I am working on a task which a client requires smpte drop frame timecode to be embedded into an mpeg1/2 video that my software will capture and encode. I have had success with encoding using both openCV and ffmpeg (windows). What I am having trouble with is embedding timecode.
I've spent about a month researching this and have not been able to come up with a solution. Is there software available that can do what I need?
In my head, I picture a video file without timecode and I open with a player. It displays time in hh:mm:ss:ms. Then I imagine a video with timecode would display time information as hh:mm:ss:ff. This is not the case. Many video players don't even support displaying timecode.
How is timecode stored in mpeg1/2 files? I had thought it was stored on a per frame basis and would be as simple as:
frameToEncode->setTimecode(SMPTE_DROPFRAME, framenum);
MPEGEncoder::encodeFrame(frameToEncode);
I have scoured the internet for an answer to this. Maybe I'm searching with the wrong terms, but I cannot find a clear cut solution to simply embed timecode to my video file.
I have tried to use ffmpeg for this but have not been able to confirm/deny my attempts. Is there software I can use that will tell me I have embedded timecode in my video file? I have tried using adobe premiere pro and roxio creator pro with no success.
Lastly, is what my client asking even possible? Is it possible to embed timecode. I am stunned by the lack of information I have been able to find on this and am beginning to think what is required isn't even possible. If it is possible, is there a commercial or free sdk/library capable of this?
TL;DR: I need to embed timecode into an mpeg1/2 video file which I am capturing and encoding on the fly. How is timecode stored in mpeg1/2 files? As a global header? Per frame? Something else? I need software that can verify embedded timecode exists. Is what the client asking even possible? If so, is there a commercial or free SDK available that can accomplish my task?
Note: I would need a c/c++ library capable of embedding the timecode.