Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Analysis

MediaInfo states video is Bottom Filed First when it is actually Top Field First

Most of such comments come from ProRes having displayed and stored order inverted, for a reason I ignore.
MediaInfo shows how displayed order is wanted by the container, and sometimes the container says that stored order is TFF and displayed order is BFF ('fiel' atom in QuickTime header).
In that case, display of MediaInfo is:
Scan type                                : Interlaced
Scan order                               : Bottom Field First
Scan order, stored/displayed inverted    : Yes

Meaning that displayed order is BFF but raw stream stored order is TFF. Some player do not obey the inversion metadata from the QuickTime container so you can sometimes see TFF. Update: There is a discussion about a technical report and the output may change in the future

General

What is the canonical URL of the website?

https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfo

MediaInfo tries to connect to the Internet!

Yes, it tries (if "Check for newest version" is checked).
When this checkbox is checked, MediaInfo connects to mediaarea.net website too for anonymous statistics. (how often MediaInfo is used, which OS/Language/Country is the most used...)
If you don't want to autorize anonymous statistics, uncheck the "Check for newest version" checkbox.

In the SourceForge repository, there are multiple filenames. Which one should I download?

It depends on what you require:
  • A graphical interface : MediaInfo GUI
  • A Command line interface : MediaInfo CLI
  • A DLL to interface with other software : MediaInfo DLL

After this, you must select your operating system:
  • Win : Windows 95 to Windows 11
  • Lin : Linux distribution

And your platform:
  • 686 : Intel Pentium, AMD Athlon
  • AMD64 : Intel EMT64 enabled CPU, AMD Athlon64

In the SourceForge repository, there are multiple file versions. Which one should I download?

Always the latest version, except if:
  • The version is tagged "beta". You can download this, but be warned, this is not a stable version.
  • The person who asked you to download specified the version. Download this version, as the developer may not have tested the latest version

Why is format not supported?

First, maybe I don't have specifications for it.
If you have documentation about the format, please contact us.
Second, maybe we don't have the time on free support for implementing it.
If you desire to accelerate the development, don't hesitate to contact us for a quotation.

Really, format should be supported because a motive

I have no problem for accepting a (good) patch for the support of format, don't hesitate to propose a patch.
You are not a programmer? If you really think that a motive is true, I guess you'll have no problem for finding someone else ready for implementing this feature if you think that the rate of the main developer (see "Why is format not supported?", but you already asked for the quotation, right?) is too high.
You don't succeed to find the funds for the development? Maybe it is because a motive is not true...
Note: on my side I think that you should work for me for free, this product needs you, you should be part of the project. If you are not ready to work for me for free, please don't be upset if I don't work for you for free.

The support lifecycle

With free support, support is provided only on the latest release provided on our website i.e. the day of a release the previous release is considered as at end of life. In practice we advice any entity needing a fix for their specific problem to update to the latest release when it is ready and includes the fix they need.
If you need a different end of life date and/or a backport of an update to a previous release, don't hesitate to contact us for a quotation.

A file is not properly detected. What should I do?

Please open a ticket. I'd like a copy of your file.

I would like to have MediaInfo translated into my language. Why don't you translate it into my language?

Because I don't speak your language! ;-)
If you have an hour, you can translate it (in the options dialog box), and send me the file (from ./plugins/ directory). This is not difficult; you only need some knowledge of English.

What's KiB, MiB, GiB?

These are binary prefixes.
For example, 1 KiB is 1024 bytes, 1 KB is 1000 bytes.
The difference is not important with small files (only 2.4% for "K"), but becomes more and more important with bigger numbers (1 GB is only ~0.93 GiB, 1 TB is only 0.90 TiB!).
MediaInfo makes every attempt to be precise and does not tolerate errors of such magnitude when posting numbers even though Microsoft continues to confuse the issue in its operating system.
See the Binary prefix Wikipedia page for more information.
Anyway you can:
  • use the complete output with raw values (-f in the CLI or "advanced mode" in the GUI) --> "File size: 4700000000" instead of "File size: 4.37 GiB"
  • use your own language file (--Language=file://xxx.csv in the CLI, choose your own language file in the GUI). Language files are in the GUI package, you can edit " GiB" and other fields as you desire).

Why are there spaces in numbers?

Yes, there is a space in "1 920 pixels" for example.
This is the international standard ("SI style").
This standard is the official one for 96% of the world population (All countries except U.S.A.). I currently don't plan to change this default display although you can:
  • use the complete output with raw values (-f in the CLI or "advanced mode" in the GUI) --> "Width: 1920"
  • use your own language file (--Language=file://xxx.csv in the CLI, choose your own language file in the GUI). Language files are in the GUI package, you can edit the "Thousand_Separator" field as you desire).

My question is not here. What should I do?

You might get help on the forums.

MediaInfo Graphical Interface (GUI)

What is the license?

MediaInfoGUI is governed by a BSD-style license.

How do I compile from source?

The source code can be downloaded here.
You need Borland C++ 6 to compile it.

MediaInfo Command Line Interface (CLI)

What is the license?

MediaInfoCmd is governed by a BSD-style license.

Why aren't there more options for the command line?

I didn't spend much time coding it, due to less interest from users.
You can add a feature request.

How do I compile from source?

The source code can be downloaded here

MediaInfo Library (DLL)

What is the license?

support.faq.dll.Licence_Dll.content

Why doesn't the DLL work with software name?

Maybe the software doesn't support the latest version of the DLL.
  • Try asking the software developer to modify his software
  • Try downloading an older version of the DLL

How do I import data from your DLL?

Download the DLL package. There are some examples, in many different languages (standard C, standard C++, GCC, MinGW, Borland C++ Builder, Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft C#, Microsoft J#)
There is also an SDK.

I'd rather have static libraries

This is only possible with C++.
On the download page, there is package with:
  • Library compiled with Borland C++ builder 6
  • Library compiled with Microsoft Visual C++ 9 (aka 2005). Warning : the project is statically linked to the multithreaded C++ library, and options are C++ compliant (Be careful. In standard C++, wchar_t is a type, not a short int).
If you want to use other compilers or options, you must compile from source.

How do I compile from source?

The source code can be downloaded here.

I have the message "Access is denied" on the production server

On some production servers, users have this message:
Unable to load DLL 'MediaInfo.dll': Access is denied. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070005 (E_ACCESSDENIED))
For certain strict server setups, the Local Service account that is executing the DLL is only allowed read permission. However, for a personal development machine, it is sometimes less strict and given full access and works fine for the developer.
You need to set "Read & execute" rights for MediaInfo.dll when deploying.
If you want to access HTTP(S)/FTP(S) files, you also need to set the same rights for the sidecar libcurl.dll file.
If you use IIS, IIS_IUSRS user must have the "Read & execute" rights on these files.