MediaInfo
Convenient unified display of the most relevant technical and tag data for video and audio files.
Top Related Projects
A media packaging and development framework for VOD and Live DASH and HLS applications, supporting Common Encryption for Widevine and other DRM Systems.
Mirror of https://git.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.git
The swiss army knife of lossless video/audio editing
cross-platform (Qt), open-source (GPLv3) video editor
Manipulate audio with a simple and easy high level interface
OBS Studio - Free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording
Quick Overview
MediaInfo is an open-source project that provides a convenient means to view technical and tag information about video and audio files. It offers a unified interface to display metadata for various multimedia file formats, supporting a wide range of codecs and container formats.
Pros
- Comprehensive support for numerous audio and video formats
- Available as both a graphical user interface and command-line tool
- Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Actively maintained with regular updates and improvements
Cons
- Learning curve for advanced usage and custom output formats
- Limited editing capabilities for metadata (primarily a viewing tool)
- Some less common formats may have incomplete support
Code Examples
# Example 1: Basic usage to get file information
from pymediainfo import MediaInfo
media_info = MediaInfo.parse("path/to/your/video.mp4")
for track in media_info.tracks:
print(f"Track type: {track.track_type}")
print(f"Format: {track.format}")
print(f"Duration: {track.duration}")
# Example 2: Getting specific video track information
video_track = next(t for t in media_info.tracks if t.track_type == "Video")
print(f"Resolution: {video_track.width}x{video_track.height}")
print(f"Frame rate: {video_track.frame_rate}")
print(f"Bit rate: {video_track.bit_rate}")
# Example 3: Exporting information to JSON
import json
json_data = media_info.to_json()
parsed_data = json.loads(json_data)
print(json.dumps(parsed_data, indent=2))
Getting Started
To use MediaInfo in your Python project:
-
Install the pymediainfo package:
pip install pymediainfo
-
Ensure you have the MediaInfo library installed on your system. On most systems, you can install it using your package manager (e.g., apt, brew, chocolatey).
-
Import and use the MediaInfo class in your Python code:
from pymediainfo import MediaInfo media_info = MediaInfo.parse("path/to/your/media/file") for track in media_info.tracks: print(track.to_data())
This will give you a basic setup to start working with MediaInfo in your Python projects.
Competitor Comparisons
A media packaging and development framework for VOD and Live DASH and HLS applications, supporting Common Encryption for Widevine and other DRM Systems.
Pros of Shaka Packager
- Specialized in packaging and encryption for adaptive streaming formats (DASH, HLS)
- Supports live streaming and on-demand content packaging
- Actively maintained with regular updates and improvements
Cons of Shaka Packager
- More focused on packaging rather than comprehensive media analysis
- Steeper learning curve for users not familiar with adaptive streaming concepts
- Limited metadata extraction capabilities compared to MediaInfo
Code Comparison
MediaInfo (C++):
MediaInfo MI;
MI.Open(FileName);
String To_Display = MI.Inform();
MI.Close();
Shaka Packager (C++):
PackagerOptions options;
Packager packager;
packager.Initialize(options);
packager.Run();
Summary
MediaInfo is a comprehensive media analysis tool that provides detailed information about multimedia files. It excels in metadata extraction and supports a wide range of formats. Shaka Packager, on the other hand, is specialized in packaging and encrypting media for adaptive streaming. While MediaInfo offers broader analysis capabilities, Shaka Packager is more focused on preparing content for modern streaming platforms. The choice between the two depends on whether the primary need is media analysis or content packaging for streaming.
Mirror of https://git.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.git
Pros of FFmpeg
- More comprehensive multimedia framework with encoding, decoding, and transcoding capabilities
- Wider range of supported formats and codecs
- Larger community and more frequent updates
Cons of FFmpeg
- Steeper learning curve due to its complexity
- Requires more system resources for processing
Code Comparison
FFmpeg:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 22 -c:a copy output.mp4
MediaInfo:
mediainfo input.mp4
Summary
FFmpeg is a powerful multimedia framework that offers extensive capabilities for processing audio and video files, including encoding, decoding, and transcoding. It supports a wide range of formats and codecs, making it versatile for various multimedia tasks. The project benefits from a large community and frequent updates.
On the other hand, MediaInfo focuses primarily on providing detailed metadata information about multimedia files. It's simpler to use and requires fewer system resources, making it ideal for quick analysis of media files.
FFmpeg's code example demonstrates its ability to transcode a video file, while MediaInfo's code simply displays file information. This highlights the different purposes of these tools: FFmpeg for processing and MediaInfo for analysis.
Choose FFmpeg for comprehensive multimedia manipulation tasks, and MediaInfo for quick and easy metadata retrieval.
The swiss army knife of lossless video/audio editing
Pros of LosslessCut
- User-friendly GUI for video editing and cutting
- Supports a wide range of video formats
- Allows for lossless cutting of video files without re-encoding
Cons of LosslessCut
- Limited to basic cutting and trimming operations
- May not provide detailed media information like MediaInfo
- Less suitable for professional media analysis
Code Comparison
MediaInfo (C++):
void File_Mpega::Synched_Init()
{
//Temp
Scfsi=0;
Reservoir=0;
Reservoir_Max=0;
}
LosslessCut (JavaScript):
function getFrameCount({ frames, width, height, fps }) {
if (frames) return frames;
if (width && height && fps) return Math.round((width * height * fps) / 256);
return undefined;
}
MediaInfo focuses on detailed media analysis and metadata extraction, while LosslessCut provides a user-friendly interface for basic video editing tasks. MediaInfo's codebase is primarily in C++, offering low-level access to media properties. LosslessCut, built with JavaScript and Electron, emphasizes ease of use for quick video cutting operations. While MediaInfo excels in providing comprehensive media information, LosslessCut offers a more accessible solution for simple video editing tasks without the need for re-encoding.
cross-platform (Qt), open-source (GPLv3) video editor
Pros of Shotcut
- Full-featured video editor with a graphical user interface
- Supports a wide range of video and audio formats for editing
- Offers real-time preview and multi-track timeline editing
Cons of Shotcut
- Larger codebase and more complex to maintain
- Steeper learning curve for users compared to MediaInfo
- May require more system resources to run effectively
Code Comparison
MediaInfo (C++):
void File_Mpega::Synched_Init()
{
FrameInfo.PTS=FrameInfo.DTS=(int64u)-1;
FrameInfo.DUR=(int64u)-1;
}
Shotcut (C++):
void TimelineDock::onInsertTrackButtonClicked()
{
Timeline::Insert_Blank(m_model.trackList().count());
setSelection();
}
Summary
MediaInfo is a lightweight tool focused on providing detailed technical metadata about media files. Shotcut, on the other hand, is a comprehensive video editing software with a full GUI. While MediaInfo excels in quick analysis and information retrieval, Shotcut offers a complete suite of editing tools but requires more resources and has a steeper learning curve.
Manipulate audio with a simple and easy high level interface
Pros of pydub
- Simple and intuitive Python API for audio manipulation
- Supports a wide range of audio operations (e.g., concatenation, slicing, fading)
- Cross-platform compatibility
Cons of pydub
- Limited to audio processing, lacks comprehensive media file analysis
- Requires external dependencies (e.g., ffmpeg) for certain operations
- Less extensive format support compared to MediaInfo
Code Comparison
pydub:
from pydub import AudioSegment
sound = AudioSegment.from_mp3("example.mp3")
first_10_seconds = sound[:10000]
first_10_seconds.export("first_10_seconds.mp3", format="mp3")
MediaInfo:
import MediaInfoDLL3 as MediaInfo
MI = MediaInfo.MediaInfo()
MI.Open("example.mp3")
duration = MI.Get(MediaInfo.Stream.Audio, 0, "Duration")
MI.Close()
Summary
pydub is a Python library focused on audio manipulation, offering an easy-to-use API for common audio operations. MediaInfo, on the other hand, is a comprehensive media analysis tool that provides detailed information about various media file formats. While pydub excels in audio processing tasks, MediaInfo offers more extensive format support and in-depth file analysis capabilities.
OBS Studio - Free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording
Pros of OBS Studio
- More comprehensive feature set for video recording and live streaming
- Larger and more active community, resulting in frequent updates and extensive plugin ecosystem
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Cons of OBS Studio
- Steeper learning curve due to its complex interface and numerous features
- Higher system resource usage, especially during video encoding and streaming
Code Comparison
MediaInfo (C++):
MediaInfo MI;
MI.Open(FileName);
String To_Display = MI.Inform();
OBS Studio (C):
obs_source_t *source = obs_get_source_by_name("My Source");
obs_source_update(source, settings);
obs_source_release(source);
Key Differences
- MediaInfo focuses on analyzing and displaying media file metadata
- OBS Studio is a full-featured broadcasting and recording software
- MediaInfo has a simpler codebase, while OBS Studio is more complex due to its broader functionality
- OBS Studio offers real-time video processing and encoding, whereas MediaInfo primarily works with existing files
Both projects are open-source and actively maintained, but they serve different purposes in the multimedia software ecosystem. MediaInfo is ideal for quick media file analysis, while OBS Studio is better suited for content creators and streamers who need powerful broadcasting tools.
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MediaInfo README
MediaInfo is a convenient unified display of the most relevant technical and tag data for video and audio files.
How to build MediaInfo
Build under macOS and Linux
First, you must create a directory which will receive the MediaInfo directory, and ZenLib and MediaInfoLib if you decide to compile them yourself.
In this document, this directory will be referred as $BUILD_DIR.
Dependencies under macOS
MacPorts
Some dependencies are available with MacPorts. To install MacPorts: https://guide.macports.org/#installing
port install autoconf automake libtool pkgconfig zlib wxWidgets-3.0
MediaArea tools
Dependencies under Linux
Listing
Build tools
- git
- automake
- autoconf
- libtool
- pkgconfig
- make
- g++
MediaArea tools
- libzen0
- libmediainfo0
CLI and GUI dependencies
- zlib
GUI only dependencies
- wxwidgets
Ubuntu
Build tools and CLI/GUI dependencies
apt-get install git automake autoconf libtool pkg-config make g++ zlib1g-dev
MediaArea tools
Go to https://mediaarea.net/fr/MediaInfo/Download/Ubuntu and download the libmediainfo0, libmediainfo-dev, libzen0 and libzen-dev packages corresponding to your Ubuntu version. Then install them with :
dpkg -i libmediainfo* libzen*
GUI only dependencies
apt-get install libwxgtk3.0-dev
Fedora
Build tools and CLI/GUI dependencies
sudo yum install git automake autoconf libtool pkgconfig make gcc-c++ zlib-devel
MediaArea tools
Go to https://mediaarea.net/fr/MediaInfo/Download/Fedora and download the libmediainfo0, libmediainfo-devel, libzen0 and libzen-devel packages corresponding to your Fedora version and CPU architecture. Then install them with :
sudo yum install libmediainfo*.rpm libzen*.rpm
GUI only dependencies
sudo yum install wxGTK-devel desktop-file-utils
Debian
Build tools and CLI/GUI dependencies
apt-get install git automake autoconf libtool pkg-config make g++ zlib1g-dev
MediaArea tools
Go to https://mediaarea.net/fr/MediaInfo/Download/Debian and download the libmediainfo0, libmediainfo-dev, libzen0 and libzen-dev packages corresponding to your Debian version. Then install them with :
dpkg -i libmediainfo* libzen*
GUI only dependencies
apt-get install libwxgtk3.0-dev
OpenSUSE
Build tools and CLI/GUI dependencies
zypper install git automake autoconf libtool pkgconfig make gcc-c++ zlib-devel
MediaArea tools
Go to https://mediaarea.net/fr/MediaInfo/Download/openSUSE and download the libmediainfo0, libmediainfo-devel, libzen0 and libzen-devel packages corresponding to your OpenSuse version. Then install them with :
rpm -i libmediainfo* libzen*
GUI only dependencies
zypper install libqt4-devel libQtWebKit-devel update-desktop-files
Build MediaInfo CLI
When you have done all the prerequisites for your configuration, then build MediaInfo. We start with the CLI.
cd $BUILD_DIR
git clone https://github.com/MediaArea/MediaInfo.git
cd MediaInfo/Project/GNU/CLI
./autogen.sh
Then, under macOS:
./configure --enable-staticlibs
make
Under Linux:
./configure --enable-shared
make
Or for statically linked executable, if you also build ZenLib and MediaInfoLib:
./configure --enable-staticlibs
make
Launch the CLI
./mediainfo
Build MediaInfo GUI
If you have already built the CLI, no need to run git twice. In fact, if you re-run git with an existing MediaInfo directory, git will complain and exit.
To compile MediaInfo GUI under macOS and Linux:
cd $BUILD_DIR
git clone https://github.com/MediaArea/MediaInfo.git
cd MediaInfo/Project/GNU/GUI
./autogen.sh
Then, under macOS:
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/local/Library/Frameworks/wxWidgets.framework/Versions/wxWidgets/3/0/bin
./configure --enable-staticlibs
make
Under Linux:
./configure --enable-shared
make
Or for statically linked executable, if you also build ZenLib and MediaInfoLib:
./configure --enable-staticlibs
make
Launch the GUI
./mediainfo-gui
Optional : build ZenLib and MediaInfoLib
ZenLib
To compile ZenLib under macOS and Linux:
cd $BUILD_DIR
git clone https://github.com/MediaArea/ZenLib.git
cd ZenLib/Project/GNU/Library
./autogen.sh
./configure --enable-static
make
MediaInfoLib
To compile MediaInfoLib under macOS and Linux:
cd $BUILD_DIR
git clone https://github.com/MediaArea/MediaInfoLib.git
cd MediaInfoLib/Project/GNU/Library
./autogen.sh
./configure --enable-static
make
MediaInfo - https://github.com/MediaArea/MediaInfo Copyright (c) MediaArea.net SARL. All Rights Reserved.
This program is freeware under BSD-2-Clause license conditions. See the License for more information
Top Related Projects
A media packaging and development framework for VOD and Live DASH and HLS applications, supporting Common Encryption for Widevine and other DRM Systems.
Mirror of https://git.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.git
The swiss army knife of lossless video/audio editing
cross-platform (Qt), open-source (GPLv3) video editor
Manipulate audio with a simple and easy high level interface
OBS Studio - Free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording
Convert designs to code with AI
Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.
Try Visual Copilot