Format Video Length in HH:MM:SS from Command Line

By  on  

In my experimentation with audio and video manipulation, I've found that most tools prefer to handle time in HH:MM:SS (hour:minute:second) format.  I always presumed that using seconds would be easier but I'm barely a novice media tool user, much less a tool creator.

When I wrote the Create Short Preview from Video post, I calculated the video length in seconds with the following command:

length=$(ffprobe $sourcefile  -show_format 2>&1 | sed -n 's/duration=//p' | awk '{print int($0)}')]

That was helpful in detecting if a video was long enough to generate a preview for, but I then needed to get that length in HH:MM:SS format:

formattedlength=$(printf "%02d:%02d:%02d\n" $(($length/3600)) $(($length%3600/60)) $(($length%60)))

In the end you need to evaluate loads of individual statements to get your final HH:MM:SS format!

Recent Features

  • By
    JavaScript Promise API

    While synchronous code is easier to follow and debug, async is generally better for performance and flexibility. Why "hold up the show" when you can trigger numerous requests at once and then handle them when each is ready?  Promises are becoming a big part of the JavaScript world...

  • By
    From Webcam to Animated GIF: the Secret Behind chat.meatspac.es!

    My team mate Edna Piranha is not only an awesome hacker; she's also a fantastic philosopher! Communication and online interactions is a subject that has kept her mind busy for a long time, and it has also resulted in a bunch of interesting experimental projects...

Incredible Demos

  • By
    Fancy FAQs with jQuery Sliders

    Frequently asked questions can be super boring, right? They don't have to be! I've already shown you how to create fancy FAQs with MooTools -- here's how to create the same effect using jQuery. The HTML Simply a series of H3s and DIVs wrapper...

  • By
    Degradable SELECT onChange

    Whenever I go to Google Analytics I notice a slight flicker in the dropdown list area. I see a button appear for the shortest amount of time and the poof! Gone. What that tells me is that Google is making their site function...

Discussion

    Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!