Video Metadata Inspector

Extract and analyze comprehensive metadata from video files including duration, resolution, codec, frame rate, and technical specifications.

Purpose

Video metadata inspection for:

• Format verification and compatibility checking
• Quality assessment and validation
• Transcoding planning and optimization
• Video library cataloging
• Technical specification reports

Features

• Basic Info: Duration, resolution, frame rate, file size
• Codec Details: Video/audio codec, profile, bitrate
• Technical Specs: Aspect ratio, pixel format, sample rate
• Metadata: Title, artist, creation date, tags
• Batch Analysis: Process multiple files in one operation
• Export Formats: JSON, CSV, human-readable text

Quick Start

from video_metadata_inspector import VideoMetadataInspector

# Inspect single video
inspector = VideoMetadataInspector()
inspector.load('video.mp4')
metadata = inspector.get_metadata()
print(f"Duration: {metadata['duration_seconds']:.2f}s")
print(f"Resolution: {metadata['width']}x{metadata['height']}")
print(f"FPS: {metadata['fps']}")

# Export full report
inspector.export_report('report.json', format='json')

# Batch inspect directory
inspector.batch_inspect(
    input_files=['video1.mp4', 'video2.mkv'],
    output='metadata.csv',
    format='csv'
)

CLI Usage

# Basic metadata
python video_metadata_inspector.py input.mp4

# Full technical details
python video_metadata_inspector.py input.mp4 --verbose

# Export to JSON
python video_metadata_inspector.py input.mp4 --output metadata.json --format json

# Batch inspect directory
python video_metadata_inspector.py *.mp4 --output metadata.csv --format csv

# Compare multiple videos
python video_metadata_inspector.py video1.mp4 video2.mp4 --compare

API Reference

VideoMetadataInspector

class VideoMetadataInspector:
    def load(self, filepath: str) -> 'VideoMetadataInspector'
    def get_metadata(self) -> Dict[str, Any]
    def get_basic_info(self) -> Dict[str, Any]
    def get_video_info(self) -> Dict[str, Any]
    def get_audio_info(self) -> Dict[str, Any]
    def get_format_info(self) -> Dict[str, Any]
    def export_report(self, output: str, format: str = 'json') -> str
    def batch_inspect(self, input_files: List[str], output: str = None,
                     format: str = 'csv') -> pd.DataFrame
    def compare_videos(self, video_files: List[str]) -> pd.DataFrame

Metadata Categories

Basic Information

• Duration (seconds, formatted)
• Resolution (width × height)
• Frame rate (FPS)
• File size
• Aspect ratio

Video Stream

• Video codec (H.264, H.265, VP9, etc.)
• Codec profile and level
• Bitrate (kbps)
• Pixel format (yuv420p, etc.)
• Color space and range

Audio Stream

• Audio codec (AAC, MP3, Opus, etc.)
• Sample rate (Hz)
• Channels (mono, stereo, 5.1, etc.)
• Audio bitrate (kbps)

Container Format

• Container type (MP4, MKV, AVI, etc.)
• Creation date
• Metadata tags (title, artist, description)
• Number of streams

Use Cases

Format Verification:

inspector.load('video.mp4')
info = inspector.get_video_info()
if info['codec'] == 'h264' and info['width'] >= 1920:
    print("✓ Meets requirements: 1080p H.264")

Transcoding Planning:

# Check if transcoding needed
metadata = inspector.get_metadata()
if metadata['video_codec'] != 'h265' or metadata['bitrate_kbps'] > 5000:
    print("Transcode recommended")

Quality Assessment:

# Analyze video quality metrics
info = inspector.get_metadata()
quality_score = (
    (info['width'] * info['height']) / 2073600 * 50 +  # Resolution score
    min(info['fps'] / 60, 1) * 25 +  # Frame rate score
    min(info['bitrate_kbps'] / 10000, 1) * 25  # Bitrate score
)

Common Checks

Is video 4K?

metadata['width'] >= 3840 and metadata['height'] >= 2160

Is video HDR?

'hdr' in metadata.get('color_space', '').lower()

Is audio stereo?

metadata['audio_channels'] == 2

Is codec modern?

metadata['video_codec'] in ['h265', 'vp9', 'av1']

Limitations

• Cannot extract corrupt/damaged video metadata
• Some proprietary formats may have limited support
• DRM-protected content cannot be analyzed
• Metadata extraction may be slow for very large files
• Requires FFmpeg/FFprobe for full codec details