How to get Markers in Hybrid MP4's/ Hybrid MOV's to show in Final Cut Pro

Claude and I created a *very* simple python script that extracts the chapters from the OBS hybrid mov, then creates an fcpxml of the chapters as titles. Python script There's not a ton of error checking so no warranty if it breaks something. I tested it with your test file and it appears to work with the 3 chapters that are in there.

It requires ffmpeg to be installed, which also includes ffprobe. ffprobe is used to extract the chapter data as well as the OBS hybrid mov details like frame rate.

Once you download it, you can put it on your desktop along with your OBS hybrid mov. Open a Terminal window and type:

$ cd ~/Desktop

then run it with:

$ python script.py your-obs-hybrid.mov

It will output a v1.11 fcpxml that has a project with the OBS chapters as 3 second titles. The titles can be copied and pasted above your OBS hybrid mov to show where the chapter markers would be. There's an optional --title-duration numberOfSeconds, so if you don't like 3 second titles you could change that with:

$python script.py --title-duration 5 your-obs-hybrid.mov

Here's the python script in case the link expires but I'm not sure if copying from here will retain the spaces properly, which is important because python indentations are part of the syntax.

I looked at the OBS site and can't find any documentation on their hybrid mov file. There's a page discussing their hybrid mp4, https://obsproject.com/blog/obs-studio-hybrid-mp4 , which includes this:

"The implementation in OBS is directly adapted from FFmpeg, and should work in all the same software that it does like video players and some editing suites such as DaVinci Resolve. Sadly this does not include Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro, but there may be tools coming to make it a bit easier for those users!"

Perhaps there's a way to get at these markers in the output hybrid mov using ffmpeg / ffprobe, then massage them into markers and bring them into FCP. I've never seen an OBS hybrid mov so I don't know if this is actually possible. Is there a short sample hybrid mov that includes chapters that can be downloaded for testing?

Yes, I understand what you've described. Since the hybrid mov doesn't work in either Premiere or FCP, it must be non-standard in some way, but without inspecting one it's not possible to tell. I suggested using ffmpeg or ffprobe to extract these chapters from the hybrid mov, then get them into a format that could be imported into FCP so that you could use them as markers.

What is your friend using to record gameplay? What is the output file? What metadata did you export?

Send Apple your feedback via Final Cut Pro->Provide Final Cut Pro Feedback... or Feedback - Final Cut Pro - Apple

You can send a short sample file to yourself using a free file sharing service (filemail, wetransfer, etc.) then post the link here.

Great job with the script, terryb!

Concerning the warning about copying retaining spaces properly, I tested this.

Spaces did come out correctly.

The only thing that required fixing are some characters that were replaced by the respective html codes:

Single quotes, Double quotes and the < sign.

To have the code run after copying the text from the additional text box, these global find and replace operations will be needed:

Replace By

&#34; "

&#39; '

&#lt; <

How long should the "marker text" be displayed in the video?

What part of the screen should it appear in?

What should be its general appearance? [font, size, background?]

I'm curious about the million things you're doing to get at the chapter markers in the OBS mov file. Are you using VLC? ffmpeg? ExifTool? QT Edit?

Thank you for this Luis! I didn't even notice the site changed these characters in the additional text box, I was just looking to see if there were still spaces.