Member Avatar for Simplicity.

Hi.

I'm not sure if this is a right forum to ask this question!

There is a dillema about a certain video.flv uploaded on internet, that's whether the video was taken by a camera or made by some software. I would like to know how can I extract metadata from it under Ubuntu Linux which I think will help to reveal the secret. Any other advice?

Thanks,

Simplicity.

Edited by Simplicity. because: Elaborating
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A short, practical approach for Ubuntu: treat an FLV file on two levels — container tags (onMetaData, encoder, creation timestamps, producer strings) and the actual media streams (video codec, framerate, bitrates, audio). Container tags are the fastest way to spot an encoder or editing application, but they can be missing, overwritten, or forged. If the file was re-encoded by a forum, hosting site, or editor, original camera metadata is often gone; absence of camera tags usually means re-encoding, not proof of a software origin.

Useful standalone tools and a quick workflow (no PHP required): use a container/stream inspector, an EXIF-style dumper, plain-text inspection, and frame extraction for visual checks.

mediainfo video.flv
ffprobe -v error -show_format -show_streams -print_format json video.flv
exiftool video.flv
strings video.flv | less
ffmpeg -i video.flv -vf fps=1 frames/frame_%04d.jpg

What to look for in the output: explicit encoder or producer strings (examples: Adobe, Flash Media Live Encoder, lavf/lavc hints from ffmpeg), a creation_time stamp, codec names (On2/VP6, Sorenson, H.264), frame rate and bitrate patterns, and audio sample rate/codec. Visual signs in extracted frames—perfectly uniform frames, CGI-like edges, or motion interpolation artifacts—also point toward software generation or heavy processing. Conversely, sensor noise patterns, rolling-shutter skew, and natural motion blur tend to indicate camera-origin footage.

Tie-in to prior posts: ’s PHP library is useful for programmatic parsing when PHP is acceptable, but for a quick, standalone Ubuntu workflow the ffprobe/mediainfo/exiftool + frame-extraction path is faster and easier to interpret. Final caution: metadata is informative but not definitive; when a legal or forensic conclusion is required, preserve the original file and consult a digital-forensics specialist.

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Member Avatar for gusano79

Like this? Are you looking for a standalone tool, or do you mind writing a little code?

Member Avatar for Simplicity.

Hi gusano79.

Anyhow,but I think standalone tool would make things easier!

Member Avatar for Simplicity.

gusano79.

How do I excute the code or apply standalone tool? The video itself is here:

Member Avatar for gusano79

For the PHP thing I linked, you'll need to install PHP, download the source (all of it), and run php test2.php from the shell. Note you'll have to change this line: define('FILENAME', 'test.flv'); to reflect your filename.

Not the prettiest, but I couldn't really find anything nicer. Perhaps your Google-fu is stronger than mine.

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