[FFmpeg-user] Option to make ffprobe output easily parseable by computer programs

[Leo Izen]

On Jan 12, 2014 7:38 PM, "Fusl" <ffmpeg at lists.dedilink.eu> wrote:
 > http://www.ffmpeg.org/ffprobe.html#Writers

On 01/12/2014 01:39 PM, Rio Kierkels wrote:
> We use the json format output.
> Works great in our projects.

I read the documentation, and I seem to be missing something: ffprobe 
just prints a header/footer and the original information:

That is, the command
ffprobe -print_format xml tearsofsteel-ffv1.mkv
prints

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ffprobe>
Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'tearsofsteel-ffv1.mkv':
   Metadata:
     ENCODER         : Lavf55.22.100
   Duration: 00:12:14.17, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 132222 kb/s
     Stream #0:0: Video: ffv1 (FFV1 / 0x31564646), yuv420p, 1920x800, 
SAR 1:1 DAR 12:5, 24 fps, 24 tbr, 1k tbn, 1k tbc (default)
</ffprobe>

which is exactly what it printed before, but this time wrapped in an XML 
header/footer. I tried the same thing with json, and I got the same 
thing, except with a leading/trailing curly-brace.

I must be missing something because this seems like a non-feature to me. 
Could someone explain?