--- title: "Video Codec Checker: H.264, HEVC or AV1? | metadata.video" description: "Find out which codec a video uses: H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9 or ProRes, plus profile, bit depth, chroma and audio codec. Free, and the file is never uploaded." url: https://metadata.video/video-codec-checker --- Free · runs in your browser # Check which codec a video uses Open a file to see its video and audio codecs, profile, level, bit depth and codec tag, each explained in plain English. It all happens on your device. To find out what codec a video uses, open it here and look at the codec card in the **Video** section: it names the compression format (H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9, ProRes and so on) along with its profile, level, bit depth, chroma subsampling and the codec tag stored in the file. The **Audio** section does the same for the soundtrack, which matters because a clip can fail to play because of its sound alone. The file extension won’t tell you this. `.mp4`, `.mov` and `.mkv` are containers: boxes that hold a video stream, one or more audio streams and sometimes subtitles. Two MP4 files can carry completely different codecs, which is why one plays on an old laptop and the other shows an error. If you are here because of a playback error, the [video codec not supported guide](https://metadata.video/video-codec-not-supported) walks through the fixes. The file is read in your browser by three readers (a built-in MP4/MOV box reader, Mediabunny and MediaInfo compiled to WebAssembly) and is never uploaded. Because nothing is decoded to read these details, the checker works even when your browser can’t play the video. ## How to check a video’s codec 1. ### Open the video Drop the file on **Drop a video or photo here** or press **Open a file** (Ctrl/Cmd+O). To see how the page works first, press **Try the sample video**. 2. ### Read the codec card in Video The page opens on the **Video** section. The codec card shows the codec, profile, level, bit depth, chroma subsampling and codec tag (such as avc1, hvc1 or hev1). The ⓘ beside each value explains it. 3. ### Check where it will play The **Plays on** row under the codec card gives a quick read on compatibility, so you can see whether the format is likely to cause trouble on the device you have in mind. 4. ### Look at the audio too Press `J` or `K`, or pick **Audio** in the section list, to see the audio codec, channels, sample rate and bitrate. Press `/` to search every field at once, for example for “codec”. 5. ### Copy the details if you need them Open **Report** and press **Copy** or **Download text** to paste the full technical report into a support ticket, forum post or delivery checklist. ## Container and codec: why “MP4” is not the answer Every video file has two layers. The **container** is the file format you see in the name: MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI. It organises the data, stores the timing and holds the tags. The **codec** is the method used to compress the pictures and the sound inside it. A player needs to understand both, and the codec is the part that most often goes wrong. A container such as MP4 is a wrapper holding separate streams: a video stream compressed with one codec (for example HEVC), an audio stream compressed with another (for example AAC), and optional subtitle and data tracks. __Typical pairings. Containers allow other combinations, which is exactly why checking the codec is worth doing.__ | Container | Video codecs you will usually find | Audio codecs you will usually find | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | MP4 / M4V | H.264, HEVC, AV1 | AAC, sometimes AC-3 or E-AC-3 | | MOV (Apple QuickTime) | H.264, HEVC, Apple ProRes | AAC, PCM, ALAC | | MKV (Matroska) | Anything: H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9, older formats | AAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS, FLAC, Opus | | WebM | VP8, VP9, AV1 | Opus, Vorbis | | AVI | Older formats such as MPEG-4 Part 2 (DivX, Xvid), Motion JPEG | MP3, AC-3, PCM | | MTS / M2TS (camcorders, Blu-ray) | H.264, MPEG-2, HEVC | AC-3, LPCM | The [video file info](https://metadata.video/video-file-info) report lists every stream in the container, including timecode and telemetry tracks, if you need more than the codec. ## What each value on the codec card means | Field | Example | What it tells you | | --------- | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Codec | HEVC (H.265) | The compression standard. H.264 is also called AVC; HEVC is also called H.265. | | Profile | Main 10, High | Which set of tools the encoder was allowed to use. Main 10 means 10-bit HEVC; High is the usual H.264 profile for HD. | | Level | 5.1 | A ceiling on resolution, frame rate and bitrate. Hardware decoders advertise the highest level they can handle. | | Bit depth | 8-bit, 10-bit | How many shades each colour channel can take: 256 at 8-bit, 1,024 at 10-bit. HDR needs 10-bit. | | Chroma | 4:2:0, 4:2:2 | How much colour detail is stored compared with brightness detail. | | Codec tag | avc1, hvc1, hev1, av01, apch | The four-character code in the file that tells players which decoder to use. | ### Chroma subsampling Our eyes notice fine changes in brightness more than fine changes in colour, so most video stores colour at lower resolution. 4:2:0, used by phones, streaming services and YouTube uploads, keeps one colour sample for every block of four pixels. 4:2:2, common in professional cameras and ProRes, keeps twice as much, which helps with green-screen keying and heavy grading. 4:4:4 keeps full colour and is mostly used for screen recordings and graphics. A 4 × 2 block of pixels: 4:4:4 stores a colour sample for every pixel, 4:2:2 shares each colour sample between two horizontal neighbours, and 4:2:0 shares one colour sample across a 2 × 2 square. ### hvc1 and hev1: same codec, different packaging Both tags mean HEVC. With **hvc1**, the decoder setup information (the parameter sets) sits in the file’s header; with **hev1**, it may instead be repeated inside the video stream. Apple’s players, including QuickTime, Photos and Safari, expect hvc1, so an hev1 file that plays fine in VLC or Chrome can refuse to open on an iPhone or Mac. Re-wrapping the stream with the hvc1 tag usually fixes it without re-encoding, for example with ffmpeg: `ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -tag:v hvc1 output.mp4` metadata.video shows the codec tag but does not change it. The command above copies the streams as they are and only rewrites the container. ## What is a video codec? A codec (short for coder–decoder) is the agreed method for squeezing video into a manageable size and unpacking it again for playback. Uncompressed 1080p at 30 frames per second needs about 750 megabits per second even in the leanest 8-bit 4:2:0 form; a phone records the same scene at a few tens of megabits. Codecs get there by storing complete pictures only now and then and describing the frames in between as changes, by throwing away detail the eye is unlikely to miss, and by packing what remains very efficiently. | Codec | Also called | Where you meet it | Strength | Watch out for | | ------------ | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | H.264 | AVC, MPEG-4 Part 10 | Almost everywhere: older phones, web video, Blu-ray, video calls | Plays on practically every device | Larger files than newer codecs at the same quality | | HEVC | H.265 | iPhone “High Efficiency” recordings, 4K and HDR video, many cameras | About half the size of H.264 in the best cases; supports HDR | Needs an extension on some Windows PCs; browser support depends on hardware | | AV1 | AOMedia Video 1 | Streaming services, newer screen recorders, some phones | Very efficient and royalty-free | Older phones and PCs lack hardware decoding | | VP9 | YouTube streams, WebM files | Royalty-free, widely supported in browsers | Rare outside the web | | | Apple ProRes | Pro iPhones, professional cameras and editors | Easy to edit, very high quality | Huge files; little support outside Apple and editing software | | | MPEG-2 | H.262 | DVDs, older camcorders, broadcast recordings | Simple to decode | Inefficient by modern standards | ### Which video codec should you use? * **To send a file that must play anywhere:** H.264 video with AAC audio in an MP4. * **To record or store with less space:** HEVC, if the devices you use can play it. See [HEVC vs H.264](https://metadata.video/hevc-vs-h264) for the trade-offs. * **For HDR:** HEVC (10-bit) or AV1; H.264 HDR exists but is rarely supported. The [HDR video checker](https://metadata.video/hdr-video-checker) shows which HDR format a file uses. * **For editing:** an intermediate codec such as ProRes, if your storage allows, because editors scrub through it far more smoothly than through long-GOP formats. ## Other ways to check a codec * **Mac:** open the file in QuickTime Player and choose **Window > Show Movie Inspector** (Command-I). It lists the compression format, bit depth, size and frame rate. * **VLC (Windows and Linux):** play the file and choose **Tools > Codec Information** (Ctrl+J) to see each stream’s codec. * **Windows File Explorer:** right-click the file, choose Properties, then the Details tab. It shows frame size, frame rate and data rates, but rarely names the codec of an MP4 or MKV. * **Command line:** ffprobe prints the codec of every stream. The [ffprobe guide](https://metadata.video/how-to-use-ffprobe) explains the output. `ffprobe -v error -show_entries stream=index,codec_type,codec_name,codec_tag_string,profile,level,pix_fmt -of compact file.mp4` The `pix_fmt` value in that output folds bit depth and chroma together: `yuv420p` is 8-bit 4:2:0, `yuv420p10le` is 10-bit 4:2:0 and `yuv422p10le` is 10-bit 4:2:2. ## Video codecs: common questions ### Why won’t my MP4 play when MP4 is supposed to work everywhere? MP4 is only the container. If the video inside is HEVC, AV1 or 10-bit H.264, or the audio is AC-3 or DTS, a player that lacks that decoder will refuse it. Check both codecs here, then see the [codec not supported guide](https://metadata.video/video-codec-not-supported) for fixes. ### What is the difference between hvc1 and hev1? Both are HEVC. hvc1 keeps the decoder setup in the file header, hev1 allows it inside the stream. Apple devices generally need hvc1, and re-wrapping with the hvc1 tag usually fixes an HEVC file that won’t open on an iPhone or Mac. ### How can I tell H.264 from H.265 on Windows or a Mac? On a Mac, QuickTime’s Movie Inspector (Command-I) names the compression format. On Windows, File Explorer usually doesn’t, so use VLC’s **Tools > Codec Information** or open the file here, where the codec card says H.264 (AVC) or HEVC (H.265) with its tag. ### What do the profile and level mean? The profile is the toolset the encoder used (for example High for H.264 or Main 10 for HEVC). The level caps resolution, frame rate and bitrate. A device can fail on a file whose profile or level is higher than its decoder supports, even though the codec name matches. ### Is 10-bit video a different codec? No, it is the same codec with a profile that allows more shades per colour channel. It does need a decoder that supports that profile, which is why 10-bit H.264 in particular fails on many phones, TVs and browsers. ### Does checking the codec change or upload my file? No. The file is read on your device and nothing is sent anywhere. Viewing details never modifies the file; only **Download new file** in **Edit & clean** writes a new copy, and only when you ask for it. ### Can it tell me the audio codec as well? Yes. The **Audio** section shows the codec (AAC, Opus, AC-3, E-AC-3, DTS, FLAC, PCM and more), the channel layout with a speaker diagram, the sample rate, bitrate and language. ## Related metadata guides * [ Video metadata viewer See, explain, edit and remove everything a video or photo says about itself. ](https://metadata.video/) * [ Fix “video codec not supported” errors Find which stream a device can’t decode and choose between another player, an extension or a converted copy. ](https://metadata.video/video-codec-not-supported) * [ HEVC vs H.264 compared File size, quality, compatibility and editing compared, with the iPhone format setting explained. ](https://metadata.video/hevc-vs-h264) * [ Full video file info report A MediaInfo-style text report, JSON and box tree for any video, with hashes on request. ](https://metadata.video/video-file-info) * [ Check if a video is HDR SDR, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG or Dolby Vision, with profile, bit depth, primaries and MaxCLL explained. ](https://metadata.video/hdr-video-checker) * [ How to use ffprobe Real ffprobe commands for streams, tags, HDR and frame counts, and ffmpeg for stripping. ](https://metadata.video/how-to-use-ffprobe)