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General discussion

How can I make a thumbnail from a video frame?

Oct 17, 2013 1:10AM PDT

I am working on giving a clients site(Linux) the ability to upload videos. I am trying to figure out how to create a thumbnail from a video frame. The http://ffmpeg.org site seems to have the product I need, and but the site doesn't provide good documentation for first time users. I found a tutorial on how to install ffmpeg. It gave some command line instructions.

Does anyone know if there is an alternative method for installing ffmpeg?

Are there any sites with example code I can upload to my server?

Is there a better product that is easier to install and use?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Discussion is locked

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Many of us use VLC PLAYER
Oct 17, 2013 4:36AM PDT
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Do you know what I need to do to install vlc?
Oct 17, 2013 10:28AM PDT

I looked into http://ffmpeg.org as a possible solution. Hostgator will only allow this for VPS Level 5+($100)/month. Hostgator would install it and ffmpeg provides a simple command line solution.

You also provide a command line solution. The problem is that I can't figure out how to get the vlc program on my Linux server. All I could find was the executable to install the player on my windows computer.

Do you know what I need to do to install vlc?

Do you know if I would need to upgrade my hosting plan?

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Maybe you need a programmer?
Oct 17, 2013 10:47AM PDT

While I can find more tutorials and solutions I wonder if you need a programmer on you staff. It appears this is required to get this working for you.
Bob

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How can I make a thumbnail from a video frame?
Dec 15, 2013 1:44PM PST

Use your package manager. As easy as it gets.

As for getting the frame,
Code:

ffmpeg -i input.mpg -r 1 -an -ss 00:01:02 output.jpg


From input.mpg, grab 1 frame, without audio, starting at 00:01:02, and save it as output.jpg.