Broad format support
Open popular media formats, including MKV, MP4, MOV, WebM, ProRes, and HDR video.
BitLens plays almost anything, including MKV, ProRes, VP9, AV1, and 10-bit HDR: formats the built-in Photos and Files apps refuse to open. While it plays, it shows you what's actually happening to the signal, with waveform, vectorscope, and histogram scopes running live against the decoded frame, not a thumbnail or a snapshot.
It's built for people who need to know what's inside a file, not just watch it: editors checking a delivery before it goes further down the pipeline, engineers debugging a broken encode, anyone who's been burned by a file that "plays fine" until it doesn't.
Screenshots
Playback
Play a wide range of media formats, with precise seeking and support for surround audio.
Flexible playback
Play formats beyond those supported by the built-in players.
Frame-accurate seeking
Jump to the exact frame you need when reviewing a video.
Spatial and surround audio
Inspect audio tracks and play supported spatial and surround sound formats.
Live scopes
Analyze color and exposure with live scopes that follow your video as you play or scrub. Inspect photos and captured frames with the same tools.
Learn how video scopes work and when to use each one.
HDR scopes
Analyze HDR video with scopes designed to show its wider brightness range.
Waveform
Check signal levels and locate bright and dark areas in the frame.
Vectorscope
Inspect color distribution, saturation, and skin-tone references.
Histogram
See how brightness and color are distributed, with clear indicators for clipped shadows and highlights.
Chromaticity
See where your image's colors fall within its color space.
Focus peaking
Highlight sharp edges to check focus while playing or scrubbing.
Zebra stripes
Highlight bright areas to help you spot potential overexposure.
Inspection and reporting
Detailed media metadata
Inspect video, audio, and image details, including format, resolution, frame rate, color, and tracks.
Spec-compliance reports
Flags mismatches against the container/codec spec so a "plays fine here, breaks there" file gets diagnosed instead of shrugged at.
Full-quality still capture
Pulls a still directly from the source-resolution decoded frame, not a downscaled player surface.
Subtitle inspection
View and export embedded subtitle tracks, including formats most players only burn in or ignore.
Photo and image EXIF
Full EXIF, capture settings, color profile, and GPS for stills, with a one-tap copy that strips identifying metadata on export.
Chapters and track layout
Reads embedded chapter markers and every audio, video, and subtitle track, and exports the chapter list.
Photo and video comparison
Compare two photos or videos side by side or with a wipe to spot differences between versions.
Largest in Photos
Find the videos taking up the most space in your Photos library. See your five largest videos for free, or up to 100 with Pro.
File checksums
Generate checksums for local files to verify that a copy matches the original.
Document and ZIP inspection
Inspect supported documents and ZIP archives for useful file information, including document details, file sizes, and archive summaries.
Report export
Export the full metadata and compliance report, plus scope snapshots, as a shareable file.
Also included
- Lock Screen playback controls
- Control playback from the Lock Screen, Control Center, and Dynamic Island.
- Picture in Picture
- System PiP for continued playback outside the app.
- Share sheet import
- An Action extension hands a file to BitLens directly from Files, Safari, or Mail.
- Drag and drop
- Drop a file straight onto the app from Finder or Files; large files open in place without a full copy.
- Shortcuts automation
- Open media with Siri and build Shortcuts to inspect files in batches, generate checksums, capture stills, and export reports.
- Remote/URL playback
- Streams directly from an HTTP URL, useful for Jellyfin, Plex, and NAS links that Files can't browse to.
Supported formats
A representative sample; most standard containers, codecs, and pixel formats are supported.
- MKV
- MP4
- MOV
- WebM
- H.264
- HEVC
- VP9
- AV1
- ProRes
- 10-bit HDR
- 4:2:2 / 4:4:4
- 5.1 surround
Free vs Pro
Opening files, playback, and basic metadata are free. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription, and unlocks everything below.
- Advanced video metadata and per-stream detail
- Waveform, vectorscope, and histogram scopes
- HDR scopes
- Live scopes during playback and scrubbing
- Chromaticity scope
- Focus peaking overlay
- Zebra stripes exposure overlay
- Video comparison, side by side and wipe
- Photo comparison
- Up to 100 largest videos in Photos
- Delivery spec compliance checks
- Photo and image EXIF metadata
- Frame-accurate still capture
- Photo copy with metadata removed
- Metadata report export
- Chapter export
- Subtitle export
- Scope snapshot export
Requirements
- iPhone with iOS 26 or later
- iPad with iPadOS 26 or later
- Mac with Apple silicon
Core playback is free.
Pro unlocks live scopes, full-resolution stills, spec reports, and every export as a one-time purchase.
