What is the MODD file format?
A .modd file is a metadata sidecar generated by Sony camcorders. It stores information about a companion video clip - including recording date and time, GPS data, ratings, labels and comments - but contains no actual video data.
.modd files are created alongside the clips they describe. Common companions are .M2TS (high-definition video) and .MPG (standard-definition video); .modd can also accompany .MTS and .MOD clips. The naming convention appends .modd to the full video filename - for example, 00001.MTS.modd. Sony software also writes a matching binary .MOFF index and a .THM thumbnail alongside each .modd file.
Internally, .modd is plain UTF-8 XML starting with an <?xml declaration, structured as a ModdXML key/value document. Sony's Picture Motion Browser (PMB), bundled with Handycam camcorders from around 2007, used these files to analyse video clips. PMB was replaced by Sony PlayMemories Home in 2014, which continued writing .modd files as hidden sidecars. The files can be deleted to reclaim space; Sony's tools regenerate them on next import.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWA .modd is passive XML text - it cannot execute and is harmless to open. The only real consideration is privacy: it can contain GPS coordinates and exact timestamps for where/ when a clip was recorded, so strip or delete .modd sidecars before sharing folders if you don't want to leak location data. Deleting .modd/.moff files does not damage the video; Sony's software just regenerates them on the next import, so they are safe to remove to declutter.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open MODD files
Windows3 apps
PlayMemories Home (legacy)
Free If still installed, it reads .modd automatically to organize the matching clip. Note Sony has retired most of PlayMemories Home since 2020; it isn't required to play the video.
Notepad++ / Windows Notepad
Open-source Open the .modd to read its XML metadata (recording date, GPS, device). This is the simplest way to inspect one.
Any web browser
Free Drag the .modd into a browser to view the XML tree in a readable, collapsible form. 
macOS1 app
Linux1 app
Any text editor (gedit, Vim)
Open-source Open the .modd to read the ModdXML metadata; there is no Linux build of PlayMemories Home. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | XML sidecar - metadata companion to a video clip, containing no audio or video streams |
| Internal document type | `ModdXML` - plist-style key/value XML schema specific to Sony PMB and PlayMemories Home |
| Encoding | UTF-8 plain text |
| File signature (magic bytes) | `3C 3F 78 6D 6C` - ASCII `<?xml` at byte offset 0 |
| MIME type | `text/xml` (also accepted as `application/xml`) |
| Typical file size | 1 KB - 30 KB |
| Naming convention | Full video filename with `.modd` appended - e.g., `00001.MTS` becomes `00001.MTS.modd` |
| Metadata stored | Recording date/time, clip duration, GPS coordinates, camcorder model, video-analysis index data, ratings, labels and comments |
| Companion files per clip | `.moff` (binary analysis index) and `.thm` (JPEG thumbnail), generated together by Sony software |
| Source video formats described | `.m2ts`, `.mts`, `.mpg`, `.mod` - the clip files a `.modd` file accompanies |
| Originating software | Sony Picture Motion Browser (PMB), bundled with Handycam camcorders from approximately 2007 |
| Successor software | Sony PlayMemories Home (2014-2020), which continued writing `.modd` as hidden sidecar files |
| Operating systems | Windows (primary); macOS (PlayMemories Home legacy builds) |
| Regenerability | PMB and PlayMemories Home recreate `.modd` automatically on next clip import if the file is deleted |
| Human-readable | Yes - open as plain text in any editor (Notepad++, VS Code, gedit) or web browser without special tools |
| Released | circa 2007 (Sony Picture Motion Browser, bundled with Handycam camcorders) |
| Latest version | N/A (unversioned; carried forward into PlayMemories Home, 2014) |
| Specification | justsolve.archiveteam.org |
MODD conversions
Community Q&A
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