How To Clone File Properties

[Junior247]

Hi,

I want to take all of the properties - including the checksum - from a video file and assign it to another video file. Does anyone know of a tool that I can use to achieve this.

 

[psionandy]

Isn't the point of checksums that they shouldn't be just assigned willy nilly?

 

[Junior247]

I suppose that is the point of checksums, but is what I'm asking possible?

 

[psionandy]

Hopefully NO!

 

[Deleted User]

I suppose that is the point of checksums, but is what I'm asking possible?

What "properties" are you referring to?

 

[mikedt]

I suppose that is the point of checksums, but is what I'm asking possible?

It isn't. The whole purpose of calculating a checksum is to ensure file integrity. If one was applied willy nilly, the software is very likely to assume the file is damaged and corrupted, and not play it.

 

[Hadron]

Indeed. For a checksum to work you need to generate it there and then and then compare with the expected value. So modifying the "expected" value would be detected as file corruption.

 

[Deleted User]

If this is a video file, are you talking about the metadata associated with the file? You can do that programmatically.

 

[svim]

Any checksum will be unique and specifically tied to its file. Its checksum is used to confirm that file is valid and unaltered.
Intentionally getting around that, sometimes referred to as 'checksum spoofing', is often an indication one is trying to slip some kind of exploit into an otherwise 'safe to use' file (i.e. a black hat hacker inserts some keylogging code into an ISO file and then posting that compromised ISO with its spoofed checksum in a mirror repository). But typically checksums don't apply to things like multimedia files anyway.

As for 'cloning file properties' between two different video files, that just doesn't apply. If you want to change the size, run length, codecs, etc. of a video file (this will probably also involve both its video stream and its audio stream), this will need to be done by re-processing/converting the video file itself. A video file's properties are determined by the file's actual content, you cannot just change its properties by copying file attributes from one video to different one.

 

[Junior247]

Thank you for the input guys.

Let me explain my problem:

I have an Android Media Player. It has a few short videos that are kind of stuck in it. These videos are saved to the device. When I move a new video into the device, it plays but then it disappears. I does not save to the device. The videos that are saved to the device can be removed and then put back. So I wanted to know if it's possible to take the properties of one of the videos that save to the device and put them on a new video so that the device will recognize the new video as the old one and hopefully save it.

 

[psionandy]

I think you're barking up the tree with the properties thing... Whatever is going on, I don't think thats the solution to the issue

 

[svim]

..... So I wanted to know if it's possible to take the properties of one of the videos that save to the device and put them on a new video so that the device will recognize the new video as the old one and hopefully save it.

No, what you're referring to is not possible. Video files contain their own unique data, a video stream synced with an audio stream that have specific attributes. It's not possible to just copy a video file's properties and apply that into different video file to magically convert it. If you do want to alter a video file, you have to re-process it and actually change its file size, resolution, codecs, etc. to match that other video file.

 

[Junior247]

• Thank you for the input guys!