Powershell grouping files that created within n minutes

I'm aiming to merge video files that created by a dashcam.

While driving, the camera writes a new file at every n minutes. If n=3, 30 minutes of driving generates 10 files that "date created" attribute within 3 minutes.

An example folder content:

Filename	Date Created	Group
1.ts	2024-09-03 19:00	Group 1
2.ts	2024-09-03 19:03	Group 1
3.ts	2024-09-03 19:06	Group 1
4.ts	2024-09-03 19:20	Group 2
5.ts	2024-09-03 19:23	Group 2
6.ts	2024-09-03 19:40	Group 3
7.ts	2024-09-03 19:44	Group 4

Desired output (in a loop probably):

1.ts, 2.ts, 3.ts    
4.ts, 5.ts    
6.ts    
7.ts

How can I get get 4 groups of filenames from this input in Powershell? I then will combine these group of files to a single video per group so I have a single video per drive session. (Transport Stream files are directly concenateable without processing with ffmpeg etc. so I can use a simple copy /b "input files" output.ts)

Thanks

Solution

Here you go. You can run the script by copying the code in a text editor, save the file as yourname.ps1 drap&drop it into a powershell window and append your parameter at the end before starting it with enter e.g: myscriptname.ps1 "pathtomyfolder" 4

You can copy the path to the folder via right click on it and "copy adress". the timegap parameter defaults to 3. the video appending i coould not test, for that I would need some sample ts files (joke). U can build that in in the end

param(
[string]$targetFolder,
[int]$timegap=3
)

# Define the main list to hold all the drive collections with titles
    $listOfLists = @()
    
    # Get all files in the folder, ordered by creation time (oldest first)
    $files = Get-ChildItem -Path $targetFolder | Sort-Object CreationTime
    
    # Initialize variables
    $previousFile = $null
    $driveCollection = @()
    $collectionNumber = 1
    
    foreach ($file in $files) {
        if ($previousFile) {
            # Calculate the time difference in minutes between the current and previous file
            $timeDifference = ($file.CreationTime - $previousFile.CreationTime).TotalMinutes
    
            # If the time difference is more than 3 minutes, start a new drive collection
            if ($timeDifference -gt $timegap) {
                # Add the current drive collection to the list of lists with a title (if not empty)
                if ($driveCollection.Count -gt 0) {
                    $title = "Collection $collectionNumber"
                    $listOfLists += $title
                    $listOfLists += [System.Collections.ArrayList]$driveCollection.Clone()
                    $collectionNumber++
                }
                # Start a new drive collection
                $driveCollection.Clear()
            }
        }
    
        # Add the current file with its creation time to the current drive collection
        $driveCollection += "$($file.Name) - Created: $($file.CreationTime)"
    
        # Set the current file as the previous file for the next iteration
        $previousFile = $file
    }
    
    # Add the last drive collection to the list of lists with a title (if not empty)
    if ($driveCollection.Count -gt 0) {
        $title = "Collection $collectionNumber"
        $listOfLists += $title
        $listOfLists += [System.Collections.ArrayList]$driveCollection.Clone()
    }

# Output the list of lists for verification

$listOfLists