Get-FFProbeVideoInfo.ps1

19 Sep 2025

Description
- Purpose
- Detailed Description
- Usage
- Notes
- Script
- Download
- Report Issues

Description

Purpose

Collect ffprobe metadata for video files and optionally return the audio streams as structured objects.

Detailed Description

Get-FFProbeVideoInfo targets video files in a chosen directory (or a specific file) and executes ffprobe with banner output suppressed. By default it writes the raw ffprobe results to the console, mirroring the traditional command-line experience. Supplying the -GetAudioStreams switch changes the behaviour to parse ffprobe’s JSON stream data, returning each audio track with index, codec, and language fields—ideal for piping into Remove-FFMpegVideoFileAudioStream.

Usage

Example 1

Get-FFProbeVideoInfo -Dir "C:\\Media\\Movies" -VideoFile "Alien (1979).mkv"

Prints ffprobe metadata for the specified file while hiding banner information.

Example 2

Get-FFProbeVideoInfo -Dir "C:\\Media\\Shows\\Season 01"

Iterates through every file in the folder, outputting ffprobe details for each item.

Example 3

Get-FFProbeVideoInfo -Dir "C:\\Media\\Movies" -VideoFile "Alien (1979).mkv" -GetAudioStreams

Parses the ffprobe JSON response and returns audio stream objects instead of the raw console output.

Notes

Requires ffprobe from the FFmpeg suite to be accessible in the current environment.
When -GetAudioStreams is used, the function mirrors the output shape of Get-FFProbeAudioStreams, returning an object per audio track.
Omitting -VideoFile causes the function to enumerate every file in the specified directory, matching the behaviour of the original monolithic script.

Script

<#
.SYNOPSIS
Calls ffprobe to get a video file's info (without banner). Can optionally return audio stream information as objects.

.DESCRIPTION
Calls ffprobe to get a video file's info (without banner). When GetAudioStreams is specified, returns structured audio stream information instead of raw output.

.PARAMETER Dir
The directory the file is located in. Defaults to current location if not supplied.

.PARAMETER VideoFile
The video file name. Iterates every file in the directory if not supplied.

.PARAMETER GetAudioStreams
Return audio stream information as PowerShell objects instead of raw ffprobe output.

.EXAMPLE
Get-FFProbeVideoInfo -Dir "C:\movies\Alien (1979)" -VideoFile "Alien (1979).mkv"

.EXAMPLE
Get-FFProbeVideoInfo -Dir "C:\movies\Alien (1979)" -VideoFile "Alien (1979).mkv" -GetAudioStreams

#>
function Get-FFProbeVideoInfo {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param (
        [Parameter(HelpMessage = "The directory the file is located in. Defaults to current location if not supplied.")]
        [string]$Dir,

        [Parameter(HelpMessage = "The video file name. Iterates every file in the directory if not supplied.")]
        [string]$VideoFile,

        [Parameter(HelpMessage = "Return audio stream information as PowerShell objects instead of raw ffprobe output.")]
        [switch]$GetAudioStreams
    )

    if ([String]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($Dir)) {
        $Dir = Get-Location
    }

    if (-Not [String]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($VideoFile)) {
        $filePath = Join-Path -Path $Dir -ChildPath $VideoFile
        if ($GetAudioStreams) {
            $json = ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_streams $filePath 2>$null
            if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
                $data = $json | ConvertFrom-Json
                $audioStreams = $data.streams | Where-Object { $_.codec_type -eq 'audio' } |
                Select-Object index, codec_name,
                @{Name = 'Language'; Expression = { $_.tags.language } },
                @{Name = 'File'; Expression = { $filePath } }
                return $audioStreams
            }
            else {
                Write-Error "ffprobe failed to analyze $filePath"
            }
        }
        else {
            ffprobe $filePath -hide_banner
        }
    }
    else {
        if ($GetAudioStreams) {
            Get-ChildItem -Path $Dir -File | ForEach-Object {
                $json = ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_streams $_.FullName 2>$null
                if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
                    $data = $json | ConvertFrom-Json
                    $audioStreams = $data.streams | Where-Object { $_.codec_type -eq 'audio' } |
                    Select-Object index, codec_name,
                    @{Name = 'Language'; Expression = { $_.tags.language } },
                    @{Name = 'File'; Expression = { $_.FullName } }
                    $audioStreams
                }
                else {
                    Write-Error "ffprobe failed to analyze $($_.FullName)"
                }
            }
        }
        else {
            Get-ChildItem -Path $Dir -File | ForEach-Object {
                ffprobe $_.FullName -hide_banner
            }
        }
    }
}

Download

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Issue

Maintenance Scripts