Show information about a video or audio file
Which codec, what resolution, how many audio tracks, what length? ffprobe, which comes with ffmpeg, answers all these questions without changing anything. Choose the information you want: the command displays it in the terminal.
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How to use it
- Install ffmpeg if you haven't already.
- Open a terminal in the folder containing your file.
- Copy the generated command, adjust the file names if needed, then run it.
- Open the resulting file to check the result.
Reading the summary
In the summary, the Duration line gives the length and the overall bitrate. Each "Stream" line describes one track: number, type, codec and parameters. For video: resolution, frame rate, pixel format; for audio: sample rate, channels, bitrate.
Know the tracks before extracting
Before extracting a subtitle or audio track, look at the summary to see how many there are.
Extract subtitles from a video
Frequently asked questions
Where is ffprobe?
It's installed with ffmpeg and runs the same way in the terminal. If "ffmpeg" works on your computer, so does "ffprobe".
What does the frame rate "30000/1001" mean?
It's the fraction for 29.97 frames per second (fps), the frame rate of American television. "25/1" simply means 25 fps.
What does -hide_banner do?
It hides ffmpeg's version and build header, keeping only the useful information.
How do I list the subtitle tracks?
The readable summary shows one "Stream" line per track: "Subtitle" for subtitles, "Audio" for sound, "Video" for the picture. The subtitle track number is counted among the "Subtitle" lines only.