install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install video-compare

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install video-compare

MacPorts ports tree · multimedia/video-compare/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#video-compare

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/vi/video-compare/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%

scoop install extras/video-compare

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/video-compare.json · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Split screen video comparison tool using FFmpeg and SDL2

Project links

Commands and aliases

video-compare

history

Project history and usage

video-compare is a C++14 visual comparison tool for video and image material. It uses FFmpeg libraries for decoding/filtering and SDL2 for the interactive display, then presents two inputs in sync with a movable split-screen comparison view.

Project history

The earliest GitHub release visible in the upstream release stream is dated July 24, 2020 and provided a Windows build. Through 2021, releases continued as Windows packages and began calling out bundled FFmpeg capabilities such as AV1 support. By the mid-2020s, the release notes show a more mature analysis tool: metadata overlays, subtraction modes, scopes, cropping, frame stepping, display-mode cycling, and CI-built release artifacts.

The project lives in the video-quality and encoding-tools niche rather than the general media-player niche. Its README describes comparing the impact of codecs, resizing algorithms, and other modifications on synchronized files, while also allowing mismatched resolutions, frame rates, color formats, containers, codecs, durations, image files, and image sequences.

How it is used

Typical usage is visual quality assurance: compare an original against an encoded, resized, filtered, restored, or AI-enhanced output; inspect differences with the split slider; step frames while paused; and use auxiliary analysis views such as histogram, vectorscope, waveform, metadata, or subtraction modes when eyeballing artifacts is not enough.

Why package nerds care

This is a package-nerd tool because it wraps FFmpeg's broad format support in a purpose-built interactive UI. It is not a transcoder itself; it is the thing a codec tester, video restoration hobbyist, or packaging QA person reaches for after producing two files and needing a fast visual answer about what changed.

Timeline

2020-07-24: Earliest visible upstream release, a Windows build tagged 20200724.
2021-12-23: A Windows release notes FFmpeg 4.4.1 shared libraries and AV1 support.
2025-12-13: Release notes describe CI builds via GitHub Actions for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
2026-05-02: Release 20260502 adds fullscreen switching, display-mode cycling, aspect-view controls, and deterministic paused frame stepping.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:video

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 3 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`video-compare`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version20260502

manager updated2026-06-18

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/pixop/video-compare

infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/pixop/video-comparenone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:video-compare
Version	20260502
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/video-compare
Homepage	https://github.com/pixop/video-compare
Repository	https://github.com/pixop/video-compare
Upstream docs	https://github.com/pixop/video-compare#readme
License	GPL-2.0-only
Source archive	https://github.com/pixop/video-compare/archive/refs/tags/20260502.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-18T02:29:02-04:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	ffmpeg, sdl2-compat, sdl2_ttf
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	video-compare
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

video-compare

nix profile install nixpkgs#video-compare

normalized package name match
Matched by: Video Compare

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/vi/video-compare/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

MacPorts95%

video-compare

sudo port install video-compare

normalized package name match
Matched by: Video Compare

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: multimedia/video-compare/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Scoop95%

extras/video-compare

scoop install extras/video-compare

normalized package name match
Matched by: Video Compare

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · api.github.com · Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/video-compare.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Extras/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/video-compare.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install video-compare with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, scoop