How to Extract Frames from a Video?

A video we see in daily life is made up of a series of still images, and a frame is a single image in a sequence of pictures. In general, one second of a video is comprised of 24, 30, 60, or 120 frames per second. The higher the FPS (frames per second) is, the smoother the video motion is. When all the images are played in order and at a certain rate, we get a moving picture, aka a video.

So, to extract frames from video is to extract a still image or a series of images from video. For this purpose, you need a dedicated video frame extractor which we will introduce in the following words.

1. Winxvideo AI

* Available for extracting a still image and a short clip with continuous frames from a video.

Winxvideo AI is a free MP4 video converter for video conversion between formats, such as MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, 4K, etc. You can also use it to take screenshots to get thumbnails for YouTube videos or extract a short clip with continuous frames from a long video.

How to get a still from a video with Winxvideo AI

Step 1. Free download Winxvideo AI, install, and launch it on your computer.

Step 2. Click on the +Video button to add a video.

Step 3. In the right playback window, play your video and then click the "Camera" icon to extract a still image you need.

Step 4. To see the image, simply click on the "Folder" icon next to "Camera" icon.

How to extract a short clip from video with Winxvideo AI

If you only need a short clip with continuous frames for uploading or making GIF, Winxvideo AI can also help you.

Step 1. After adding a video, simply click on the "Edit" button.

Step 2. In the new window, navigate to the "Trim" section.

Step 3. Tick the "Enable Trim" option, set "Start Time" and "End Time", then click on "Done".

Step 4. Now, choose a destination folder to save the clip by clicking the "Browse button".

Step 5. When everything is ready, hit the "RUN" button to start extracting a clip from video with Winxvideo AI.

2. VideoProc Converter

* Available for extracting a single frame, a series of frames, and all frames in sequence at once.

VideoProc is a much more powerful video frame extractor. This tool allows you to extract high-quality frames from MP4, HD, 4K, etc. videos for thumbnails or anything else. You can use it to get a still image from video, extract a series of frames during a certain period of time, and extract all frames in sequence from a video at once in just one second.

How to get a still image from a video with VideoProc Converter

Step 1. Free download VideoProc Converter, install and launch it on your computer.

Step 2. Click on the "Play" button to preview your video.

Step 3. Hit the "Camera" icon to extract the frame you want.

Step 4. Click the "Folder" icon next to the "Camera" icon to see the captured screenshot.

How to extract frames from a video with VideoProc Converter

Besides snapshots, you can also use VideoProc Converter to extract a series of frames or all frames in sequence from a video in a click.

Step 1. Once you have added your video to VideoProc Converter, navigate to the "Toolbox" section at the bottom.

Step 2. Double-click on the "Snapshot" option.

Step 3. In the new window, set "Start Time" and "End Time" to ensure that your frames are extracted from this period of time. In the right part, choose picture format, image size, and picture count. Then, click on "Done" button to continue.

* Picture Count: If the Picture Count is set to 10, VideoProc Converter will extract 10 frames/images from the video clip you selected. If you want to extract all frames from a video, set the Picture Count to the result of frame rate multiplied by duration. For example, for a 10-second video at 30fps, the Picture Count should be 300 (10x30).

Step 4. When everything is done, simply click on the "RUN" button at the bottom right corner. Then, VideoProc Converter will immediately extract frames from video for you.

Once done, the folder with all picture frames will pop up automatically.

3. VLC

* Available for extracting a single frame, a series of frames, and all frames in sequence from a shorter video.

VLC is a must-have on every computer. If you already own it, you can use it to save sequences of images from any video. However, the whole process is much more complicated than other video frame extractors, you need to pay close attention to the following steps.

Step 1. After downloading and installing VLC, launch it on your computer.

Step 2. On the main UI, go to Tools and choose Preferences.

Step 3. In the new window, select the option All under Show Settings in the lower-left corner of the interface.

Step 4. Scroll down to the Video section, expand Video, and then expand Filters.

Step 5. Scroll down to find the Scene filter option and click on it.

Step 6. In the right section, set the image format, specify the path to save the extracted frames, and give the recording ratio. Then, click on Save.

*Recording Ratio: The recording ratio determines how many images you can extract from a specific video. For example, you can extract 1 image in every 10 frames if you type in the value 10. Or if your video is 30fps, VLC will extract 3 frames every second.

Step 7. Now, go to Tools again > Preferences > All. Navigate to the Filters, and click but don’t expand it. Then, in the right section, tick the box of Scene video filters, and then press Save.

Step 8. Now, you can play your video with VLC. VLC will start extracting frames from your video continuously until you stop, pause, or skip through the video.

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