Camcorders from the 1990s and 2000s burned the recording date and time directly into the video frames. This was a feature at the time, before digital metadata existed. The stamp is typically bright orange, yellow, or white text in the lower-right corner showing something like "2003/05/15 14:32."
Modern dashcams and security cameras also burn timestamps into the footage. Some action cameras (GoPro, DJI) can optionally add date/time overlays.
These stamps are baked into the pixels of every frame. They are not metadata that can be stripped. Removing them requires the same techniques used for watermark removal.
Why people want to remove date stamps
Repurposing old family footage: Digitizing VHS tapes or MiniDV cassettes for a family video compilation. The date stamps look dated (pun intended) and distract from the content.
Using dashcam footage for non-evidentiary purposes: Sharing a scenic drive video on social media. The timestamp clutters the view and is not needed for casual sharing. (For insurance or legal purposes, keep the timestamp version as evidence.)
Professional use of old footage: Using vintage footage in a documentary, YouTube video, or presentation. The date stamp looks unprofessional and may reveal information you do not want to share (the exact date and time).
Privacy: The timestamp reveals when footage was recorded. Removing it before sharing protects temporal privacy.
Removal vs. covering
Removal (inpainting): The tool analyzes the pixels behind the stamp and fills in estimated background content. This produces the cleanest result but may show artifacts if the background behind the stamp has complex detail.
Covering (overlay): Place a solid-colored rectangle, blur box, or decorative element over the stamp area. This is simpler and guaranteed to hide the stamp, but it adds a visible element to the video. A tasteful black bar or a subtle blur can look intentional rather than like a cover-up.
Cropping: If the stamp is in the extreme corner, you can crop the video to remove that portion of the frame. This reduces the frame size slightly and may cut off other edge content, but it eliminates the stamp completely with no artifacts.
For most date stamp removal, inpainting works well because the stamp is small, consistently positioned, and usually over a relatively simple background area (the lower corner of the scene).
Batch processing old footage
If you have hours of old footage with a consistent date stamp in the same position, you only need to define the stamp region once. The removal tool can process the entire video using the same region definition for every frame.
This is efficient because old camcorder timestamps do not move. They are in the same pixel position for the entire recording. The tool processes the same rectangular region of every frame.
Preserving the original
Always keep the original footage with the date stamp intact. The timestamp provides historical context (when was this recorded?) that may be valuable later. Remove the stamp only from copies intended for sharing or presentation.
For VHS digitizations, the original tape is the master. For digital camcorder footage, keep the original files on a backup drive. The MediaBrew remove watermark tool works well for date stamps since they occupy a fixed position with consistent background. Select the stamp region and the tool processes each frame to remove it.