What is a .M3U file?
M3U is the simple text playlist understood by nearly every media player.
- Did you know
- M3U began in the Winamp era and is still the most common playlist format.
- The name M3U stands for “MP3 URL”, reflecting its origin with Fraunhofer’s WinPlay3 player before Winamp made it ubiquitous.
- A .M3U file is plain text, so you can open and edit it in any text editor.
- What Analyser reads
- Inspect streaming manifests and video containers: HLS/DASH/Smooth Streaming/HDS manifests and playlists; pro/broadcast MXF/GXF/LXF/DV; ASF/.dvr-ms and RealMedia; DivX/F4V/Insta360/GoPro proxies/GIFV; raw elementary streams (IVF, Y4M, MPEG-1/2, H.264/H.265 SPS, AV1 OBU); MPEG program/transport and PVR/DVB recordings; Windows Recorded TV, Ogg Media, NUT; DPX/Cineon/Dahua/.yuv identified.
- Depth of analysis
- .M3U is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .M3U file
- Drag a .M3U file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.