Need to know how good an encoded video really looks, without a reference copy to compare against? MediaQual examines a file's streams and estimates perceived audio and video quality. It reports container and stream details, then measures a short section selected by frame position.
Which details can MediaQual read from a file?
MediaQual identifies the container and its streams, including their formats and durations. Video details include codec, resolution, frame rate, and colorspace; audio details include codec, sampling rate, channel count, and sample format. Subtitle and data streams have their own codec and format information.
The file view also displays its first video frame and a waveform for the last audio packet read before that frame. For Multi Program Transport Streams, users can choose which audio and video streams to process.
How does a quality measurement work?
A frame-position slider sets where analysis begins. After selecting a position, start the measurement to score the next five video frames and one second of audio. The tool produces perceived-quality scores on a 0–100 scale, with higher scores indicating better quality. The video metrics are built for three codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC and MPEG-2.
- Video indicators include blockiness, blur, contrast, flatness, and jerkiness.
- The result shows mean values for those video indicators.
- The analysis uses the media file under test; a reference recording is not required.
Can MediaQual open from File Explorer?
An optional right-click menu entry can be added to File Explorer. With that option enabled, right-click a media file to open it for inspection. The setting is also available in MediaQual if the context-menu integration was not selected during setup.
The interface offers light and dark themes, and the information it displays can be exported to a text file.
Pros
- Shows container, video, audio, subtitle, and data stream details
- Measures perceived video quality for HEVC, H.264, and MPEG-2
- Lets users select streams in Multi Program Transport Streams
- Exports displayed information to a text file
Cons
- Each measurement scores only five video frames and one second of audio
- Video quality scores cover H.265, H.264 and MPEG-2 only
System requirements: 64-bit only
Does MediaQual repair encoding problems?
MediaQual analyzes stream information and reports quality measurements; it does not automatically repair files.
What do the video quality scores mean?
The score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating better perceived video quality. MediaQual also reports measured indicators such as blur and blockiness.
Can it analyze a specific part of a video?
Yes. Set the frame-position slider to choose where the measurement starts. MediaQual analyzes the next five video frames and one second of audio.