Software for identifying codec used for video file?

[TailG8R]

I have a video file and I'm trying to figure out if it's ProRes 422 HD or just ProRes 422. Is there some sort of open source software that identifies codecs?

[ron spencer]

mediainfo

[TailG8R]

mediainfo

Perfect!

1 video stream: ProRes
I wonder if it would say "Pro Res (version 0) (422)" if it was an HQ profile file.

[jagabo]

Change the View to Text mode. You'll get a lot more information. It may tell you the chroma subsampling.

[ron spencer]

Change the View to Text mode. You'll get a lot more information. It may tell you the chroma subsampling.

Good Tip!

[Cornucopia]

Note that you said, "codec used for a file"...

Believe it or not, with a few exceptions*, there's NO way to tell which codec WAS used or which codec TO use.
What is written in the file (headers) is a denotation of the format/standard that the file was encoded to.
So, for example, you will see a file encoded to h264 (aka AVC, aka MPEG-4,Part-10). What you won't see is "this file was encoded using Adobe Media Encoder" or "this file should be decoded by Corel/WinDVD Mpeg decoder".
IOW, the type of tool is important (philips screwdriver for philips screws), but not the brand/implementation (swiss army vs. Black & decker ratcheting screwdriver vs. Kyobi power drill w philips bit).

Scott

*Some codecs add encoding parameters into the metadata, such as x264. And some formats might only have one encoder/decoder implementation option.