RR_VideoPathMetaExtraction

The annoying gap this node fills: VideoHelperSuite's VHS_LoadVideoPath will happily load a video, but it won't hand you the settings that video was made with. This node does both at once. Point RR_VideoPathMetaExtraction at a local MP4 and it returns the file path back out one wire (for VHS_LoadVideoPath) and the embedded workflow metadata out the other (for RR_Image_Metadata_Overlay).

The README calls it the front-end of the pack's comparison pipeline, and the workflow file shipped in the repo uses seven of these feeding one overlay node, so the intended shape is clear: pick a saved clip, load it, label it.

How it works

You give it a single video_file_path string. It checks the file actually exists on disk, then - and this is the whole trick - it reads the MP4's comment tag with the tinytag library. That comment is where VideoHelperSuite stashes the same workflow JSON that ComfyUI writes into PNG metadata, but only when you save with VHS_VideoCombine and metadata enabled. So:

VHS_VideoCombine (metadata on) → MP4 with workflow JSON in its comment tag
RR_VideoPathMetaExtraction → (path, workflow JSON)

Output one is the path you typed in, passed straight through. Output two is the metadata string, ready for the overlay node's metadata1/metadata2 inputs.

The inputs and outputs that matter

Just the one input, honestly: video_file_path. Two outputs:

• STRING - the file path, wire it into VHS_LoadVideoPath's file_path input
• METADATA - the workflow JSON, wire it into RR_Image_Metadata_Overlay

There's no file browser and no drag-and-drop - this is a plain text box, so you're pasting or typing absolute paths. That's the real friction of the node. On Linux that means /home/you/ComfyUI/output/yourvideo.mp4, not the friendly output/yourvideo.mp4 VHS lets you pick.

Install

Same as the rest of the pack. ComfyUI Manager, search "RenderRift" or "ComfyUI-RenderRiftNodes", or:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/RenderRift/ComfyUI-RenderRiftNodes

Restart ComfyUI. tinytag is in the pack's requirements.txt, so it installs automatically. You'll also want VideoHelperSuite installed - this node only exists to feed VHS nodes, after all. No model files involved anywhere.

Troubleshooting

• "File not found: ..." - the path you typed isn't where the file actually lives, or it's relative when you need absolute. Double-check the exact filename and extension.
• "Unsuported file type" (their spelling, not mine) - the node only handles .mp4. .webm, .mov, .mkv all get rejected with an exception. If your pipeline outputs WebM, re-save as MP4 or skip this node.
• Metadata comes back empty - the video was saved with metadata disabled in VHS_VideoCombine, so there's nothing in the comment tag. Re-save with metadata on. If you feed that empty string downstream, the overlay node dies with "Metadata not found in file."

It's a small, honest utility from a one-person pack that's been unmaintained since December 2023 - the mp4-only limit and the typing-the-path friction will probably never get fixed. But if you're already on VHS and want saved clips to carry their own settings through a comparison grid, this is the missing middle piece.