5

Is there an easy way to add chapters to existing movie files?

Note:

  • Actually, I’m not 100% sure if they’re called “chapters” in video files, but it’s the same concept as DVDs.

  • I assume this differs with the video encoding, but any help at all is progress! I have video files in various formats (although .mov, .mp4, and .m4v are my most common).

  • I’m on Mac OS X, but I posted here (instead of the Apple Q&A) because I figured any answers may be useful to other non-Apple power users.

  • Apple-native, application-based solutions preferred (usability is top of my list). However, command-line programs and utilities that do the job are just as welcome.

  • Please share any indirect-but-related wisdom you may have on this topic.

Thanks!

2
  • Yes, they're called chapters. QuickTime Player X uses that term in the menu and controller.
    – Ken
    Feb 2, 2011 at 23:47
  • ffmpeg can add/edit chapters in an existing video, without re-encoding the video or audio streams. It's not user-friendly, but it's free and extremely powerful.
    – gidds
    Jan 15, 2022 at 18:22

1 Answer 1

0

Are these movies you created yourself? Or did you obtain them from "other" sources?

If they are movies you created yourself you can use iMovie or QuickTime.

If not, I recommend using handbrake for transcoding into a single video format then using MetaX to add metadata (including chapters).

2
  • These aren't movies I created. Downloaded Handbrake and MetaX, gonna try them out. Thanks for the tip! :)
    – Zearin
    Mar 4, 2011 at 17:32
  • I tried MetaX, and it’s pretty good at lots of things, but it doesn’t seem to add Chapters to movie files unless they have at least 1 Chapter already. That probably won’t be helpful for this problem too often, because most movies that have Chapters tend to be sufficient to skip around. I want to be able to add my own Chapters so that I can navigate movies more efficiently than just scrubbing.
    – Zearin
    May 24, 2011 at 13:40

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