Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst vs MediaInfo
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst
bluecataudio.comMediaInfo
mediaarea.netSide by side
| Figure | Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst | MediaInfo |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $0.25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Audio Analysis Software | 8.0 (#14) | 9.2 (#1) |
| Company | Blue Cat Audio develops audio software for musicians and audio professionals and is a privately held company based in Paris, France. | MediaArea.net SARL is described as a French company founded in 2007 and wholly held by Jérôme Martinez, with reported shareholder equity of €125,000. |
| Formats | The product page lists VST, VST3, AAX, and Audio Unit formats for Mac and Windows. | Supported analysis includes families such as MP4, QuickTime, Matroska, AVI, MPEG, MXF, MPEG-TS, WMV, FLV, Real, FLAC, AAC, DTS and many subtitle formats. |
| Headquarters | Paris, France | Pignan, France |
| Purpose | FreqAnalyst is a free plug-in for monitoring an audio signal’s spectral content in real time. | MediaInfo displays technical and tag data for video and audio files. |
| Support | Blue Cat Audio provides a knowledge base, help desk, forum, and tutorials for product support. | Users are directed to FAQs, bug reports, feature requests, issue trackers, and a forum; developers can use the SDK and source build instructions. |
Plans
MediaInfo
- Free MediaInfoFree
- MediaInfoFree
- macOS app$0.99, paid once
- More features (yearly)$2.99 a year
- More features (lifetime)$7.99, paid once
- Professional servicesPriced on request
In their own words
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst is a free plug-in for monitoring the spectral content of mono or stereo audio in real time. It displays spectrum, instant curve and peak curve views, with continuous changes rendered using smooth interpolation. Users can zoom the display, choose among sizes and set absolute or relative thresholds. The interface supports skins, transparency and zoom customization, while MIDI control, automation and MIDI Learn provide ways to control the plug-in. A preset manager is included, and users can copy and paste a plug-in state between instances. FreqAnalyst is not a standalone app: it requires a compatible audio host and is available in VST, VST3, AAX and Audio Unit formats for macOS and Windows. The stated operating systems are macOS 10.9 or newer and Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10 or 11. It supports up to two channels. The maker says processing stops when the input is silent, so it uses no CPU while idle.
MediaInfo
MediaInfo displays technical and tag information for video and audio files. It reports details about the container, video and audio streams, text, and chapters, and reads formats including MPEG-4, Matroska, AVI, MXF, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, MP3, AAC, FLAC, SRT, and ASS. Results can be viewed in text, sheet, tree, or HTML form and exported as text, CSV, or HTML. The software is available as a graphical interface, command-line tool, and library, with operating-system shell integration through drag and drop and context menus. MediaInfo is open-source under a BSD-style license; its listed software price is free. MediaInfoOnline offers a browser-based option and states that files remain on the user's machine rather than being uploaded to MediaArea servers, though it is described as a technology preview. Downloads are listed for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux distributions, as well as a JavaScript module and source builds. MediaArea separately offers integration, maintenance, development, and support services at unlisted prices.