How to add a date and time stamp to dashcam video

Where a dashcam keeps the time

Dashcams record the time in one or more of these places, even when nothing shows on the picture:

• The file name. Most dashcams name clips by date and time, for example 20261016_143005_F.MP4.
• A log file next to the clip. Some dashcams and body cams write a .SRT file with the date and time (and often GPS) for every second.
• The video file itself. Many write a creation time into the file’s metadata.

Two things to watch: some cameras store the time in UTC, and the camera’s clock is only as right as the last time someone set it. Daylight saving changes are a common cause of clips that are exactly an hour off.

Check the camera clock first (free)

Before you rely on any timestamp, compare one clip against something you know: a phone photo taken at the same moment, a receipt, or a known event. If the camera was off by a fixed amount, write that down with the case notes; Video Stamp lets you enter a corrected start time for the copy.

Add a running date and time with Video Stamp

1. Copy the clips straight off the SD card to your PC, together with any .SRT files of the same name. Keep the card copies as your untouched originals.
2. Drag the clips into Video Stamp. It reads the start time from the clip’s log, its metadata or its file name, and shows you where the time came from. A time taken only from the file name is marked for you to confirm before stamping.
3. Pick the date and time format, the position and the look.
4. Click Stamp Video. You get a new copy with a running date and time; the original stays exactly as it was. Several clips can be stamped in one batch.

An optional report records SHA-256 fingerprints of the original and the stamped copy, and where the start time came from.