What Windows software can I use to tell which codecs are used in a video?

Question

I've got a small electronic device that records video as a secondary function.Though I can play that video back on most things, some editing software seems to have trouble loading it properly. I suspect this is down to an unusual video format being used, or a problem codec on my PCs. To narrow this down I'd like to see exactly what codecs/formats/wrappers are being used.

Last time I did this sort of thing I used the GSpot Codec Information Appliance but it looks like that hasn't been updated for years and is no longer actively developed or supported. Some of GSpot's feature were just how much info it gives and in so much detail, the fact that it's a tiny "portable" no-install-needed executable, and identifying video details was as simple as drag-and-dropping the video onto Gspot's window and then waiting a few seconds for analysis.

What I'm looking for is:

• Software for Windows (works on 64-bit Win 8.1 preferred, but I do have access to 32-bit Win7 too if there are compatibility problems).
• Gives detailed information on video/audio codecs/formats/wrappers, framerates, sizes, etc
• Lists possibly compatible locally installed codecs, with options to test them

Nice to have:

• Flags about possible corruptions in the file
• Cheap or Free (not worried about whether it's open source or not)
• Small
• 'portable' ie no install needed

Answer 1

Use ffprobe and ffmpeg

• Shows every possible detail » (codecs/formats/wrappers, framerates, sizes, etc)
• Free, small, portable
• Lists installed codecs with ffmpeg -codecs

^{I don't know if there is a possibily to show possible corruptions in the file}

Command

C:\ffprobe.exe -loglevel quiet -unit -prefix -sexagesimal -show_format -show_streams -print_format flat=h=0 C:\testvideo.mp4

Example Output

stream.0.index=0
stream.0.codec_name="h264"
stream.0.codec_long_name="H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10"
stream.0.profile="High"
stream.0.codec_type="video"
stream.0.codec_time_base="1/180000"
stream.0.codec_tag_string="avc1"
stream.0.codec_tag="0x31637661"
stream.0.width=1920
stream.0.height=1080
stream.0.has_b_frames=0
stream.0.sample_aspect_ratio="0:1"
stream.0.display_aspect_ratio="0:1"
stream.0.pix_fmt="yuv420p"
stream.0.level=40
stream.0.color_range="N/A"
stream.0.color_space="unknown"
stream.0.color_transfer="unknown"
stream.0.color_primaries="unknown"
stream.0.chroma_location="left"
stream.0.timecode="N/A"
stream.0.id="N/A"
stream.0.r_frame_rate="30/1"
stream.0.avg_frame_rate="8685000/290291"
stream.0.time_base="1/90000"
stream.0.start_pts=0
stream.0.start_time="0:00:00.000000"
stream.0.duration_ts=580582
stream.0.duration="0:00:06.450911"
stream.0.bit_rate="17.033355 Mbit/s"
stream.0.max_bit_rate="N/A"
stream.0.bits_per_raw_sample="8"
stream.0.nb_frames="193"
stream.0.nb_read_frames="N/A"
stream.0.nb_read_packets="N/A"
stream.0.disposition.default=1
stream.0.disposition.dub=0
stream.0.disposition.original=0
stream.0.disposition.comment=0
stream.0.disposition.lyrics=0
stream.0.disposition.karaoke=0
stream.0.disposition.forced=0
stream.0.disposition.hearing_impaired=0
stream.0.disposition.visual_impaired=0
stream.0.disposition.clean_effects=0
stream.0.disposition.attached_pic=0
stream.0.tags.rotate="90"
stream.0.tags.creation_time="2014-12-04 09:46:15"
stream.0.tags.language="eng"
stream.0.tags.handler_name="VideoHandle"
stream.0.tags.encoder="                               "
stream.1.index=1
stream.1.codec_name="aac"
stream.1.codec_long_name="AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)"
stream.1.profile="LC"
stream.1.codec_type="audio"
stream.1.codec_time_base="1/48000"
stream.1.codec_tag_string="mp4a"
stream.1.codec_tag="0x6134706d"
stream.1.sample_fmt="fltp"
stream.1.sample_rate="48 KHz"
stream.1.channels=2
stream.1.channel_layout="stereo"
stream.1.bits_per_sample=0
stream.1.id="N/A"
stream.1.r_frame_rate="0/0"
stream.1.avg_frame_rate="0/0"
stream.1.time_base="1/48000"
stream.1.start_pts=0
stream.1.start_time="0:00:00.000000"
stream.1.duration_ts=324608
stream.1.duration="0:00:06.762667"
stream.1.bit_rate="110.594000 Kbit/s"
stream.1.max_bit_rate="N/A"
stream.1.bits_per_raw_sample="N/A"
stream.1.nb_frames="317"
stream.1.nb_read_frames="N/A"
stream.1.nb_read_packets="N/A"
stream.1.disposition.default=1
stream.1.disposition.dub=0
stream.1.disposition.original=0
stream.1.disposition.comment=0
stream.1.disposition.lyrics=0
stream.1.disposition.karaoke=0
stream.1.disposition.forced=0
stream.1.disposition.hearing_impaired=0
stream.1.disposition.visual_impaired=0
stream.1.disposition.clean_effects=0
stream.1.disposition.attached_pic=0
stream.1.tags.creation_time="2014-12-04 09:46:15"
stream.1.tags.language="eng"
stream.1.tags.handler_name="SoundHandle"
format.filename="C:\\testvideo.mp4"
format.nb_streams=2
format.nb_programs=0
format.format_name="mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2"
format.format_long_name="QuickTime / MOV"
format.start_time="0:00:00.000000"
format.duration="0:00:06.763000"
format.size="13.833356 Mbyte"
format.bit_rate="16.363573 Mbit/s"
format.probe_score=100
format.tags.major_brand="isom"
format.tags.minor_version="0"
format.tags.compatible_brands="isom3gp4"
format.tags.creation_time="2014-12-04 09:46:15"

Answer 2

MediaInfo size 12MB 32bit or 64bit

http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo

The MediaInfo data display includes:

Container: format, profile, commercial name of the format, duration, overall bit rate, writing application and library, title, author, director, album, track number, date, duration...

Video: format, codec id, aspect, frame rate, bit rate, color space, chroma subsampling, bit depth, scan type, scan order...

Audio: format, codec id, sample rate, channels, bit depth, language, bit rate...

Text: format, codec id, language of subtitle...

Chapters: count of chapters, list of chapters...

MediaInfo analyticals include:

Container: MPEG-4, QuickTime, Matroska, AVI, MPEG-PS (including unprotected DVD), MPEG-TS (including unprotected Blu-ray), MXF, GXF, LXF, WMV, FLV, Real...

Tags: Id3v1, Id3v2, Vorbis comments, APE tags...

Video: MPEG-1/2 Video, H.263, MPEG-4 Visual (including DivX, XviD), H.264/AVC, Dirac...

Audio: MPEG Audio (including MP3), AC3, DTS, AAC, Dolby E, AES3, FLAC...

Subtitles: CEA-608, CEA-708, DTVCC, SCTE-20, SCTE-128, ATSC/53, CDP, DVB Subtitle, Teletext, SRT, SSA, ASS, SAMI...

download link select the one that says "without installer" for portable http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download/Windows

Also

Installedcodec size: 66KB portable 32bit and 64bit available

InstalledCodec is a small utility displays the list of all Codec drivers and DirectShow filters currently installed on your system. For each component the following information is displayed: Display Name, Type, Disabled Status, Installed/Modified Time, Description, Company Name, Filename, and more... It allows you to easily disable or enable any Codec/DirectShow component or export the list into text/xml/html file.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/installed_codec.html