Ffprobe.exe May 2026

Create an alias or batch file called mediainfo that runs ffprobe -hide_banner -show_format -show_streams %1 to get a quick, readable summary anytime. Then explore deeper as needed.

ffprobe [options] input_file Without any options, ffprobe outputs a compact summary. For example: ffprobe.exe

While FFmpeg is the workhorse for converting and manipulating audio and video, ffprobe.exe is the analyst. It doesn't change a single byte of your media. Instead, it reads media files and displays their internal structure, metadata, and stream characteristics with surgical precision. For developers, quality assurance engineers, content archivists, and video enthusiasts, ffprobe is the first and most important tool in the diagnostic toolkit. Create an alias or batch file called mediainfo

ffprobe -show_frames -select_streams v input.mp4 Displays packet-level information (PTS, DTS, duration, size, flags). Useful for analyzing streaming issues or container structure. 5. -print_format (or -of ) Specifies output format. Essential for scripting. Supported formats: default , compact , csv , flat , ini , json , xml , old . For example: While FFmpeg is the workhorse for

ffprobe -show_format input.mkv Shows detailed information about each stream (video, audio, subtitle, data). This includes codec name, profile, level, bitrate, frame rate, pixel format, color space, etc.

ffprobe -show_streams input.mp4 Lists every single frame in the file (video, audio, subtitle). This can be extremely verbose. Use with -select_streams v to limit to video frames.