Batch Video Dynamic Timestamp Tool

Batch add dynamically increasing timestamp watermarks to videos, with custom configuration for multiple time formats, positions, fonts, and encoders.

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Tool Usage

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Instructions

Software Instructions

Select video files: Enter the path to a video file or folder in the “Input Path” box. Separate multiple paths with semicolons (;). You can also click the “Select File” or “Select Folder” button to browse and choose, or drag files/folders directly into the input box. Check “Traverse Subdirectories” to recursively process videos in all subfolders. Common video formats such as MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, WMV, FLV, and WebM are supported.
Select save directory: Enter or browse to choose the output directory in the “Save Directory” box; drag-and-drop is supported. Check “Keep Original Path Structure” to preserve the source file’s directory hierarchy.
Set timestamp parameters:
- Timestamp format: Select the time format to display, such as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS, HH:MM:SS, YYYY年MM月DD日 HH:MM:SS, etc.
- Start time: Set the starting time of the timestamp. The time will dynamically increase during video playback.
- Video start second: Set the second of the video from which the timestamp starts to appear. 0 means starting from the beginning.
- Display position: Select the position of the timestamp in the video frame (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, top center, bottom center, center), and fine-tune it with X/Y offsets.
- Font settings: Adjust the font size ratio (as a percentage of video height), choose the font color, and select a custom font file (.ttf/.otf).
- Background settings: Enable a text background box, set the background color and transparency, and improve timestamp readability.
- Prefix/suffix text: Add custom text before or after the timestamp.
Configure encoding and output options:
- Output format: Choose to standardize as MP4 (recommended), keep the original format, MKV, MOV, WebM, or AVI.
- Video encoder: Supports auto selection, libx264 (H.264), libx265 (H.265), and NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD hardware-accelerated encoding.
- Audio processing: Supports auto compatibility, copying original audio, converting to AAC if copying fails, converting to AAC, converting to Opus, and removing audio.
- Quality CRF/CQ: The lower the value, the higher the image quality. Recommended: 18–28.
Preview and process: Click “Preview Screenshot” to check the timestamp position and style in advance. After confirming everything is correct, click “Start Processing,” and the tool will automatically add dynamic timestamps to all videos in batch. You can click “Stop Processing” at any time to interrupt the process.
View results: The task list will show the processing status and progress of each video. After processing is complete, you can “Retry Failed” files or “Export Log” to view detailed records.

FAQ

A: A dynamic timestamp means that during video playback, the time displayed on the screen increases and changes in real time with the playback progress, similar to the time display on surveillance footage. A static watermark is fixed text or an image that does not change over time. The timestamp generated by this tool starts from the start time you set and increases second by second.

A: Common video formats are supported, including MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, WMV, FLV, WebM, M4V, MPG, MPEG, 3GP, TS, MTS, M2TS, VOB, OGV, RM, RMVB, ASF, F4V, and more. The output format can be MP4, MKV, MOV, WebM, AVI, or the original format.

A: If you select a time format that contains Chinese characters (such as "YYYY年MM月DD日") or add a Chinese prefix/suffix, make sure the selected font supports Chinese characters. The tool will automatically detect this and try to switch to a Chinese font in the system (such as Microsoft YaHei, SimHei, etc.). If the issue persists, it is recommended to manually select a font file that supports Chinese.

A: It is recommended to choose "Auto Select"; the tool will automatically match a suitable encoder based on the output format. If your computer has an NVIDIA graphics card, you can choose h264_nvenc or hevc_nvenc for accelerated processing; Intel integrated graphics users can choose h264_qsv or hevc_qsv; AMD graphics card users can choose h264_amf or hevc_amf. If the selected hardware encoder is not supported by your device, processing will fail. In that case, switch back to Auto Select or libx264.

A: Adding dynamic timestamps requires re-encoding the video, and processing speed depends on the video resolution, duration, and computer performance. Speed-up suggestions: 1) Use a hardware-accelerated encoder (such as NVIDIA's h264_nvenc); 2) Set the encoding speed to faster or veryfast; 3) Increase the CRF value appropriately (for example, set it to 28) to lower the quality requirement; 4) Process large numbers of files in batches; 5) Close other resource-intensive programs.

A: We recommend choosing “Auto Compatible.” The tool will automatically select the appropriate audio codec based on the output container format. If you want to keep the original audio quality unchanged, you can choose “Copy Original Audio,” but it may be incompatible when converting to some formats. “Convert to AAC if Copy Fails” is a compromise: it prioritizes copying the original audio and automatically converts to AAC if that fails. If you don’t need audio, you can choose “Remove Audio.”

A: No. This tool is Windows desktop client software. All video processing is done locally on your computer via FFmpeg, and video files will not be uploaded to any server, ensuring your privacy and data security.