I explained that all over the release notes and in the "New Version, here are your TO-DOs". Maybe you have missed that and did not do this step at the time? See Upgrading to IMatch 2021 for the details and instructions at the time (only relevant if you used IMatch 2020 or older).

Wasn't aware it was disabled.  Why would I disable it (intentionally)?    I wasn't having this issue until recently and wasn't an owner then so wasn't something I could have missed. 

I'll enable it and see if it fixes the issue, along with deleting XMP's

Thanks.

[Mario]

You don't need to quote so much when you directly reply. I can scroll up a page, thanks.
Quoting is more relevant when different users reply with different posts.

This "Keep original date/time" setting tells ExifTool to not change the last modified timestamp in the file system when it updates a timestamp. This will prevent other software, backup software from recognizing that the file has changed, which is a bad thing.

I keep this legacy option around for backwards compatibility reasons, for some users who rely on it for some reasons.
It is only accessible when the Expert Mode is enabled and marked as deprecated and may be removed at any time.

The real problem will be the colliding XMP sidecar file, I suppose.
Delete it, then select the video and press Shift+Ctrl+F5 and do a "Metadata Reload" to clean the mixed metadata in the database. Then write back.

[ms9601]

You don't need to quote so much when you directly reply. I can scroll up a page, thanks.
Quoting is more relevant when different users reply with different posts.

Okay, sheesh.  Thanks.