<p>Using the ffprobe command (part of FFmpeg, also a command line tool)</p>
<pre><code>ffprobe -show_entries stream=pix_fmt &lt;VIDEO FILE&gt;
</code></pre>
<p>The output will look like this:</p>
<pre><code>...
[STREAM]
pix_fmt=yuv420p
[/STREAM]
[STREAM]
[/STREAM]
</code></pre>
<p>You can then find <a href="https://ffmpeg.org/doxygen/trunk/pixfmt_8h_source.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the description of the pixel format</a> as used in ffmpeg:</p>
<pre><code> AV_PIX_FMT_YUV420P,   ///&lt; planar YUV 4:2:0, 12bpp, (1 Cr &amp; Cb sample per 2x2 Y samples)
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-25T16:06:31.523Z
2021-10-25T16:06:31.523Z
Duvrai
<p>Mediainfo is a free, open source, cross-platform solution, available in 37 languages.  <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaInfo" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaInfo</a></p>
<p>When run from the command line it outputs chrome subsampling info by default:</p>
<pre><code>$ mediainfo videofile.mov

[...]
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
[...]
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-17T19:48:46.067Z
Would be nice with some more info about how to answer my question with the help of that software. E g  does it list the used type of chroma subsampling separately?
PetaspeedBeaver
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-17T19:54:49.543Z
Depends on your OS.  With Mac, you just type “mediainfo” followed by the path of the file you want to examine into terminal and press return. It’ll display all of the info available on the file. For other options, type “mediainfo -h”  I think Windows has a GUI.
Jason Conrad
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-17T20:06:41.763Z
For platform-specific help, you’ll need to let us know what operating system you’re using, or what video software you’re using, because many NLEs can provide that info, too.
Jason Conrad
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-17T20:13:01.300Z
Also, mediainfo comes bundled on many platforms, so it might already be a built-in solution for you.  It’s just the most generic one I know about, and it actually drives a lot of the knockoffs people pay for.
Jason Conrad
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-16T12:49:01.403Z
2021-10-25T11:06:31.910Z
2021-10-25T11:06:31.910Z
Jason Conrad
<p><strong>If I have a video file, how can I find out which kind of chroma subsampling (4:2:2, 4:2:0), if any, that is used?</strong></p>
<hr />
<p>What I've tried so far:</p>
<p>If I open the codec info in VLC I can see that it's in the ITU-R BT.709 color space. Does this tell me anything about which subsampling is used?</p>

<codec><colorspace>
How can I find out which chroma subsampling (if any) is used in a video file?
PetaspeedBeaver
# How can I find out which chroma subsampling (if any) is used in a video file?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-10-15)

**If I have a video file, how can I find out which kind of chroma subsampling (4:2:2, 4:2:0), if any, that is used?**

---

What I've tried so far:

If I open the codec info in VLC I can see that it's in the ITU-R BT.709 color space. Does this tell me anything about which subsampling is used?

**Tags:** codec, colorspace


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-10-16. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Mediainfo is a free, open source, cross-platform solution, available in 37 languages.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaInfo
When run from the command line it outputs chrome subsampling info by default:
$ mediainfo videofile.mov

[...]
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
[...]

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Would be nice with some more info about how to answer my question with the help of that software. E g  does it list the used type of chroma subsampling separately?  
> **username_2**: Depends on your OS.  With Mac, you just type “mediainfo” followed by the path of the file you want to examine into terminal and press return. It’ll display all of the info available on the file. For other options, type “mediainfo -h”  I think Windows has a GUI.  
> **username_2**: For platform-specific help, you’ll need to let us know what operating system you’re using, or what video software you’re using, because many NLEs can provide that info, too.  
> **username_2**: Also, mediainfo comes bundled on many platforms, so it might already be a built-in solution for you.  It’s just the most generic one I know about, and it actually drives a lot of the knockoffs people pay for.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-10-25. Score: 4

Using the ffprobe command (part of FFmpeg, also a command line tool)
ffprobe -show_entries stream=pix_fmt 

The output will look like this:
...
[STREAM]
pix_fmt=yuv420p
[/STREAM]
[STREAM]
[/STREAM]

You can then find the description of the pixel format as used in ffmpeg:
 AV_PIX_FMT_YUV420P,   ///< planar YUV 4:2:0, 12bpp, (1 Cr & Cb sample per 2x2 Y samples)


---

