Video Metadata Inspector for macOS

Inspect MP4, MOV, HLS & DASH Metadata — Without the Terminal

Read container structure, track layout, codec parameters, and manifest details from one app instead of several command line tools.

Video Commander is a professional video metadata inspector for macOS, built for engineers who need full visibility into their media files. Parse ISOBMFF structures, inspect tracks, analyze codecs, and debug streaming manifests — all in a native desktop interface.

Download for macOS

Or inspect an MP4 without installing anything in the browser playground, which runs the same parser in WebAssembly.

The Usual Tools

Media metadata is normally read with some combination of:

ffprobe
mp4dump
mediainfo
Custom scripts
Bento4 utilities

Each is capable, and together they cover most of what Video Commander does. What they share is that the output is text:

Reports are verbose, so scanning for one field takes a moment
Box hierarchies are printed as indented text rather than navigated
Comparing two files means diffing two dumps by hand
Switching between tools means switching output formats

Video Commander reads the same structures and presents them as navigable panels, in one app rather than five.

What Video Commander's Metadata Inspector Does

Parse ISOBMFF / MP4 Box Structure

Visual tree view of ftyp, moov, trak, mdia, stbl, and more
Inspect timescales, durations, sample tables
Identify missing or malformed atoms
Analyze fragmented MP4 (fMP4) structures

You see the structure instantly — no scrolling through raw CLI output.

Track-Level Media Analysis

Video codec (H.264, HEVC, AV1, etc.)
Audio codec details
Bitrate and resolution
Color information (HDR metadata, color primaries)
Timebase and duration validation

Perfect for verifying encodes before delivery.

HLS & DASH Manifest Inspection

Inspect .m3u8 playlists
Analyze segment structure
Validate bitrate ladders
Debug manifest inconsistencies

Stop switching between text editors and command-line tools.

Who It Is Built For

The feature set is aimed at streaming and delivery work rather than casual file browsing. Typical users are:

Streaming engineers
Encoding pipeline developers
OTT platform teams
Post-production technical QA
Media tooling developers

The common thread is working at the level of atoms, tracks, segments, and timescales rather than files and folders.

Compare with CLI Tools

Task	CLI Workflow	Video Commander
Inspect MP4 structure	mp4dump file.mp4	Expandable visual box tree
View codec metadata	ffprobe -show_streams	Structured stream view
Debug HLS manifest	Open in text editor	Parsed manifest inspector
Validate timescales	Manual calculation	Displayed in context

The same fields these tools report, read from the same structures, shown as panels you can navigate instead of text you have to scan.

Native macOS App — Offline First

Apple Silicon optimized
All processing runs locally
Large-file friendly
Built by a professional media engineer

Your media stays on your machine by default.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it replace ffprobe or mp4dump?: No — it builds on the same underlying media structures, but provides a readable interface for faster debugging and inspection.
Does it support fragmented MP4?: Yes. Fragmented MP4 (fMP4) and streaming-ready outputs are fully inspectable.
Can I use it for HLS and DASH?: Yes. Manifest inspection and packaging visibility are built-in.

Download the Video Metadata Inspector for macOS

Video Commander includes the full metadata inspection tool in the desktop app.

Download the Latest Version

Linux support coming soon.

Free to start. Pro for commercial work.

Video Commander is free for personal use. For client and commercial projects, Pro is a one-time $39 — with free updates for life.

Download free See pricing