Reading metadata information

This topic describes how to use the MediaInfo class to read metadata like ID3 tags, OGG attributes, and Windows Media attributes from a file.

The code snippets in this article are from the info_metadata_file AVBlocks sample.

Create a MediaInfo object

Use the standard new operator to create AVBlocks objects.

using (MediaInfo info = new MediaInfo())
{
    // Code that uses MediaInfo goes here
}

Load info from file

Set File of the default input, then call Open.

using (MediaInfo info = new MediaInfo())
{
    info.Inputs[0].File = inputFile;

    if (!info.Open())
    {
        PrintError("MediaInfo Open", info.Error);
        return false;
    }
}

List attributes and pictures

Use the MediaInfo.Metadata property to obtain a Metadata object. If there is no metadata, the MediaInfo.Metadata property will be null.

using (MediaInfo info = new MediaInfo())
{
    Metadata meta = null;

    if (info.Outputs.Count > 0)
        meta = info.Outputs[0].Metadata;

    if (meta == null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Could not find any metadata.");
        return true;
    }

    PrintMetaAttributes(meta);

    SavePictures(meta, info.Inputs[0].File);
}

return true;

Enumerate attributes

1. Use the Metadata.Attributes property to get a list of MetaAttribute objects.

2. Use MetaAttribute.Name and MetaAttribute.Value properties to get the name and the value of each attribute.

static void PrintMetaAttributes(Metadata meta)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Metadata\r\n--------");

    Console.WriteLine("{0} attributes:", meta.Attributes.Count);

    foreach (var attrib in meta.Attributes)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("{0,-15}: {1}", attrib.Name, attrib.Value);
    }
    Console.WriteLine();

}
        

Enumerate pictures

1. Use the Metadata.Pictures property to get a list of MetaPicture objects.

2. Use the properties of the MetaPicture class to get the picture properties.

static void PrintMetaAttributes(Metadata meta)
{
    Console.WriteLine("{0} pictures:", meta.Pictures.Count);

    int i = 1;
    foreach (var pic in meta.Pictures)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("#{0} {1}, {2} bytes, {3}, {4}",
                            i++, pic.MimeType, pic.Bytes.Length, pic.PictureType, pic.Description);
    }

    Console.WriteLine();
}

Save pictures

static void SavePictures(Metadata meta, string inputFile)
{
    if (meta == null || meta.Pictures.Count == 0)
        return;

    int i = 1;
    foreach (var pic in meta.Pictures)
    {
        string picName = inputFile + ".pic" + i;
        ++i;
        SavePicture(pic, picName);
    }
}

To save a picture to a file:

1. Get the image type with the MetaPicture.MimeType property.

2. Get the the image data with the MetaPicture.Bytes property.

3. Write the image data to a file.

static void SavePicture(MetaPicture pic, string baseFilename)
{
    string filename;

    if (pic.MimeType == MimeType.Jpeg)
    {
        filename = baseFilename + ".jpg";
    }
    else if (pic.MimeType == MimeType.Png)
    {
        filename = baseFilename + ".png";
    }
    else if (pic.MimeType == MimeType.Gif)
    {
        filename = baseFilename + ".gif";
    }
    else if (pic.MimeType == MimeType.Tiff)
    {
        filename = baseFilename + ".tiff";
    }
    else
    {
        // unexpected picture mime type
        return;
    }

    System.IO.File.WriteAllBytes(filename, pic.Bytes);
}