Gspot is a freeware, and it is attached to the bottom of this post for download.
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About Gspot / Why Use Gspot?
Most people don't realize it, but AVI files, WMV files, QT/Quicktime files, MP4 files and FLV files are not video formats. Nope! These are what technically referred to as "wrappers." These wrappers are the containers that hold the true video formats, be it H.264, DV, Divx, Xvid, On2 VP6, or any number of actual video codecs.
Rather than guessing what your AVI/FLV/MP4/etc file is, run it through a quick codec analysis. Gspot will give you all sorts of information on your video file, including audio and video codec used, bitrate, resolution, framerate, aspect ratios, and more.
Both current versions of Gspot have been added.
- version 2.70 is the latest version, and supports most common files, including MP4 (H.264,etc) and FLV (On2/VP6,etc). Most people will want/need to use this version. Note that it reads an entire MPEG file (slowly!) to give accurate bitrate results.
- version 2.52 is good for MPEG videos when you don't care to know the advanced "true" bitrate information. It only reports the header bitrate data, and therefore analyzes the MPEG file faster. Anybody doing MPEG editing may find this version more useful.
Guide For Using Gspot
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Load the video file by dragging it into the File "Path" window, right there where the filename is in the image. Or click on the little ellipsis (the "..." button) and load it from a standard open-file dialog window.
Notice that my source file is an MP4 file.
Now on the right side, you can see all the video information. It shows the AVC1 fourCC, and that it's using the H.264/AVC codec for video. Looking further down the right side, you'll learn that it's not quite 57 minutes long, has a 903kbps bitrate, is NTSC 29.97 frame rate, has a 640x480 resolution, and uses a standard 4:3 aspect ratio (1.33).
On the mid-bottom left side, you'll find the audio information. This particular video use AAC audio (advanced audio codec), with a 44.1kHz sample rate, stereo 2/0 and a 92kbps bitrate.
This exact example also shows "status undetermined" because it can't tell if I have codecs on my system that are capable of playing these files. And I don't. For MP4/H.264, I use a "codec-less" player such as VLC. When these are uploaded to websites, these particular videos play in web browsers using Flash, similar to Youtube.
To take a screen shot, to get advice in
video help forums, read this:
How to take a screenshot / Take picture of computer screen
Download the Gspot Codec Information Appliance
The attached files are not "installers", but simply programs ready-to-use stored inside of RAR or ZIP archive files. Simply unzip/unrar the files, place the extracted files somewhere on your hard drive, and you're ready to go.
For Windows users, I suggest manually creating a proper "C:\Program Files\Program Name Here" type of folder. (Or in the "C:\Program Files (x86)\" folder for 64-bit Windows users.)
To get access to download the files, simply
join the forum as a Free Member (it's free!) and that's it. You'll be able to download. We don't send spam or sell your e-mail addresses.
If you're not sure what to do with these ZIP or RAR files, then
read this help post.
