MediaInfo Lite

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on February 27, 2012

Most Windows users know that you can right-click on any file to view its properties, such as its file type, size, location, and dates that it was created, modified, and last accessed. If you wish the Windows properties menu included more information, try MediaInfo Lite. While it doesn't display full metadata, it does let you quickly access a little more information about your files, especially videos.

Once installed, MediaInfo Lite can be run as a standalone program or accessed via the context menu. We tried the program with several image files, and it displayed the file size and format, the image's width and height in pixels, the type of chroma subsampling, the bit depth, and the compression mode. There was quite a bit more information available for video files; MediaInfo Lite displayed the file size, duration, and bit rate, as well as the format, codec ID, width and height, aspect ratio, frame rate, and other information.

For audio files, MediaInfo Lite supplied us with the track name, performer, and genre, as well as details like the format, bit rate, sampling rate, and compression mode. For all file types, information could be easily saved to a text file. Although the program has no Help file, there is a link to a forum where users can find support. Overall, MediaInfo Lite didn't knock our socks off, but it's a nice, unobtrusive choice if you'd like to be able to easily view more information about your files.