Free video metadata viewer

What is video metadata?

Video metadata is the information a file stores about itself: which container and codecs it uses, how large the picture is, how many frames per second it plays, how much data it uses per second, how long it lasts, and details of the sound. Players read it to decide whether and how they can play the file. When a video won’t play or upload, the answer is almost always in these details.

What each detail means

Diagnosing a video that won’t play or upload

“Format not supported”

Look at the video codec first. HEVC from an iPhone or AV1 from a newer tool are the usual suspects; many players and platforms expect H.264. Convert to MP4 with the video converter. If the container is the odd one out, such as MKV or WebM, converting to MP4 fixes that too.

Sound but a black picture

The player understands the audio but not the video codec. Same fix: convert to MP4 with H.264.

Sideways in one app, fine in another

Check the rotation. A value of 90° or 270° means the file relies on players reading that flag. Turn the picture itself with rotate video.

File too large

Compare the resolution and bitrate with what the video needs. A 4K screen recording at a high bitrate for a help article is far more than necessary. Scale it with the video resizer or set a target size in the video compressor.

Upload rejected for its frame rate or resolution

Some platforms and LMSs cap resolution or frame rate. The viewer shows both, so you know what to change before you upload again.

Checking a file before you share it

Metadata isn’t only technical. Phone videos can carry the date and time of recording, and some include the device model or location. Before you send a video outside your company, it’s worth knowing what it says about itself. The same goes for incoming files: the details show whether a “quick screen recording” is really a 4K file at 60 frames per second that will be slow to upload, or a phone video that needs rotating.

More than one track, colour and tags

Files can hold several video or audio tracks, for example separate microphone and system sound in an OBS recording. The viewer lists every track with its own codec, in plain words and as the exact codec string, plus language and name where the file has them. For video it also shows the colour details, including whether the video is HDR, which explains washed-out or overly bright playback in some apps. Tags such as the title or creation date appear when the file carries them. It also tells you whether this browser can decode each track, which is what decides whether the converters on this site can re-encode it. Copy the whole report as text or JSON to paste into a ticket.

Why view metadata in the browser?

Professional tools such as MediaInfo show even more detail, but need installing. This viewer opens MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV videos and MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG and FLAC audio on any computer, and reads only the file’s headers, so even a large recording opens in a moment, and it works even in browsers that can’t play the video. The file never leaves your device.