Video Thumbnail Generator

Grabs a single frame from a video at a specific time and saves it as a thumbnail. Optionally burns a title onto it.

What it does

Use this to produce YouTube cover images, prepare social-media preview cards, or create posters for a video archive.

How to use

  1. Drag video files into the list.
  2. Set the Capture Time in seconds (default 5).
  3. Optionally type an Overlay Text (a title).
  4. Pick an Image Format: JPG or PNG.
  5. Click Run.

You get one thumbnail per video.

Capture time

  • 0-5 seconds: Opening frame.
  • 5-30 seconds (around default): After the title or intro, when content begins.
  • 30+ seconds: A frame from deeper in the video.

Maximum 3600 seconds (60 minutes).

Format

  • JPG: Small file, optimal for web.
  • PNG: Lossless, larger file, better for graphics/text-heavy content.

Overlay text

A single line of text can be drawn over the frame. Useful for adding a YouTube title, lesson name or episode number.

The same overlay applies to every video, you cannot vary per file.

Examples

YouTube cover: Add the video, Capture Time 10, Overlay EPISODE 5: CODE STANDARDS, JPG, run.

Posters for a video archive: Add the videos, Capture Time 15, no overlay, PNG, run. One poster per video.

Social-media preview: Add the video, Capture Time 20, Overlay NEW VIDEO!, JPG, run.

Batch shoot archive: Add every shoot video, Capture Time 5, no overlay, JPG, run. A poster from the 5-second mark of each one.

Watch out

  • This tool grabs one frame. For multiple frames use Frame Extractor.
  • A Capture Time beyond the video's length falls to the last frame or errors out.
  • The overlay is a single line, multi-line text is not supported.
  • The output resolution matches the video's, you cannot rescale. Use Image Resizer afterwards.
  • In batch mode the same timestamp and text apply to every video.

License

Free tier has a monthly thumbnail cap. Office plan removes it.