VLC is not using Apple iPhone 4S orientation info

[adjuvantjfoster]

I read the forum thread
How To Rotate a Video - step-by-step
by sls3nyc » Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:46 am 2 Replies 2734 Views Last post by Soozie Fri Oct 28, 2011 6:41 pm

Since that thread has been read by 2734 viewers, maybe it is time this "issue" actually a bug was addressed.

VLC is not using Apple iPhone 4S orientation info

Steps to repeat bug to demonstrate this issue:

1)Take video with iPhone 4S mounted in landscape position on a tripod holder. This positions the home button on the left and the volume control buttons on the top right facing the view screen
2)Open CameraRoll and use iPhoto to download videos from the iPhone 4S to a MacBook Pro running latest Lion.(iMovie is a much slower download than iPhoto)
3) Verify that the downloaded files play correctly in iPhoto i.e. they play right side up, in landscape.
4)Drag the video file from iPhoto to the Finder desktop and verify that the video plays correctly with QuickTime Player, i.e. right side up.
5) Use VLC Mac latest version to open the video file on the finder desktop. Notice, (with some concern) that VLC plays the file upside down.
6) Use Plex Laika to open the Finder file and notice that Laika also plays the file upside down
7) Add the video file to Plex server and notice that it plays upside down on another, older MacBook pro running Snow Leopard

Question: How come both VLC and Plex play this file upside down?

More information as follows:
1) Apple's Image Capture app ( installed by Lion in Applications folder) also works in moving files to a Finder folder from Camera Roll.
2) Apple apps all rotate the resultant iPhone 4S appropriately for videos taken with Home button up, down, on right of on left. (thumb nail images do not have any defects)
3) VLC and Plex with Home Button on left (so the sound buttons are on top right) puts the image up side down on the Mac.
4) With home button on right, the image is correctly oriented on the Macn
5) With home button up, the left side of the image is on the top side of the Mac screen
6) With home button down, the left side of the image is on the bottom of the Mac screen 0  

[adjuvantjfoster]

Based on a question asked in the Plex forum ( both Plex and VLC have the same problem) I answered as follows:
adjuvantjfoster

Newbie

Group:Members
Posts:4
Joined:Yesterday, 06:43 PM
Posted Today, 07:30 PM
boots2x, on Today, 02:39 AM, said:
[Moved post to more appropriate forum]

Could you please post output from MediaInfo for this video? It may be that it contains a rotation flag that VLC and Plex are/are not honouring.

James


It took me a bit of research to decode your request (grin) ( being the BlackBox software tester that I am, but here ya go:

http://wikipedia.ora.../wiki/MediaInfo

MediaInfo is a free, Open-source program that displays technical information about media files, as well as tag information for many audio and video files. It is used in many programs such as XMedia Recode, MediaCoder, eMule, K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Classic Homecinema and can be easily integrated into any program using a supplied MediaInfo.dll. MediaInfo supports popular video formats (e.g. AVI, WMV, Quicktime, DivX, XviD) as well as many lesser known or emerging formats (e.g. MKV, OGM, Real). MediaInfo provides a GUI for easily viewing the information.

http://itunes.apple....242?mt=12&ls=1#

Using Media Inspector of a typical (ie viewed upside down) iPhone 4S video file, the results are posted below:

* * * Media Inspector 0.7.443 file analysis report.
* * * Media Inspector is ©2011 by Diego Massanti - http://mediainfo.massanti.com
* * * MediaInfoLib by Jerome Martinez - http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net
Created on: Nov 3, 2011 11:28:03 AM PDT
Report for file: 103011LAKings4S3.MOV

General / Container Stream #1
Total Video Streams for this File.................1
Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
Video Codecs Used.................................AVC
Audio Codecs Used.................................AAC LC
File Format.......................................MPEG-4
Play Time.........................................34mn 36s
Total File Size...................................5.78 GiB
Total Stream BitRate..............................23.9 Mbps
Encoded with......................................5.0
Encoding Library..................................Apple QuickTime
Video Stream #1
Codec (Human Name)................................AVC
Codec (FourCC)....................................avc1
Codec Profile.....................................Baseline@L4.1
Frame Width.......................................1 920 pixels
Frame Height......................................1 080 pixels
Frame Rate........................................29.970 fps
Total Frames......................................62217
Display Aspect Ratio..............................16:9
Scan Type.........................................Progressive
Color Space.......................................YUV
Codec Settings (Summary)..........................1 Ref Frames
QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.384
Codec Settings (CABAC)............................No
Codec Settings (Reference Frames).................1
Video Stream Length...............................34mn 35s 976ms
Video Stream BitRate..............................23.8 Mbps
Video Stream BitRate Mode.........................VBR
Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
Video Stream Size.................................5.76 GiB (100%)
Video Stream Title................................Core Media Video
Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2011-10-30 17:55:29
Color Primaries...................................BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer Characteristics..........................BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix Coefficients...............................BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177
Audio Stream #1
Codec.............................................AAC
Codec (FourCC)....................................40
Audio Stream Length...............................34mn 36s 26ms
Audio Stream BitRate..............................64.0 Kbps
Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
Number of Audio Channels..........................1
Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: C
Sampling Rate.....................................44.1 KHz
Audio Stream Size.................................15.6 MiB (0%)
Audio Stream Title................................Core Media Audio
Date of Original Encoding.........................UTC 2011-10-30 17:55:29
103011LAKings4S3.txt (3.07K)
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