Videos are nothing but moving images. But what if you need a scene to be static? No problem: single frames can be elicited from a film.
The “Print Screen” key is a sore thumb on the keyboard. On the Windows computer, it is the basic tool for screenshots and also a direct way to extract images from videos. On Macs, for example, the key combination “Shift+Command+3” fulfills this function.
However, on the computer with the screenshot in the clipboard, you always have to take the annoying detour via image editing to save a clean screenshot. It’s much easier with the free VLC player.
VLC player has the video snapshot
VLC Media Player is an app for playing and streaming movies. There you only have to pause at the desired point and then select “Take a video snapshot” in the menu under Video.
If necessary, you can change the storage location and the file format (jpg, png, tiff) of the snapshots in the menu under “Tools/Settings/Video/Video Snapshots”. The VLC player is there not only for Windows, Linux and macOS, but also for iOS and Android.
The VLC player is especially recommended for Mac users. The built-in Quick Time Player has a hard time with some video formats.
Also interesting: 25 Windows keyboard shortcuts you should know
Unfortunately only the screenshot helps on mobile
However, VLC does not support video snapshots on smartphones and tablets. In most cases, you can get further by simultaneously pressing the on/off and volume down (Android) or volume up button (iOS).
The screenshot then goes directly to the photo gallery, unless you tap on the thumbnail of the screenshot, which usually appears briefly. Depending on the smartphone model, you can then edit the screenshot further or save it in other formats.