Spatial Media Metadata Injector

What Spatial Media Metadata Injector is

Spatial Media Metadata Injector is a free, open-source tool for adding or checking spatial media metadata in MP4 and MOV files. It works with spherical video and spatial audio: its examine command prints metadata found in specified files, while its inject command writes a metadata-bearing version to a separate output file. For stereo video, the layout option supports mono, top-bottom, and left-right arrangements. Spatial audio injection requires a four-channel first-order ambisonics track with ACN channel ordering and SN3D normalization, so the input audio must meet those requirements. The documented command-line tool must be run with Python 2.7. The project also documents a way to build a standalone graphical application using PyInstaller. Alongside the tools, its public GitHub repository includes specifications for spatial audio, spherical video, spherical video V2, and VR180 video formats. The project is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its Free plan costs nothing and covers metadata injection and validation for MP4 and MOV files. GitHub Issues are available for project questions and issue reports.

Who it suits

It suits people working with 360-degree video or spatial audio who need to inspect or add metadata to MP4 and MOV files. It can also serve people consulting the included format specifications or building the documented standalone GUI.

Limits

The Free plan covers metadata injection and validation for MP4 and MOV files. The documented command-line tool requires Python 2.7, and spatial audio injection requires a four-channel first-order ambisonics track using ACN ordering and SN3D normalization.

Getting started

1. Open the project website on GitHub.
2. Choose the command-line tool or follow the documented PyInstaller route to build a standalone GUI.
3. For command-line use, run the tool with Python 2.7.
4. Use examine to print metadata from a specified file, or inject to create a separate output file.
5. For stereo video, select the mono, top-bottom, or left-right layout as needed.

Verdict

Choose Spatial Media Metadata Injector if you need a free tool to inspect or inject spatial metadata in MP4 or MOV files. It is especially relevant when working with spherical video or spatial audio. The Python 2.7 requirement and the input requirements for spatial audio injection should guide your choice of workflow.