Contents

Part 1. The Best Pro Tool for High-Quality Video Screenshots
Part 2. Capture Video Screenshot with Built-in OS Shortcuts (Free & Quick)
Part 3: Extracting Frames Using Media Players
FAQs About Capturing Frames from Videos

How Do You Take A Video Screenshot

May 15, 2026Andrew Miller

If you want to freeze a moment, download a phone background, show frame-by-frame action, etc. when you play a video, screenshots would be helpful. There are many different tools that can help you screenshot a video to extract and save the exact frame from a video. In this article we will introduce 5 easy ways to take a video screenshot one by one.

How We Test

We tested each method with MP4 (H.264), MOV (ProRes), AVI, MKV (H.265) of 1080p & 4K

Each method was evaluated on: output quality, ease of use, platform support, extra features.

Part 1. The Best Pro Tool for High-Quality Video Screenshots

If you want the cleanest screenshots with the least hassle, using a dedicated screen capture tool like Aiseesoft Screen Recorder is usually the best solution.

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder are designed specifically for recording video and capturing video frames without black screens or compression issues. More than video screenshot function, it also allows you to edit, add annotation to the capture image.

Step 1.

Download and launch Aiseesoft Screen Recorder.

Free DownloadFor Windows

100% Secure. No Ads.

Free DownloadFor macOS

100% Secure. No Ads.

Step 2.

Play the video in the background and choose the Screen Capture in Recording mode, you can also enable the screenshot with hotkey too.

Step 3.

When the image you have captured is done, set the format, and click Save.

Part 2. Capture Video Screenshot with Built-in OS Shortcuts (Free & Quick)

If you just need a fast screenshot, built-in shortcuts of screenshot software work well on both Windows and Mac.

Windows 10 & 11 Snipping Tool Shortcut

The Snipping Tool is a simple built-in screenshot app in Windows that lets you capture, save, and annotate parts of your screen. It allows you to capture full screen, window or selected area. You can activate this tool with shortcut to take the screenshot while playing video.

Step 1.

Press: Win + Shift + S or PrtScn open the Snipping Tool.

Step 2.

Then select the video area you want to capture.

Step 3.

Click the preview notification that appears in the bottom-right corner. Then, you can edit and save the images.

macOS

There is also a built-in screenshot tool on macOS that lets you capture the entire screen, a window, or a selected area without installing anything.

Step 1.

Click Cmd + Shift + 4 to open screenshot toolbar

Step 2.

Drag to select the area you want to record. By default, screenshots are saved to the desktop.

Part 3: Extracting Frames Using Media Players

Aiseesoft Blu-ray Player

Aiseesoft Blu-ray Player is a powerful video player that can not only play Blu-ray disc, Blu-ray folder, DVD disc/folder/ISO file, but can also play any common HD/SD video files with immersive audio effect. Now it can even play UHD 4K video smoothly. Moreover, this Blu-ray Player has a built-in snapshot feature that enables you to take a screenshot in the video.

Follow the easy steps below to screenshot a video with Blu-ray Player.

Step 1.

Download, install and launch Blu-ray Player on your computer.

Free DownloadFor Windows

100% Secure. No Ads.

Free DownloadFor macOS

100% Secure. No Ads.

Step 2.

If you want to play a Blu-ray disc, firstly you need to connect the external Blu-ray drive to your computer and insert the Blu-ray disc to the Blu-ray drive. Or if you want to play a DVD disc, you need to insert the DVD disc to your DVD drive. Then click "Open Disc" and load the Blu-ray or DVD disc to the player. If you just want to play common video, just click "Open File" to load the video file you want to play.

Step 3.

After the video file is loaded, the Blu-ray Player will play it automatically. To capture a screenshot of an image in the video, you can slide the progress bar to the exact frame and click the "Snapshot" button to take a screenshot easily and quickly. Then the screenshot will be saved to the snapshot folder (beside the Snapshot button) automatically.

VLC Player

VLC Player is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, and various streaming protocols. It also enables you to screenshot a video with its built-in screenshot tool without any control for which format or what resolution the image should be captured and saved in.

If you are a Windows user, to take a screenshot when you play a video with VLC Player, you just simply hit the shortcut Shift + S. If you are using a Mac computer, alternatively hit Command + Alt + S to take a video screenshot.

The captured image will be saved to your default Pictures library.

FAQs About Capturing Frames from Videos

What is the best free video frame extractor?

VLC Player is the best free option for occasional use — no installation beyond VLC itself. For batch extraction, FFmpeg is the most powerful free tool. For Windows users who want a built-in solution, Snipping Tool works without any installation at all.

How to extract a high-resolution frame from a video?

For the highest quality, use FFmpeg with PNG output (lossless), or screen-capture methods (like Aiseesoft Screen Recorder, Snipping Tool, QuickTime + Command+Shift+4, or macOS Screenshot Toolbar) capture at your display resolution, not the video's original resolution.

What image format should I save video screenshots in?

PNG — Best for quality, lossless, good for text/screenshots
JPG — Smaller file size, some quality loss, good for sharing
TIFF — Professional use, uncompressed, very large files
GIF — Only for animated frames, low quality

Conclusion

In this article, we have recommended 5 different kinds of methods that can help you screenshot a video in easy steps. Whether you want to take a video screenshot without much control or take a snapshot with more options to set the screenshot image quality, you can find a suitable tool here.

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