Extract video information

[einstein1969]

Hi, I'm making a program to recode my videos.

How can I extract information such as bitrate, frame size, etc. from the command line (Windows)?

[Selur]

mediainfo, ffmpeg/ffprobe,...

[einstein1969]

thanks, i will try!

[einstein1969]

I'm having difficulty extracting the information because the list with mediainfo is very long.

I opened a thread where we can continue.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/412288-Method-to-batch-rencode-of-video-library

[Selur]

You can restrict the information mediainfo reports
for example, you could call it with:

--Inform=Video;%ScanType/String%%%ScanOrder/String%%%PixelAspectRatio%%%Standard%%%Width%%%Height%%%FrameRate%"

to get some basic information about the video.
call it with:

mediainfo --Info-Parameters

to see that information it can show for different streams&co,....
=> read the documentation and adjust the call so that you get the info you want and you get something that can be easily parsed.

Cu Selur

[einstein1969]

I tried to see the command Help but it seems incomplete.

maybe I'm not capable

The Help with the "inform" parameter does not seem to be there and your command seems not to work.

C:\Users\fra\Downloads\MediaInfo_CLI_23.10_Windows_x64>mediainfo -h
MediaInfo Command line,
MediaInfoLib - v23.10
Usage: "mediainfo [-Options...] FileName1 [Filename2...]"

Options:
--Help, -h
                    Display this help and exit
--Help-Output
                    Display help for Output= option
--Help-AnOption
                    Display help for "AnOption"
--Version
                    Display MediaInfo version and exit

--Full, -f
                    Full information Display (all internal tags)
--Output=HTML
                    Full information Display with HTML tags
--Output=XML
                    Full information Display with XML tags
--Output=OLDXML
                    Full information Display with XML tags using the older
                    MediaInfo schema
--Output=JSON
                    Full information Display using JSON
--Output=EBUCore
                    Full information Display with EBUCore compliant XML tags
--Output=EBUCore_JSON
                    Full information Display with EBUCore 1.8 compliant JSON
--Output=PBCore
                    Full information Display with PBCore compliant XML tags
--Output=PBCore2
                    Full information Display with PBCore 2.0 compliant XML tags
--AcquisitionDataOutputMode=segmentParameter
                    Display Acquisition Data by segment then parameter (EBUCore
                    and NISO Z39.87 outputs)
--AcquisitionDataOutputMode=parameterSegment
                    Display Acquisition Data by parameter then segment (EBUCore
                    and NISO Z39.87 outputs)
--ExternalMetadata=...
                    Add external metadata to the output (EBUCore output)
--ExternalMetadataConfig=...
                    Output template for external metadata (EBUCore output)
--Info-Parameters
                    Display list of Inform= parameters

--Language=raw
                    Display non-translated unique identifiers (internal text)
--Details=1
                    Display mediatrace info
--inform_version=1
                    Add MediaInfoLib version to the text output
--inform_timestamp=1
                    Add report creation timestamp to the text output
--File_TestContinuousFileNames=0
                    Disable image sequence detection
--LogFile=...
                    Save the output in the specified file
--BOM
                    Byte order mark for UTF-8 output

--Ssl_CertificateFileName=...
                    File name of the SSL certificate.
                    The default format is "PEM" and can be changed
                    with --Ssl_CertificateFormat.
--Ssl_CertificateFormat=...
                    File format of the SSL certificate.
                    Supported formats are "PEM" and "DER"
--Ssl_PrivateKeyFileName=...
                    File name of the SSL private key.
                    The default format is "PEM" and can be changed
                    with --Ssl_PrivateKeyFormat.
                    Note: private key with a password is not supported.
--Ssl_PrivateKeyFormat=...
                    File format of the SSL private key.
                    Supported formats are "PEM" and "DER"
--Ssl_CertificateAuthorityFileName=...
                    File name of the SSL certificate authorities
                    to verify the peer with.
--Ssl_CertificateAuthorityPath=...
                    Path of the SSL certificate authorities
                    to verify the peer with.
--Ssl_CertificateRevocationListFileName=...
                    File name of the SSL certificate revocation list.
                    The format is "PEM"
--Ssl_IgnoreSecurity=...
                    Does not verify the authenticity of the peer's certificate
                    Use it at your own risks
--Ssh_PublicKeyFileName=...
                    File name of the SSH private key.
                    Default is $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub or $HOME/.ssh/id_dsa.pub
                    if the HOME environment variable is set, and just
                    "id_rsa.pub" or "id_dsa.pub" in the current directory
                    if HOME is not set.
                    Note: you need to set both public and private key.
--Ssh_PrivateKeyFileName=...
                    File name of the SSH private key.
                    Default is $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa or $HOME/.ssh/id_dsa
                    if the HOME environment variable is set, and just
                    "id_rsa" or "id_dsa" in the current directory
                    if HOME is not set.
                    Note: you need to set both public and private key.
                    Note: private key with a password is not supported.
--Ssh_KnownHostsFileName=...
                    File name of the known hosts
                    The format is the OpenSSH file format (libssh2)
                    Default is $HOME/.ssh/known_hosts
                    if the HOME environment variable is set, and just
                    "known_hosts" in the current directory
                    if HOME is not set.
--Ssh_IgnoreSecurity
                    Does not verify the authenticity of the peer
                    (you don't need to accept the key with ssh first)
                    Use it at your own risks

C:\Users\fra\Downloads\MediaInfo_CLI_23.10_Windows_x64>

Sorry it's a stupid thing but I don't do it ...

[Selur]

Calling

mediainfo --Info-Parameters

Outputs the following for me the data in "mediainfo_infoparameters.txt".

Calling:

mediainfo --Inform=Video;%ScanType/String%%%ScanOrder/String%%%PixelAspectRatio%%%Standard%%%Width%%%Height%%%FrameRate% "g:\TestClips&Co\test.avi"

outputs

Progressive%%1.000%%640%352%25.000

for me which containes the all the asked parameters.
"Video ScanType/String" is Progressive
"Video ScanOrder/String": is, as expected, empty, since the source is progressive
"Video PixelAspectRatio": is 1.000
"Video Standard": is, as expected, empty, since the source isn't NTSC or PAL from a DVD or similar
"Video Width" is 640
"Video Height" is 352
"Video FrameRate" is 25.000
using
[code]mediainfo --full "g:\TestClips&Co\test.avi"[/quote]
would give:

General
Count                                    : 349
Count of stream of this kind             : 1
Kind of stream                           : General
Kind of stream                           : General
Stream identifier                        : 0
Count of video streams                   : 1
Count of audio streams                   : 1
Video_Format_List                        : MPEG-4 Visual
Video_Format_WithHint_List               : MPEG-4 Visual (XviD)
Codecs Video                             : MPEG-4 Visual
Audio_Format_List                        : MPEG Audio
Audio_Format_WithHint_List               : MPEG Audio (MP3)
Audio codecs                             : MPEG Audio
Audio_Language_List                      : Undefined
Audio_Channels_Total                     : 2
Complete name                            : g:\TestClips&Co\test.avi
Folder name                              : g:\TestClips&Co
File name extension                      : test.avi
File name                                : test
File extension                           : avi
Format                                   : AVI
Format                                   : AVI
Format/Info                              : Audio Video Interleave
Format/Extensions usually used           : avi
Commercial name                          : AVI
Format settings                          : BitmapInfoHeader / WaveFormatEx
Internet media type                      : video/vnd.avi
Interleaved                              : No
File size                                : 1846430
File size                                : 1.76 MiB
File size                                : 2 MiB
File size                                : 1.8 MiB
File size                                : 1.76 MiB
File size                                : 1.761 MiB
Duration                                 : 17160
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 00:00:17.160
Duration                                 : 00:00:17:04
Duration                                 : 00:00:17.160 (00:00:17:04)
Overall bit rate mode                    : VBR
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 860807
Overall bit rate                         : 861 kb/s
Frame rate                               : 25.000
Frame rate                               : 25.000 FPS
Frame count                              : 429
Stream size                              : 38252
Stream size                              : 37.4 KiB (2%)
Stream size                              : 37 KiB
Stream size                              : 37 KiB
Stream size                              : 37.4 KiB
Stream size                              : 37.36 KiB
Stream size                              : 37.4 KiB (2%)
Proportion of this stream                : 0.02072
Title                                    : Encoding TestClip
Movie name                               : Encoding TestClip
Director                                 : AutorTest
Genre                                    : Documentary / Drama
Subject                                  : downfall of Hitler 
Keywords                                 : Hitler
Law rating                               : Unrated
Recorded date                            : Heute
File creation date                       : 2020-06-05 16:47:58.109 UTC
File creation date (local)               : 2020-06-05 17:47:58.109
File last modification date              : 2020-06-05 16:47:58.397 UTC
File last modification date (local)      : 2020-06-05 17:47:58.397
Writing application                      : VirtualDub build 29393/releaseNandub v1.0rc2
Writing application                      : VirtualDub build 29393/releaseNandub v1.0rc2
Original source form/Name                : Movie
Copyright                                : CopyrightTest
Comment                                  : Kleiner Testclip den ich zum Testen verwende

Video
Count                                    : 381
Count of stream of this kind             : 1
Kind of stream                           : Video
Kind of stream                           : Video
Stream identifier                        : 0
StreamOrder                              : 0
ID                                       : 0
ID                                       : 0
Format                                   : MPEG-4 Visual
Format                                   : MPEG-4 Visual
Commercial name                          : MPEG-4 Visual
Format profile                           : Advanced Simple@L5
Format settings                          : BVOP2
Format settings, BVOP                    : 2
Format settings, BVOP                    : 2
Format settings, QPel                    : No
Format settings, QPel                    : No
Format settings, GMC                     : 0
Format settings, GMC                     : No warppoints
Format settings, Matrix                  : Default (H.263)
Format settings, Matrix                  : Default (H.263)
Internet media type                      : video/MP4V-ES
Codec ID                                 : XVID
Codec ID/Hint                            : XviD
Codec ID/Url                             : http://mediaarea.net/XVID
Duration                                 : 17160
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 00:00:17.160
Duration                                 : 00:00:17:04
Duration                                 : 00:00:17.160 (00:00:17:04)
Bit rate                                 : 722134
Bit rate                                 : 722 kb/s
Width                                    : 640
Width                                    : 640 pixels
Height                                   : 352
Height                                   : 352 pixels
Sampled_Width                            : 640
Sampled_Height                           : 352
Pixel aspect ratio                       : 1.000
Display aspect ratio                     : 1.818
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 25.000
Frame rate                               : 25.000 FPS
FrameRate_Num                            : 25
FrameRate_Den                            : 1
Frame count                              : 429
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Scan type                                : Progressive
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.128
Delay                                    : 0
Delay                                    : 00:00:00.000
Delay                                    : 00:00:00:00
Delay                                    : 00:00:00.000 (00:00:00:00)
Stream size                              : 1548978
Stream size                              : 1.48 MiB (84%)
Stream size                              : 1 MiB
Stream size                              : 1.5 MiB
Stream size                              : 1.48 MiB
Stream size                              : 1.477 MiB
Stream size                              : 1.48 MiB (84%)
Proportion of this stream                : 0.83890
Writing library                          : XviD0046
Writing library                          : XviD 1.1.2 (2006-11-01)
Encoded_Library_Name                     : XviD
Encoded_Library_Version                  : 1.1.2
Encoded_Library_Date                     : 2006-11-01

Audio
Count                                    : 285
Count of stream of this kind             : 1
Kind of stream                           : Audio
Kind of stream                           : Audio
Stream identifier                        : 0
StreamOrder                              : 1
ID                                       : 1
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : MPEG Audio
Format                                   : MPEG Audio
Commercial name                          : MPEG Audio
Format version                           : Version 1
Format profile                           : Layer 3
Format settings                          : Joint stereo / MS Stereo
Mode                                     : Joint stereo
Mode extension                           : MS Stereo
Internet media type                      : audio/mpeg
Codec ID                                 : 55
Codec ID/Hint                            : MP3
Codec ID/Url                             : http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm/index.html
Duration                                 : 17160
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 17 s 160 ms
Duration                                 : 00:00:17.160
Duration                                 : 00:00:17.160
Bit rate mode                            : VBR
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 123176
Bit rate                                 : 123 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Sampling rate                            : 48000
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Samples count                            : 823680
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Delay                                    : 0
Delay                                    : 00:00:00.000
Delay                                    : 00:00:00.000
Delay, origin                            : Stream
Delay, origin                            : Raw stream
Delay relative to video                  : 0
Delay relative to video                  : 00:00:00.000
Delay relative to video                  : 00:00:00.000
Stream size                              : 259200
Stream size                              : 253 KiB (14%)
Stream size                              : 253 KiB
Stream size                              : 253 KiB
Stream size                              : 253 KiB
Stream size                              : 253.1 KiB
Stream size                              : 253 KiB (14%)
Proportion of this stream                : 0.14038
Alignment                                : Aligned
Alignment                                : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration                     : 0.60
Interleave, duration                     : 24
Interleave, duration                     : 24  ms (0.60 video frame)
Interleave, preload duration             : 489
Interleave, preload duration             : 489  ms
Language                                 : Undefined
Language                                 : Undefined
Language                                 : Undefined

for that source.
Using:

mediainfo --inform=Video;Width=%Width%\r\nHeight=%Height%\r\nFrame=%FrameRate%\r\nDisplayAspectRatio=%DisplayAspectRatio/String% "g:\TestClips&Co\test.avi"

would output:

Width=640
Height=352
Frame=25.000
DisplayAspectRatio=16:9

Maybe that sheds some light on what:

--Inform=FMT
Template defined information display.

FMT is "[xxx;]Text", where xxx can be any one of General, Video, Audio, Text, Chapter,
Image, or Menu. Text can be the template text, or a filename in the form of
file:///path

See --Info-Parameters for available parameters in the text. Parameters must be
surrounded by "%".

--Info-Parameters
Display list of --Inform parameters

means,...

Cu Selur

Ps.: searching for 'mediainfo windows batch' through a search engine should also provide additional examples.

[einstein1969]

Thank you so much,

The double quotation marks were missing at the beginning of the parameter. I did not notice that.

I have another question about the right method to use that information to automate a recode of many videos at a lower resolution and lower bitratio.

Do I have to open another thread? Or can I continue here?

[Selur]

No need to open another thread, but I can't really help you with batch scripting in Windows, since I haven't written a batch file in the last 20years or so.
General idea should be:
a. loop through all the files
b. get the resolution of the file
c. if it's higher than the minimum you find acceptable continue
d. if it's below the minimum, do your reencoding steps.

[einstein1969]

Thank you, you helped me. For the batch I take care of it.

I need it, to know about the size of the frame, if I have to respect restrictions. Example: I only take the size Y (height) of the frame. I divide it in half. If you are less than 480 I skip the file or use original size.

When I do the recodes I have to give it the size in X at ffmpeg command? If so, can I calculate the size in x dividing half it or do I have to take into account the aspect ratio or something else?

Also other question: I saw that Staxrip prohibits me some resolutions. And this question comes to me: do I have to calculate these size respecting some rule? Multiple type of 16 or other?

Since the original video is well seen in my eyes, and the video recoded is 1/4 as a resolution, can I divide the bitTate to a quarter? Or do I have to take into account other things?

Recodes will be done with Av1 and Opus or X265 Nvidia (Hardware) or multipass x265 and Aac . The original file is x265 or x264 with audio eac3/ac3/aac/mp3.

I practically need "low" backup copies at reduced bitrate (dimensions) and low resolution.

[Selur]

You will probably need more than 1/4 of the bitrate when using quarter the number of pixels.
=> Maybe better look into using constant quality with NVEnc or constant rate factor with x265 instead of using bitrate based encoding.
Usually mod2 is enough for hardware compatibility assuming you use YUV 4:2:0 and progressive content.

[einstein1969]

You will probably need more than 1/4 of the bitrate when using quarter the number of pixels.
=> Maybe better look into using constant quality with NVEnc or constant rate factor with x265 instead of using bitrate based encoding.
Usually mod2 is enough for hardware compatibility assuming you use YUV 4:2:0 and progressive content.

But if I use qp or crf i don't know the values of qp or crf. how can I do?

[Selur]

Do a few tests, in which you reencode a file with the different values.
Usually values between 18 and 23 are what most folks use.

[einstein1969]

The problem is that there are many videos.

I'm doing an automatic procedure on purpose.

[Selur]

Constant quantizer and crf, both are meant to limit the maximal loss.
The downside of this is that you can't predict the output size, but you know that if you find a crf that works for a specific content type, you will not get surprising losses in quality.
Try with a few shorter clips to get a 'feel' for it.

[einstein1969]

I don't think it's a feasible road. They are a lot of files codified with very different qp/crf (from 16 to 27). Then I don't know how to group them in equal content types.

I am seeing that the QP/CRF parameter is not always present in the files. And even the bitrate sometimes is missing. Furthermore, sometimes there is no video and audio size.

It is a problem to make an automatic procedure.

[Selur]

The qp, crf, bit rate of the source does not matter.
Okay, you are clearly not understanding me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
=> I give up, maybe someone else can help you.

Cu Selur

[einstein1969]

ok. Thanks.
You have been all too patient.

However, I think I understood where I was wrong my reasoning.

Since I had already codified them with QP/CRF right I thought (wrong) that reducing the size of the frame coincided with the reduction of the file size given by the Bitrate (a little more as you said precisely)

However, I solved the problem with Mediainfo. I continue on the other thread.