MediaInfo

MediaInfo is an open-source media information parsing tool and library developed by MediaArea, designed to display container, track, and tag data for audio and video files. It provides a graphical user interface, command-line tools, and the MediaInfoLib, allowing results to be output in various formats—such as text, tree structures, XML, and JSON—for use in different applications. MediaInfo primarily reads file structures and stream headers; real-time playback is not a prerequisite for analysis.

Common “General” fields include container type, file size, total duration, and overall bitrate; the “Video” track displays encoding, profile, pixel dimensions, frame rate mode, bit depth, chroma sampling, color description, and HDR metadata; the Audio track can display codec, channel layout, sample rate, bit depth, and bitrate; tracks such as Text, Menu, and Image can also present subtitles, chapters, and cover art information. Whether a particular field is displayed depends on format support, file integrity, and whether the metadata was actually written. MediaInfo The sources of the values in the report are not entirely consistent. Some are explicitly declared by the container, some are read from the bitstream parameter set, and some are estimated based on file size and duration; when there is a conflict between container and bitstream declarations, the tool may display the original value, an additional value, or a warning. Modifiers such as “Variable,” “Constant,” and “Original” must be understood in context; not all displayed values should be regarded as the result of frame-by-frame measurements.

This tool is not responsible for evaluating subjective video quality, verifying master source origins, or validating distribution labels in file names. The display of “Lossless” merely indicates that corresponding encoding characteristics have been identified; it does not guarantee that the recording has not undergone lossy processing prior to this. The display of 4K or HDR also does not prove that the program originated from native 4K footage. Damaged files can sometimes still have partial header information parsed; therefore, the successful generation of a report does not mean the entire film can be correctly decoded.

MediaInfo and BDInfo have different scopes of focus. MediaInfo excels at analyzing individual media files and various containers, while BDInfo generates reports centered on Blu-ray playlists, chapter groups, and the overall disc structure. Running MediaInfo on an M2TS file alone will provide track attributes, but these do not necessarily reflect the file’s actual entry points, exit points, or program order within the BDMV playlist.