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 -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.exe
for %%f in (*.mp4) do ( ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=filename,duration -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 "%%f" ) ffprobe -v error -show_frames corrupted_video.mkv 2> error_log.txt If frames are corrupt, ffprobe will print errors to stderr. 3. Find Exact Frame Count ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -count_frames -show_entries stream=nb_read_frames input.mov 4. Extregate Thumbnail Generation Info Before generating a thumbnail, you might want the exact timestamp of a keyframe: Create an alias or batch file called mediainfo
Start with simple -show_streams commands, then graduate to JSON output and scripting. Combine it with ffmpeg for intelligent transcoding decisions (e.g., "only re-encode if the bitrate exceeds 5 Mbps"). Master ffprobe , and you will never again wonder what's really inside a media file. This includes codec name, profile, level, bitrate, frame