how do i find the date a video (.AVI .MP4) was actually recorded?

Question

properties> date created... i thought this meant the date the video was created, but finally realized that date changes every time i move, reorganize, even open a file. often, the date modified is earlier than date created. the date a jpeg was taken is readily available. is there any way to get the same information from an AVI or MP4 FILE? thank you for any information you can give.

Answer 1

Quick Command for Finding Date/Time Metadata in Many Video Files

The following command has served me well in finding date/time metadata on various AVI/MP4 videos:

ffmpeg -i /path/to/video.mp4 -dump

Note: as mentioned in other answers, there is no guarantee that such information is available in all video files or available in a specific format.

Abbreviated Sample Output for Some AVI File

    Metadata:
      Make            : FUJIFILM
      Model           : FinePix AX655
      DateTime        : 2014:08:25 05:19:45
      JPEGInterchangeFormat:     658
      JPEGInterchangeFormatLength:    1521
      Copyright       :     
      DateTimeOriginal: 2014:08:25 05:19:45
      DateTimeDigitized: 2014:08:25 05:19:45

Abbreviated Sample Output for Some MP4 File

  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp41
    minor_version   : 538120216
    compatible_brands: mp41
    creation_time   : 2018-03-13T15:43:24.000000Z