Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'example.mp4': Metadata: major_brand : isom minor_version : 512 compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41 encoder : Lavf58.76.100 Duration: 00:02:30.15, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1024 kb/s Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p, 1920x1080 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 896 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 15360 tbn (default) Stream #0:1(und): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s (default) This tells you: container format, duration, bitrate, video codec (H.264), resolution (1080p), frame rate, audio codec (AAC), sample rate, and channels. 1. -show_format Displays container-level information: format name, duration, overall bitrate, number of streams, and format metadata.

ffprobe [options] input_file Without any options, ffprobe outputs a compact summary. For example:

Start with simple -show_streams commands, then graduate to JSON output and scripting. Combine it with ffmpeg for intelligent transcoding decisions (e.g., "only re-encode if the bitrate exceeds 5 Mbps"). Master ffprobe , and you will never again wonder what's really inside a media file.

ffprobe example.mp4 Output might look like:

ffprobe -show_streams input.mp4 Lists every single frame in the file (video, audio, subtitle). This can be extremely verbose. Use with -select_streams v to limit to video frames.

While FFmpeg is the workhorse for converting and manipulating audio and video, ffprobe.exe is the analyst. It doesn't change a single byte of your media. Instead, it reads media files and displays their internal structure, metadata, and stream characteristics with surgical precision. For developers, quality assurance engineers, content archivists, and video enthusiasts, ffprobe is the first and most important tool in the diagnostic toolkit.