Bug 510261

Summary:	Video dates (times) Are Incorrect Because the Timezone Is Not Considered
Product:	[Applications] digikam	Reporter:	vincent07ab
Component:	Metadata-Date	Assignee:	Digikam Developers <digikam-bugs-null>
Status:	REPORTED ---
Severity:	normal	CC:	metzpinguin
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	8.7.0
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Microsoft Windows
OS:	Microsoft Windows
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments:	sample image sample video Screenshot Digikam

Description vincent07ab 2025-10-05 12:05:40 UTC

SUMMARY
If a video file has no UTC offset set, Digikam defaults to the user's local timezone, which produces incorrect timestamps for media captured in a different timezone.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE

1. Locate a picture and a video taken in a different timezone, captured within a short time of each other.
2. Compare the timestamps of the picture and the video.

OBSERVED RESULT
The video displays an incorrect timestamp.

EXPECTED RESULT
The video should display the same timestamp as the corresponding picture.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Windows: Windows 11 Home 23H2
macOS:
(available in the Info Center app, or by running kinfo in a terminal window)
Linux/KDE Plasma:
KDE Plasma Version:
KDE Frameworks Version:
Qt Version:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This issue could potentially be resolved using geolocation data. The recorded location could be used to determine the correct timezone offset for the media.

Comment 1 Maik Qualmann 2025-10-05 12:31:49 UTC

Please provide a sample image and video with a different time.
What camera device was used? I can't imagine at the moment that the video metadata doesn't contain a correct UTC offset, apart from geolocation.

Maik

Comment 2 vincent07ab 2025-10-05 14:09:43 UTC

Created attachment 185530 [details]
sample image

Comment 3 vincent07ab 2025-10-05 14:10:24 UTC

Created attachment 185531 [details]
sample video

Comment 4 vincent07ab 2025-10-05 14:12:14 UTC

Created attachment 185532 [details]
Screenshot Digikam

Comment 5 Maik Qualmann 2025-10-05 18:30:10 UTC

Thanks for the sample files. Yes, there's no time zone offset information in the video. Ultimately, you'd have to use the GPS location; perhaps you could submit it as a feature request to ExifTool, since ExifTool recently added a geolocation API.
However, that would also require digiKam to support time zone offsets. We'll see; we'll start supporting this in one of the next digiKam versions.

At the moment, I would subtract an hour using the Time Adjust Tool with the ExifTool option enabled in the tool. It also adjusts the QuickTime date.

Maik

Comment 6 vincent07ab 2025-10-10 12:45:08 UTC

(In reply to Maik Qualmann from comment #5)
> Thanks for the sample files. Yes, there's no time zone offset information in
> the video. Ultimately, you'd have to use the GPS location; perhaps you could
> submit it as a feature request to ExifTool, since ExifTool recently added a
> geolocation API.
> However, that would also require digiKam to support time zone offsets. We'll
> see; we'll start supporting this in one of the next digiKam versions.
> 
> At the moment, I would subtract an hour using the Time Adjust Tool with the
> ExifTool option enabled in the tool. It also adjusts the QuickTime date.
> 
> Maik
Sorry for the late response, and thanks for supporting it in a future version. I’ll look into submitting a feature request to ExifTool. I’ve used the Time Adjust tool in the past to “correct” the time, but this causes problems in other apps like Immich or DigiKam when it supports timezone offsets with geolocation, which results in the wrong time.