I'd like to see from command line all informations pertaining to a given video file, including length, quality, bitrate, resolution, audio and video formats, number and language of audio streams and subtitles, and so on; the more, the best.
Right now I must resort on the "information" tab of VLC because even Dolphin file manager isn't helping me with this: it shows me only some of these informations and just for some formats (i.e. .mkv doesn't seem supported that way).
6 Answers
Give mediainfo a try. On the command line type mediainfo input.mkv. For more detailed video information mediainfo --fullscan input.mkv.
Output example:
General Unique ID : 239093944660469735839645243666869007606 (0xB3DFD199E22F0E7CBAE1FE52206834F6) Complete name : input.mkv Format : Matroska Format version : Version 2 File size : 39.6 MiB Duration : 20s 288ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 16.4 Mbps Movie name : My best movie Encoded date : UTC 2012-11-10 16:42:02 Writing application : mkvmerge v5.8.0 ('No Sleep / Pillow') built on Sep 2 2012 15:37:04 Writing library : libebml v1.2.3 + libmatroska v1.3.0 Produzent : ??? ??????? Thanks to : Bruce Davey Lead performer : Rudy Youngblood Remixed by : ©???? Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : High@L4.0 MultiView_Count : 2 Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames Format settings, GOP : M=2, N=13 Muxing mode : Header stripping Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC Duration : 20s 280ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 15.8 Mbps Maximum bit rate : 16.0 Mbps Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 25.000 fps Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Interlaced Scan order : Top Field First Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.304 Stream size : 38.2 MiB (96%) Title : Sony Hardware Video H.264 Encoder Language : English Default : Yes Forced : No Audio ID : 2 Format : AC-3 Format/Info : Audio Coding 3 Mode extension : CM (complete main) Format settings, Endianness : Big Muxing mode : Header stripping Codec ID : A_AC3 Duration : 20s 288ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 256 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : Front: L R Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Bit depth : 16 bits Compression mode : Lossy Delay relative to video : -80ms Stream size : 634 KiB (2%) Title : Sony Hardware Audio AC3 Encoder Language : Russian Default : Yes Forced : No Text ID : 3 Format : PGS Muxing mode : zlib Codec ID : S_HDMV/PGS Codec ID/Info : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs Title : Sony Hardware PGS Encoder Language : English Default : Yes Forced : No 2ffprobe
Under Ubuntu:
sudo apt install ffmpeg ffprobe a.mp4 To get information about the format, streams, etc., run:
ffprobe -v error -show_format -show_streams a.mp4 [STREAM] index=0 codec_name=h264 codec_long_name=H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10 profile=High codec_type=video codec_time_base=1/50 codec_tag_string=avc1 codec_tag=0x31637661 width=320 height=240 has_b_frames=2 sample_aspect_ratio=1:1 display_aspect_ratio=4:3 pix_fmt=yuv420p level=13 color_range=N/A color_space=unknown color_transfer=unknown color_primaries=unknown chroma_location=left timecode=N/A refs=4 is_avc=1 nal_length_size=4 id=N/A r_frame_rate=25/1 avg_frame_rate=25/1 time_base=1/12800 start_pts=0 start_time=0.000000 duration_ts=384000 duration=30.000000 bit_rate=34761 max_bit_rate=N/A bits_per_raw_sample=8 nb_frames=750 nb_read_frames=N/A nb_read_packets=N/A DISPOSITION:default=1 DISPOSITION:dub=0 DISPOSITION:original=0 DISPOSITION:comment=0 DISPOSITION:lyrics=0 DISPOSITION:karaoke=0 DISPOSITION:forced=0 DISPOSITION:hearing_impaired=0 DISPOSITION:visual_impaired=0 DISPOSITION:clean_effects=0 DISPOSITION:attached_pic=0 TAG:language=und TAG:handler_name=VideoHandler [/STREAM] [STREAM] index=1 codec_name=aac codec_long_name=AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) profile=LC codec_type=audio codec_time_base=1/44100 codec_tag_string=mp4a codec_tag=0x6134706d sample_fmt=fltp sample_rate=44100 channels=1 channel_layout=mono bits_per_sample=0 id=N/A r_frame_rate=0/0 avg_frame_rate=0/0 time_base=1/44100 start_pts=-1024 start_time=-0.023220 duration_ts=1324024 duration=30.023220 bit_rate=56517 max_bit_rate=N/A bits_per_raw_sample=N/A nb_frames=1293 nb_read_frames=N/A nb_read_packets=N/A DISPOSITION:default=1 DISPOSITION:dub=0 DISPOSITION:original=0 DISPOSITION:comment=0 DISPOSITION:lyrics=0 DISPOSITION:karaoke=0 DISPOSITION:forced=0 DISPOSITION:hearing_impaired=0 DISPOSITION:visual_impaired=0 DISPOSITION:clean_effects=0 DISPOSITION:attached_pic=0 TAG:language=und TAG:handler_name=SoundHandler [/STREAM] [FORMAT] filename=input.mp4 nb_streams=2 nb_programs=0 format_name=mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 format_long_name=QuickTime / MOV start_time=-0.023220 duration=30.024000 size=368644 bit_rate=98226 probe_score=100 TAG:major_brand=isom TAG:minor_version=512 TAG:compatible_brands=isomiso2avc1mp41 TAG:title=FFprobe Tips TAG:encoder=Lavf56.15.101 [/FORMAT] Or you can get just a selected entry with, e.g. size, with:
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=size -of default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1 input.mp4 You can also output as JSON or CSV. See more about ffprobe.
ExifTool
Under Ubuntu:
sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl exiftool a.mp4 Sample output:
ExifTool Version Number : 10.00 File Name : lego.mp4 Directory : . File Size : 375 kB File Modification Date/Time : 2016:02:03 17:18:15+01:00 File Access Date/Time : 2016:02:03 17:18:49+01:00 File Inode Change Date/Time : 2016:02:03 17:18:49+01:00 File Permissions : rw-rw-r-- File Type : MP4 File Type Extension : mp4 MIME Type : video/mp4 Major Brand : MP4 v2 [ISO 14496-14] Minor Version : 0.0.0 Compatible Brands : mp42, isom, avc1 Movie Data Size : 379872 Movie Data Offset : 168 Movie Header Version : 0 Create Date : 2010:03:20 21:29:11 Modify Date : 2010:03:20 21:29:12 Time Scale : 90000 Duration : 5.57 s Preferred Rate : 1 Preferred Volume : 100.00% Preview Time : 0 s Preview Duration : 0 s Poster Time : 0 s Selection Time : 0 s Selection Duration : 0 s Current Time : 0 s Next Track ID : 3 Track Header Version : 0 Track Create Date : 2010:03:20 21:29:11 Track Modify Date : 2010:03:20 21:29:12 Track ID : 1 Track Duration : 5.53 s Track Layer : 0 Track Volume : 0.00% Image Width : 560 Image Height : 320 Graphics Mode : srcCopy Op Color : 0 0 0 Compressor ID : avc1 Source Image Width : 560 Source Image Height : 320 X Resolution : 72 Y Resolution : 72 Compressor Name : JVT/AVC Coding Bit Depth : 24 Color Representation : nclc 1 1 1 Video Frame Rate : 30 Matrix Structure : 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Media Header Version : 0 Media Create Date : 2010:03:20 21:29:11 Media Modify Date : 2010:03:20 21:29:12 Media Time Scale : 48000 Media Duration : 5.57 s Media Language Code : eng Balance : 0 Audio Format : mp4a Audio Channels : 1 Audio Bits Per Sample : 16 Audio Sample Rate : 48000 Track 2 Name : Stereo Handler Type : Metadata Encoder : HandBrake 0.9.4 2009112300 Avg Bitrate : 546 kbps Image Size : 560x320 Megapixels : 0.179 Rotation : 0 Tested on Ubuntu 18.10.
5You can use mplayer:
mplayer -vo null -ao null -frames 0 -identify videofile.mp4 Output:
MPlayer 1.1-4.2.1 (C) 2000-2012 MPlayer Team Can't init Apple Remote. Playing vid.mp4. libavformat version 54.6.101 (internal) libavformat file format detected. ID_VIDEO_ID=0 [lavf] stream 0: video (h264), -vid 0 ID_AUDIO_ID=0 [lavf] stream 1: audio (aac), -aid 0, -alang und VIDEO: [H264] 480x360 24bpp 29.970 fps 700.7 kbps (85.5 kbyte/s) Clip info: major_brand: qt ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME0=major_brand ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE0=qt minor_version: 0 ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME1=minor_version ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE1=0 compatible_brands: qt ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME2=compatible_brands ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE2=qt creation_time: 2011-03-03 15:42:30 ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME3=creation_time ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE3=2011-03-03 15:42:30 encoder: 4.2.1 ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME4=encoder ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE4=4.2.1 encoder-eng: 4.2.1 ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME5=encoder-eng ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE5=4.2.1 date: 2011-03-03T10:42:30-0500 ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME6=date ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE6=2011-03-03T10:42:30-0500 date-eng: 2011-03-03T10:42:30-0500 ID_CLIP_INFO_NAME7=date-eng ID_CLIP_INFO_VALUE7=2011-03-03T10:42:30-0500 ID_CLIP_INFO_N=8 Load subtitles in ./ ID_FILENAME=vid.mp4 ID_DEMUXER=lavfpref ID_VIDEO_FORMAT=H264 ID_VIDEO_BITRATE=700712 ID_VIDEO_WIDTH=480 ID_VIDEO_HEIGHT=360 ID_VIDEO_FPS=29.970 ID_VIDEO_ASPECT=0.0000 ID_AUDIO_FORMAT=MP4A ID_AUDIO_BITRATE=63600 ID_AUDIO_RATE=44100 ID_AUDIO_NCH=1 ID_START_TIME=0.00 ID_LENGTH=3.83 ID_SEEKABLE=1 ID_CHAPTERS=0 ========================================================================== Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family libavcodec version 54.23.100 (internal) Selected video codec: [ffh264] vfm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg H.264) ========================================================================== ID_VIDEO_CODEC=ffh264 ========================================================================== Opening audio decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 1 ch, s16le, 63.6 kbit/9.01% (ratio: 7950->88200) ID_AUDIO_BITRATE=63600 ID_AUDIO_RATE=44100 ID_AUDIO_NCH=1 Selected audio codec: [ffaac] afm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg AAC (MPEG-2/MPEG-4 Audio)) ========================================================================== AO: [null] 44100Hz 1ch s16le (2 bytes per sample) ID_AUDIO_CODEC=ffaac Starting playback... Exiting... (End of file) ID_EXIT=EOF Mediainfo is a great tool. As an alternative you can grab the details using ffprobe as well.
$ ffprobe -hide_banner -loglevel fatal -show_error -show_format -show_streams -show_programs -show_chapters -show_private_data -print_format json /home/sathish/Videos/Aandipatti.mp4
Here is the output
{ "programs": [ ], "streams": [ { "index": 0, "codec_name": "h264", "codec_long_name": "H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10", "profile": "High", "codec_type": "video", "codec_time_base": "28113749/1349640000", "codec_tag_string": "avc1", "codec_tag": "0x31637661", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "coded_width": 1920, "coded_height": 1080, "has_b_frames": 1, "sample_aspect_ratio": "1:1", "display_aspect_ratio": "16:9", "pix_fmt": "yuv420p", "level": 40, "color_range": "tv", "color_space": "bt709", "color_transfer": "bt709", "color_primaries": "bt709", "chroma_location": "left", "refs": 1, "is_avc": "true", "nal_length_size": "4", "r_frame_rate": "24/1", "avg_frame_rate": "674820000/28113749", "time_base": "1/90000", "start_pts": 0, "start_time": "0.000000", "duration_ts": 28113750, "duration": "312.375000", "bit_rate": "2612895", "bits_per_raw_sample": "8", "nb_frames": "7498", "disposition": { "default": 1, "dub": 0, "original": 0, "comment": 0, "lyrics": 0, "karaoke": 0, "forced": 0, "hearing_impaired": 0, "visual_impaired": 0, "clean_effects": 0, "attached_pic": 0, "timed_thumbnails": 0 }, "tags": { "language": "und", "handler_name": "VideoHandler" } }, { "index": 1, "codec_name": "aac", "codec_long_name": "AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)", "profile": "LC", "codec_type": "audio", "codec_time_base": "1/44100", "codec_tag_string": "mp4a", "codec_tag": "0x6134706d", "sample_fmt": "fltp", "sample_rate": "44100", "channels": 2, "channel_layout": "stereo", "bits_per_sample": 0, "r_frame_rate": "0/0", "avg_frame_rate": "0/0", "time_base": "1/44100", "start_pts": 0, "start_time": "0.000000", "duration_ts": 13779971, "duration": "312.470998", "bit_rate": "125595", "max_bit_rate": "125595", "nb_frames": "13457", "disposition": { "default": 1, "dub": 0, "original": 0, "comment": 0, "lyrics": 0, "karaoke": 0, "forced": 0, "hearing_impaired": 0, "visual_impaired": 0, "clean_effects": 0, "attached_pic": 0, "timed_thumbnails": 0 }, "tags": { "language": "und", "handler_name": "SoundHandler" } } ], "chapters": [ ], "format": { "filename": "/home/sathish/Videos/Aandipatti.mp4", "nb_streams": 2, "nb_programs": 0, "format_name": "mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2", "format_long_name": "QuickTime / MOV", "start_time": "0.000000", "duration": "312.471000", "size": "107155047", "bit_rate": "2743423", "probe_score": 100, "tags": { "major_brand": "isom", "minor_version": "512", "compatible_brands": "isomiso2avc1mp41", "encoder": "Lavf56.40.101" } } } As Günay Gültekin wrote, you can get only a specific attribute, but the quotes were missing:
mediaInfo --Output='Video;%Duration%' filename.mp4 Based on this, I wrote a little wrapper to calculate the duration of found files whith outputs a summary:
echo "scale=2; ($(find /foo/bar -type f -exec mediainfo --Output='Video;%Duration%+' {} \; | grep -v ^$ | tr -d \\n)0)"/60000/60|bc On recent linux distributions you can also get information using avconv:
$ avconv -i ch1_video_01.mpg avconv version 9.18-6:9.18-0ubuntu0.14.04.1, Copyright (c) 2000-2014 the Libav developers built on Mar 16 2015 13:19:10 with gcc 4.8 (Ubuntu 4.8.2-19ubuntu1) [mpeg @ 0x722840] max_analyze_duration reached Guessed Channel Layout for Input Stream #0.1 : stereo Input #0, mpeg, from 'ch1_video_01.mpg': Duration: 00:03:48.01, start: 0.274000, bitrate: 6042 kb/s Stream #0.0[0x1e0]: Video: mpeg2video (Main), yuv420p, 720x576 [PAR 64:45 DAR 16:9], 8000 kb/s, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 90k tbn, 50 tbc Stream #0.1[0x1c0]: Audio: mp2, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16p, 256 kb/s At least one output file must be specified 
