Video Metadata Viewer: See Duration, Resolution & Format Online
Drop a video and read its facts in a blink, exact duration, pixel resolution, simplified aspect ratio, file size and container type, pulled straight from your browser with no upload and no wait. Need codec, bitrate or frame rate? Opt into a deep probe and only then does the FFmpeg engine load.
What is the video metadata viewer?
GigAI Video Metadata reads a video file's real properties in your browser - container, codecs, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, duration and embedded tags - by parsing the file locally. Nothing uploads. Use it to learn why a platform rejects an upload before transcoding blindly.
The GigAI Video Metadata Viewer answers the questions you ask a file before you do anything with it: how long is it, how big is the frame, what's the aspect ratio, how many bytes, and what container is it in. It reads all of that instantly by loading your clip into a throwaway HTML5 `<video>` element and reading its intrinsic properties, the same trick a browser uses to size a player, so there's no FFmpeg download, no upload and no spinner for the basics. That makes it perfect for the split-second checks that come up constantly: confirming a client export is really 1920×1080 and not a stretched 1280×720, verifying a clip is under a platform's duration cap, or checking whether that MOV is actually 16:9 before you drop it on a timeline. Because the HTMLMediaElement API deliberately doesn't expose codec, bitrate or frame rate, those live behind an optional deep probe: one click that loads the single-threaded FFmpeg (WebAssembly) core once and parses its stream banner for the video/audio codec, overall bitrate and fps. We're honest about that tradeoff: basics are free and instant. The deep probe pulls the ~31 MB engine and is best-effort, since ffmpeg.wasm reports what it can parse from the container. Everything happens on your device, sensitive footage, unreleased cuts and personal recordings are never uploaded, stored or logged. Copy the full report as text or JSON for a bug ticket, a spec sheet or an automation, then close the tab and nothing remains.
- Difficulty:
- Medium
- Typical time:
- ~1–2m
- Processing:
- 100% browser processing
Last updated
How to use the video metadata viewer
- 1
Drop your video
Drag an MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV or other common clip onto the workspace, or click to browse. It's read locally. Nothing is uploaded.
- 2
Read the instant report
Duration, resolution, aspect ratio, file size, container/MIME type and best-effort audio detection appear immediately, straight from the browser.
- 3
Run the deep probe (optional)
Want codec, bitrate or frame rate? Click 'Deep probe', the FFmpeg engine loads once and parses the container for the extra fields.
- 4
Copy or export
Copy the full report as text or JSON for a ticket, spec or script, then drop in another clip to inspect the next one.
What Video Metadata Viewer includes
Instant, FFmpeg-free basics
Duration, resolution, aspect ratio, size and MIME type are read from a native `<video>` element the moment you drop a file. No engine download, no upload, effectively zero wait.
Simplified aspect ratio
See the frame as a clean '16:9' or '9:16' label, not just raw pixels, so you instantly know if a clip is landscape, portrait, square or an odd crop before it hits your timeline.
Optional deep probe
Need codec, bitrate or frame rate? One click loads the FFmpeg (WebAssembly) core once and parses the stream banner for video/audio codec, overall bitrate and fps: kept opt-in so basics stay instant.
Audio-track detection
A best-effort check tells you whether the clip carries an audio track at all, handy for spotting silent screen recordings or muted exports before you wonder where the sound went.
Copy as text or JSON
Copy the whole report as a tidy human-readable block for a ticket or spec, or as structured JSON to drop straight into a script, a QA log or a spreadsheet.
100% private, nothing uploaded
Every byte is read on your device. Unreleased footage, personal recordings and confidential captures are never uploaded, stored or logged, the report exists only in your tab.
Why use our video metadata viewer
Answer the pre-flight questions fast
Before you edit, upload or convert, you need to know a clip's duration, size and dimensions. Get all of it in the instant it loads instead of opening a heavy desktop app.
No upload, no privacy tradeoff
Server-side inspectors make you upload the whole file just to read its properties. Here the video never leaves your browser, so there's no upload bar and nothing to trust.
Only pay for the engine when you need it
The basics never touch FFmpeg. The ~31 MB WASM core loads solely if you opt into the deep codec/bitrate/fps probe, so the common case stays fast.
Report-ready output
Copy the findings as clean text or JSON to paste into a bug report, a delivery spec, a content calendar or an automated pipeline. No retyping numbers by hand.
Built for the way you work
From quick one-off fixes to daily workflows, see how people put this tool to use.
- Editor / Post-production
Verify a delivery before the timeline
Confirm a client hand-off is genuinely 1920×1080 at 16:9 and the right length before you cut it in, catch a stretched or wrong-ratio export the moment it lands.
- Creator / Uploader
Check it fits the platform spec
Reels want 9:16, a banner wants 16:9, an ad has a duration cap. Read the aspect ratio and duration up front so an upload doesn't get rejected or auto-cropped.
- Developer / QA
Attach exact specs to a bug report
Grab the resolution, codec, bitrate and duration of a repro clip and paste them as JSON straight into a GitHub issue or Jira ticket. No guessing, no screenshots of a properties dialog.
- Privacy-conscious user
Inspect sensitive footage locally
Personal, medical or confidential recordings shouldn't be uploaded to a stranger's server just to read their properties. Inspect them entirely in your browser instead.
Supported formats
Accepts MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and AVI, and produces Text report and JSON, all processed locally in your browser.
- MP4
- MOV
- WebM
- MKV
- AVI
- M4V
- OGV
- Text report
- JSON
Frequently asked questions
Recommended tools
Video Compressor
Compress video in your browser with FFmpeg, shrink MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV files with a simple quality slider, see the exact bytes and percentage saved next to a live preview, then download. Nothing is uploaded.
Video Converter
Convert video between MP4, WebM, MOV, AVI, MKV and GIF in your browser with FFmpeg. Pick a target format, tune MP4 quality, preview the result and download. Nothing is uploaded.
Video Trimmer
Cut and trim video online in your browser, drag a visual timeline to set exact start and end points, preview the selection, and download the clip. No uploads, no account, no watermark.
Video to GIF
Turn a video into a high-quality animated GIF right in your browser. Pick a start, duration, frame rate and width, get a two-pass palette for clean color, then preview and download. Nothing is uploaded.
Video Player
A clean, private video player that runs in your browser, play any local MP4, WebM, MOV or MKV with variable speed, A→B loop, Picture-in-Picture, fullscreen and frame-by-frame stepping. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is processed.
Add Watermark to Video
Add a text or logo watermark to a video online, in your browser, position it in any corner or the centre, set the opacity, and download the branded clip. No uploads, no account, no second watermark of ours.
Comparisons & guides
Go deeper on the concepts behind the video metadata viewer.
Common problems, solved
Hit a snag? Here are quick fixes for the issues people run into most.
Codec, bitrate and fps show as blank.
Those fields aren't part of the instant read: the browser's HTMLMediaElement API doesn't expose them. Click 'Deep probe' to load the FFmpeg engine once and parse them from the container. If they're still blank, ffmpeg couldn't reliably read them from that particular file.
The deep probe is taking a moment.
The first deep probe loads the ~31 MB FFmpeg (WebAssembly) core, which is a one-time download per session. After that, probing another clip is fast. The basic fields never wait on this.
'Could not read this video's metadata' appeared.
Your browser couldn't decode that file's container to read even the basics: the format may be unsupported by the browser's media engine (some exotic codecs or corrupt headers). Try a more common container like MP4/WebM, or re-export the clip and inspect again.
Audio shows as 'unknown'.
Audio-track detection is best-effort and relies on non-standard browser hints that not every browser provides. When it can't tell for certain it says 'unknown' rather than guess: run the deep probe to confirm via the audio codec instead.
Get the most out of it
The basics are instant and FFmpeg-free, only click 'Deep probe' when you actually need codec, bitrate or fps, so you never pay the engine download for a quick check.
Use the aspect-ratio label as a fast sanity check: '16:9' is landscape, '9:16' is a phone-shot vertical, '1:1' is square. A mismatch usually means a wrong or stretched export.
Copy as JSON when you're pasting specs into a script, spreadsheet or bug tracker. Copy as text when a human is going to read it.
Inspecting several deliverables? The engine loads once per session, so run the deep probe on the first clip and the rest are quick.
If a screen recording seems silent, check the audio-track line before you re-record: it's often muted at capture, not broken.
What's new
Recent updates and improvements to the video metadata viewer.
Initial release: instant, FFmpeg-free readout of duration, resolution, aspect ratio, file size and MIME type via a native `<video>` probe, plus best-effort audio-track detection and copy-as-text/JSON.
Added the optional deep probe: one click loads the self-hosted FFmpeg (WebAssembly) core once to parse video/audio codec, overall bitrate and frame rate from the container.
Refined the simplified aspect-ratio labelling for odd encodes, clarified 'unknown' audio detection, and polished the copy/export and reset flow with drag-and-drop.
Keep exploring
Problems we solve
Definitions
From the blog
Explore categories
Compare formats
By file type
Common tasks
Your privacy is built in
Your video is read entirely in your browser using a native `<video>` element for the basics and a self-hosted FFmpeg (WebAssembly) engine only if you opt into the deep probe. It is never uploaded to any server. Nothing is stored, logged or transmitted, so you can safely inspect personal, confidential or unreleased footage. The report exists only in your tab. Close it and every byte is gone.
- Runs in your browser
- No uploads
- Nothing stored
Ready to try the video metadata viewer?
Free, private and instant. Video Metadata Viewer runs right in your browser.