--- title: "Video File Info: A MediaInfo-Style Report | metadata.video" description: "Get full video file info: every stream, codec, bitrate and tag in a MediaInfo-style text report or JSON, with MD5 and SHA-256 hashes. Free, nothing uploaded." url: https://metadata.video/video-file-info --- Free · runs in your browser # Full technical info for any video file One report with the container, every track and every tag, ready to copy into a support ticket or save as text, JSON or CSV. Read on your device. To get the full technical info for a video file, open it here and go to **Report**. You get a MediaInfo text report that lists the container, each video, audio, subtitle and data track, and every tag the file carries, which you can **Copy** or save with **Download text**, **Download JSON** or **Download CSV**. The text report is produced by MediaInfoLib, the open-source library behind the MediaInfo desktop app, compiled to WebAssembly and served from this site. It is fetched once (about 1 MB compressed) when you open a file, and then reads your video inside the browser. The video itself is never uploaded, and there is no account to create. Alongside the text you also get JSON for scripts and spreadsheets, and an MP4/MOV box tree that shows how the file is built. If you only need one detail, the dedicated pages are quicker: the [codec checker](https://metadata.video/video-codec-checker), the [resolution checker](https://metadata.video/video-resolution-checker) or the [bitrate checker](https://metadata.video/video-bitrate-checker). This page is for the moment when someone asks you for “the full MediaInfo” of a file. ## How to get a full report for a video 1. ### Open the video Drop it on “Drop a video or photo here”, press **Open a file** (Ctrl/Cmd+O) or paste it (Ctrl/Cmd+V). MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI, MTS/M2TS, WMV and most other formats open. **Try the sample video** shows what a report looks like first. 2. ### Go to Report Pick **Report** from the section list, or press `J` and `K` to move through the sections. On a phone the sections run down one long page and **Report** is near the end. 3. ### Choose the view you need Read the MediaInfo text report, switch to JSON for a machine-readable version, or open the MP4/MOV box tree to see the file’s structure. Press `/` to search every field for a word such as “HDR” or “rotation”. 4. ### Copy or download it Press **Copy** to paste the report into an email or forum post, or save it with **Download text**, **Download JSON** or **Download CSV**. 5. ### Add hashes if you need them Press **Calculate hashes** for the file’s MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256, worked out on your device. Long files take a little while because every byte is read. ## What the report contains A video file is a container holding several streams, and the report follows that structure. It opens with a General block about the file as a whole, then gives one block per track. Each line is a field name and a value, in the same layout MediaInfo users will recognise. A container such as MP4 or MKV wraps separate streams: a video track in a codec like HEVC, one or more audio tracks in a codec like AAC, and optional subtitle, timecode and data tracks. __The blocks in a MediaInfo-style report and what each one covers.__ | Block | What it lists | Typical lines | | ------------ | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | General | The container and the file as a whole | Format (MPEG-4, QuickTime, Matroska), file size, duration, overall bit rate, encoded date, writing application, title and other tags | | Video | Each picture track | Codec and profile (HEVC Main 10), width and height, display aspect ratio, frame rate and frame rate mode, bit depth, chroma subsampling, colour primaries, HDR format, rotation | | Audio | Each sound track | Codec (AAC LC, E-AC-3, Opus), channels and layout, sampling rate, bit rate, language, default flag | | Text | Each subtitle track | Format (SRT, ASS, PGS, mov\_text), language, forced and default flags | | Other / Menu | Timecode, chapters and data tracks | Timecode start, chapter times and titles, telemetry or metadata tracks from action cameras and drones | Two numbers confuse people more than any others. **Overall bit rate** in the General block counts everything in the file, while the bit rate in the Video block counts the picture alone, so the first is always the larger. And **Frame rate mode: Variable** is normal for phone footage; the [frame rate checker](https://metadata.video/video-frame-rate-checker) measures the real minimum and maximum from the frame timings. ## Text, JSON, CSV or box tree: which one to use * **Text** is what people mean when they ask for “the MediaInfo”. Paste it into a forum thread, a bug report for an editing app, or a delivery check against a broadcaster’s spec sheet. * **JSON** has the same values with stable keys, so a script can read them. It suits automated checks, such as confirming every file in a delivery is 25 fps and stereo. * **CSV** opens in a spreadsheet as field and value columns, handy for comparing a handful of files by eye. * The **box tree** (MP4 and MOV only) shows the boxes the file is made of, in order, with their sizes. It is where you look when a file will not stream until fully downloaded, or when you want to see exactly where a tag or a location is stored. Inside an MP4: the ftyp box names the brand, moov holds the movie header, one trak per stream and the udta and meta boxes with tags, and mdat holds the compressed audio and video. ### Reading the box tree A few box names cover most questions. `ftyp` says which family the file claims to belong to (an iPhone MOV says `qt`). `moov` holds the movie header `mvhd` with the creation date and duration, one `trak` per stream, and user data in `udta` and `meta`, where titles, Apple’s `com.apple.quicktime` keys and location strings live. `mdat` is the media itself and is usually most of the file. If `moov` comes after `mdat`, a browser has to fetch the end of the file before it can start playing. ## How it compares with MediaInfo and ffprobe MediaInfo and ffprobe are the two tools professionals reach for, and both are excellent. This report does not replace them for every job; it removes the install step and adds explanations. Here is a fair comparison. __Checked on 7 November 2026 against the FFmpeg ffprobe documentation and MediaInfo’s published features.__ | This report | MediaInfo (desktop) | ffprobe | | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ | --------------------------- | | Where it runs | In the browser, on the device | Windows, macOS, Linux app and command line | Command line, with FFmpeg | | Install | None | Yes | Yes | | Text report | Yes (MediaInfoLib) | Yes | Its own format | | JSON / CSV | JSON and CSV | JSON, XML and more | JSON, XML, CSV, flat, INI | | MP4/MOV box tree | Yes | Not as a browsable tree | No | | Explanations next to values | Yes (the ⓘ on each field) | No | No | | Map for GPS, edit and strip | Yes | No | No (ffmpeg can strip) | | Frame-by-frame data | Frame timing, key frames and bitrate graph | No | Yes, every packet and frame | | Many files at once | No, one file at a time | Yes, whole folders | Yes, with a shell loop | Because the text report comes from the same library as the desktop app, the values usually match what MediaInfo shows for the same file; small differences can appear between library versions. If you need to process hundreds of files or want every packet as data, the [ffprobe guide](https://metadata.video/how-to-use-ffprobe) shows the commands. If you want to understand one file, or check it on a phone or a locked-down work computer where nothing can be installed, the browser report is quicker. ## Hashes: proving two files are the same **Calculate hashes** reads every byte and gives MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256 fingerprints. If two files have the same SHA-256, they are identical, bit for bit. If a single byte differs, the hash changes completely. * Record the hash when you receive a file, so you can later show the copy you are working on is unchanged. This is the first step in any careful [video forensics](https://metadata.video/video-forensics) work. * Compare against a hash someone published, to confirm a download was not corrupted or swapped. * Remember that editing a tag or stripping metadata changes the hash even though the picture and sound are untouched. Two files can look identical on screen and still hash differently. Hashes are computed in your browser. Neither the file nor the hash is sent anywhere. ## Before you paste a report into a forum A full report is thorough, which means it can include things you would rather not post publicly: GPS coordinates from a phone, a camera serial number, the name of the editing software and the exact recording time. Look at **Privacy** first, which lists what the file reveals and rates each item High, Medium or Low. If the report is for a support question about playback or encoding, the location and serial numbers are rarely relevant. You can delete those lines from the copied text, or clean the file with **Remove all metadata**, press **Download new file**, then **Inspect new file** and copy the report of the clean copy. The video and audio streams are carried over unchanged, so the technical details a helper needs stay the same. The [metadata remover page](https://metadata.video/remove-metadata-from-video) explains what goes and what stays. ## Video file info: questions ### Is this the same as MediaInfo? The text report is produced by MediaInfoLib, the library MediaInfo is built on, compiled to run in the browser. So the fields and wording are the same kind you see in MediaInfo, though values can differ slightly between library versions. Around it, this site adds its own MP4/MOV reader, explanations, a map and editing. ### Is my video uploaded to make the report? No. The MediaInfo library is downloaded from this site to your browser, and the file is read there. Nothing about the video leaves your device. The only optional network requests are the street map tiles when you press **Show street map**, and the speech model if you use **Transcribe speech**. ### Can I compare two files side by side? Not in one view. Open each file, save each report with **Download text** or **Download JSON**, and compare them in any text diff tool. After an edit, **What changed** lists exactly what was removed, changed or added between the original and the new file. ### Why is the overall bit rate higher than the video bit rate? The overall figure counts every stream plus the container’s own overhead, so it includes the audio and any subtitle or data tracks. The video figure is the picture alone. The difference is usually the audio bit rate plus a little extra. ### Why does the encoded date say 1904 or show UTC? MP4 and MOV store dates as seconds since 1 January 1904, in UTC. A file whose date was never set, or was wiped, shows 1904 exactly. A real date in UTC can look an hour or more off from your local time; **Date & time** shows the time zone when the file stores one. ### Can it read a YouTube or TikTok link? No. It reads files on your device. A downloaded copy from a platform will open, but platforms re-encode uploads and strip most tags, so the report describes their copy, not the original recording. ### Why does ffprobe show different names for the same thing? Each tool has its own vocabulary. ffprobe calls HEVC `hevc` and the frame rate `r_frame_rate` or `avg_frame_rate`, while MediaInfo writes “HEVC” and “Frame rate”. The underlying values agree; the [ffprobe guide](https://metadata.video/how-to-use-ffprobe) maps the main fields. ## Related metadata guides * [ Video metadata viewer See, explain, edit and remove everything a video or photo says about itself. ](https://metadata.video/) * [ 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) * [ Check which codec a video uses See the video and audio codec, profile, level, bit depth, chroma and codec tag of any file. ](https://metadata.video/video-codec-checker) * [ Check a video’s bitrate Video and audio bitrate, plus a graph of bitrate over time measured from the file’s packets. ](https://metadata.video/video-bitrate-checker) * [ Video forensics with metadata Dates, encoder tags, GOP and bitrate changes and C2PA history that reveal re-saving. ](https://metadata.video/video-forensics) * [ Extract subtitles from a video Save the text subtitle tracks inside an MKV or MP4 as SRT, ASS or VTT files. ](https://metadata.video/extract-subtitles-from-video) * [ What video metadata is Every family of video metadata explained, with links to check or change each one. ](https://metadata.video/what-is-video-metadata)