DrasticPreview - Audio/Video/Metadata Player
DrasticPreview is a professional media player for Windows and OS-X. It is designed to play production file formats like ARI, DPX, RMF, DNG, 16 bit TIFF, SGI, YUV, and VPB, intermediate formats like uncompressed CINE, MOV, AVI, WMV, MPG, MTS, TS, MXF, MP4, and GEN and scientific formats like .Y.U.V, Luma/Rmy/Bmy, Hdr/Raw/Yuv, Y4M, 4224 and DVS. DrasticPreview also supports audio, real time and static metadata and a variety of playback modes. Version 4 with the new 'Clarion' interface available now!
DrasticPreview Professional Media Player
DrasticPreview is a media player designed to support the majority of media formats used in the broadcast and production industries. DrasticPreview can play many, many different flavors of media files. It supports today's most important file types, and includes a number of others we've added over the years. This innovative software allows the user to view their files on a VGA/DVI monitor without tying up the native, or even compatible (typically in high demand) production or broadcast device or application. Play media for collaborative and review applications, scene marking and EDL construction. Play media stranded by failed or unavailable legacy devices or applications. Play all your files from one station, using one application.
The main GUI offers a full range of transport controls for forward and reverse playing and cueing, displays time code and audio levels, playback mode, and file name, and shows a slider to indicate the current position within the clip. The on-screen viewer window may be scaled to effectively accommodate varying viewing requirements, including a full-screen mode.
Media can be selected through a standard browse approach, or dragged and dropped onto the display window. Once loaded, the clips may be played or viewed in various playback modes, including normal, looping, and palindromic. DrasticPreview provides a full range of keyboard/number pad commands for transport control and other settings, and window resizing including zoom and pan controls.
Transport Controls

The Transport Controls offer the following functionality:
- Position Bar and Slider - Click on any point on the slider to instantly cue that relative point in the file, or 'grab' the pointer and drag it to quickly scrub through to find a particular scene
- Fast Reverse - Play the file in reverse at the fastest possible speed
- 5 Seconds Back - Cue the frame 5 seconds before the current location (or the beginning if less than 5 seconds from the first frame)
- 1 Frame Back - Cue the frame immediately before the current frame, useful for finding a specific location
- Reverse Play - Play at -100%, or normal speed in reverse
- Pause - Stop playback and display the frame at the current location
- Stop - Stop playback and cue the first frame
- Play - Play at 100%, or normal speed
- 1 Frame Forward - Cue the frame immediately after the current frame, useful for finding a specific location
- 5 Seconds Forward - Cue the frame 5 seconds after the current location (or the end if less than 5 seconds from the last frame)
- Fast Forward - Play the file (forward) at the fastest possible speed
Track Info Data

The Track Info data window may be selected by pressing the Track Info button on the GUI - this section displays:
- Duration - both in current time code type (HH:MM:SS:FF) and as a total number of frames
- FPS - frames per second to two decimal places
- Width - in pixels
- Height - in lines (for both fields if interlaced)
- Bit Depth - per pixel or per component
- FourCC - video codec information
- Bit Rate - overall rate of the file in bits
- Video Channels - video channels bit array
- Audio Codec - audio fourcc descriptor
- Audio Channels - audio channels bit array
- Audio Frequency - samples per second
- Audio Bits/Sample - how many bits in an audio sample
Time Code Data

The Time Code data window may be selected by pressing the Time Code button on the GUI - this section displays:
- TC (time code) - Absolute position
- LTC Frame - Longitudinal (SMPTE) time code
- LTC Ub - Longitudinal (SMPTE) user bits
- VITC Frame - Vertical interval time code
- VITC Ub - Vertical interval user bits
- DATA 0 - user data or size (4 bytes)
- DATA 1 - user data or pointer (4 bytes or greater) Basic Elements
Time code type is specified by the last separator:
- : (colon) = Non drop frame
- ; (semicolon) = Drop frame
- - (dash) = 24 FPS (FILM)
- . (period) = 25 FPS (PAL)
Metadata

The Metadata window may be selected by pressing the Metadata button on the GUI - this section displays over a hundred metadata elements with information addressing the many facets of each media file's existence, and in some cases the attributes of a selected track, or stream. For a complete list of metadata fields, see the Drastic Metadata page.
Play List

The Play List window may be selected by pressing the Play List button on the GUI - this section allows the user to set up a list of files, or clips. Each file that is opened is added to the Play List, and files can also be added by a drag and drop operation. Once in the Play List all of the clips may be played in sequence, starting with the clip the user double clicks on.
Time Code Display
A dedicated time code field not only displays the current time code location but allows the user to enter a known time code location within a selected clip, and press Enter to cue that frame. In Full Screen mode, an optional time code display may be overlayed. The user may select between available time code sources by clicking on the time code source field.
Closed Captioning
DrasticPreview supports 608/708 Closed Captions. The closed caption information will be displayed over the video frame when enabled. Supported sources include:
- MPEG-2 'user' CC
- MXF SMPTE 436
- MXF Avid embedded CC
- MCC files side bar MacCaption/PC-Caption
- SCC files side bar MacCaption/PC-Caption
- MOV SD/HD CC tracks
Please note: The CC feature is only available when running under a temporary or permanent license. Please contact Drastic if you want to test this feature.
Supported File Formats
| Extension | File Format | Codec |
| 4224 | 4224 | YCbCr 4:2:2:4 |
| AIFF | Apple audio | 16/20/24/32 bit stereo pairs |
| ARC | IFX Piranha | Audio/Video (YCbCr/RGB 8 only) |
| ARI | Arri | Raw 12 bit bayer |
| AVI | Windows | DVSD, DV25, DV50, DVHD, CineForm*, CineForm3D*, YCbCr 8 & 10 SD/HD, standard codecs |
| AVC, AVCHD, MTS | AVC-HD | MPEG-2 camera media |
| AVS | AVS | Video redirection (Windows only) |
| Audio: BWF, 8SVX, AU, AVR, GSM, HCOM, IFF, PCM, SF, SMP, SND, VOC, WVE | Audio files | 44.1/48/96 kHz 16, 20, 24 and 32 bit |
| CINE | Phantom | Phantom 10, 12 and 14 bit bayer |
| DNG | CinemaDNG | 10, 12 and 16 bit bayer |
| DPS | DPS | Compressed DPS files (Windows only) |
| DPX | Cineon | RGB 8, RGB 10, YCbCr 4:2:2 |
| DPX | CineForm | CineForm*, CineForm3D* |
| DT3D | DT3D | XML 3D redirector |
| DV/DIF | DV/DIF | Raw DV files |
| DVS | DVS | Uncompressed YCbCr and RGB files |
| fhgDI, fhgDP, fhgAP | fhgDI, fhgDP, fhgAP | Weisscam digimag format |
| FLM | FLM | Adobe FilmStrip |
| FLV/SWV | FLV/SWV | Flash/Shockwave video |
| GEN | GEN | 4:2:2 YCbCr (Avid DSHD) |
| GXF | GXF SMPTE 360 | MPEG-2, DV25, DV50, DVHD |
| H264 | h.264 | 4:2:0 SD/HD up to 80 mbits/sec |
| HDR | YUV | DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100**, RGB, Uncompressed YCbCr 8 & 10 SD/HD |
| HDR | YUV | YCbCr10, YCbCr16, DPX RGB, DNxHD |
| HDV | HDV | MPEG-2 camera files |
| IHSS | Iridas | RGB |
| JS | Jaleo | 4:2:2 YCbCr |
| LUMA RMY BMY | LUMA RMY BMY | Uncompressed YCbCr |
| MOV | QuickTime | DVSD, DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100, DNxHD, CineForm*, CineForm3D*, RGBA, RGB-10 (DPX), YCbCr 8 & 10 SD/HD, standard codecs |
| MOV | QuickTime | ProRes, h264, AVCi, MPEG-2, XDCam |
| MPEG | MPEG-1 | 4:2:0 up to 15 mbits/sec |
| M2TS | M2TS | AVC-HD camera files |
| MKV | MKV | Matroska audio video |
| MP1/MP2/MP3 | MP1/MP2/MP3 | MPEG audio |
| MP4 | MPEG-2 | Sony/Canon camera |
| MPEG | MPEG-2 | 4:2:0/4:2:2 SD/HD up to 80 mbits/sec |
| MPEG | MPEG-4 | 4:2:0 up to 50 mbits/sec |
| MXF | Avid | DV25, DV50, DVHD, DNxHD, Uncompressed |
| MXF | Canon | MPEG-2 |
| MXF | Digital Cinema | DCI Unencrypted |
| MXF | EditCam | DV25, DV50, DVHD, DNxHD |
| MXF | Grass Valley | Grass Valley iCR |
| MXF | Harmonic | MPEG-2 |
| MXF | h.264/AVC essence | MPEG-2 |
| MXF | JPEG-2000*** | Grass Valley Infinity |
| MXF | OP1a/Omneon | DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100**, Uncompressed |
| MXF | Panasonic-P2 | DV25, DV50, DVHD, AVCi100** |
| MXF | Pinnacle | MPEG-2 SD/HD |
| MXF | Snell & Wilcox | MPEG-2, IMX |
| MXF | Sony | MPEG IMX |
| MXF | Sony | XDCamHD, XDCamEX 4:2:0/4:2:2 |
| MXF | Sony | HDCam SR 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 |
| MXF | Sony | F65 raw bayer |
| MXF | XAVC | XAVC HD and 4K |
| OGG | OGG | OGG audio video |
| OMF | OMF | DV25, JPEG, Meridien, AVBV, CamCutter |
| QNT | Quantel | Raw uncompressed YCbCr images |
| R3D | RED | Red camera files |
| RBG | RED BLU GRN | Uncompressed RGB |
| RMF | RMF | Canon C500 raw 10 bit bayer files |
| RTIN | RTINDEX | Real time replay of CBR and VBR records while still recording |
| RTV | RTV | Uncompressed Video Toaster files (Windows only) |
| TGA | Targa | RGB, RGBA (RLE Play Only) |
| TIFF | TIFF | RGB, RGBA |
| Stills | Series of stills | BMP, SGI, PSD, RAW, YUV10, YUV16, VSR, RAS, RAW, JP2, JPG - Series of stills (many others) |
| V210 | V210 | 4:2:2 10 bit YCbCr image sequence |
| VC1 | VC-1 | WMV of raw wrapper |
| VOB | VOB | Unencrypted |
| VPB/QTL | Quantel | Quantel uncompressed YCbCr images |
| WAV | Wave audio | 16/20/24/32 bit mono/stereo pairs/extensible |
| WEBM | WEBM | Youtube format |
| WMV/ASF | WMV/ASF | Unencrypted/DRM Free only |
| XAVC | X-AVC HD/4K | X-AVC 264 in MXF |
| Y4M | Y4M | YCbCr raw stream |
| YUV | YUV | 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 YCbCr image sequence |
| Y U V | YUV | Multi file component YCbCr files |
AUDIO specs:
8000Hz..96000Hz, 8/16/20/24/32 Bits, 2 Channels
VIDEO Frame Rates:
- VariCam(1~60)
- 14.98
- 15
- 23.98/23.97
- 24
- 25
- 29.97
- 30
- 50
- 59.94
- 60 or greater
VIDEO Frame Sizes:
- Variable(60~4096/3112)
- 720/704x480/486/508/512
- 720x576/596/608
- 1280x720
- 1920x1080/1035
- 2048x1080/1112/1536/1556
- DrasticPreview SDK - A full preview engine from reading the file to playing out to audio devices, memory planes or OpenGL surfaces. More information is available here.
- DTMediaRead SDK - Integrate all the file types we read into your own application. Read uncompressed audio and compressed or uncompressed YCbCr 10, YCbCr 10, RGBA or RGB 10 frames. More information is available here.
Download DrasticPreview 4
Download DrasticPreview for Windows
Download DrasticPreview for OS-X
If you are looking for the previous version of DrasticPreview, it is available here: Download DrasticPreview Legacy Version 3
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