Did you know that when playing movies or videos in VLC, you may take screenshots? There are various ways to take a VLC screen capture and save it as a picture on your computer or smartphone using the free, cross-platform media player. The VLC snapshot can then be set as wallpaper, used as a thumbnail for a YouTube video, or used to make an amusing meme to share with your friends.
This post demonstrates how to take a VLC screen capture and reveals the VLC snapshot location in Windows and macOS, whether it’s movie screenshots or favorite moments from your most recent home video:
NOTE: This instruction will show you how to use VLC to screen capture. We’ve already covered how to take a screenshot in Windows or on your Mac if you want to capture the entire screen of your device.
Step 1: Download and Install VLC media player on your computer.
VLC media player is the most widely used video player on the planet. It can play practically any sort of video file and has various VLC snapshot settings. Access the official VideoLAN website if you don’t already have it installed.
You don’t even need to be concerned about selecting the appropriate version for your machine. The website will recognize your device automatically, so all you have to do is click the big orange “Download VLC” button.
Save the file to your device (or mount it on a Mac) and use it to install the VLC media player. When you’re finished, open the app. A screenshot of how it appears in Windows is shown below.
Step 2: Open your movie or video in VLC media player
In order to extract frames from video in VLC, you must first open the file you want to capture. Click or press Media in the top left corner of the app in Windows to open a menu with options for loading videos from a variety of sources, including files, folders, discs, and even streams.
If you’re using a Mac, you’ll find these settings under File.
Select the relevant option, browse or type in the video’s location, and then select Open or Play.
Alternatively, you can right-click or press-and-hold on a file on your computer to reveal a contextual menu if you’re opening it. Go to Open with and select “VLC media player” from the drop-down menu.
VLC should be used to begin your video.
Step 3: Take a VLC snapshot in Windows or macOS
In Windows, there are four built-in ways to capture a VLC screen, three of which also work on macOS. You can take screenshots with VLC while the movie is playing, or you may pause it at the frame you wish to capture by pressing the spacebar on your keyboard.
1. Take a VLC screen capture using keyboard shortcuts
The keyboard shortcuts are the simplest technique to retrieve frames from videos with VLC.
To snap a screenshot of VLC in Windows, press Shift + S on your keyboard at the same time.
The shortcut on macOS is a little more tricky. At the same time, press Option + Command (⌘) + S.
TIP: You can change the shortcuts for VLC to whatever you like. Tap Tools – or click on VLC for Mac users – from the options at the top, go to Preferences, and access the Hotkeys tab. You can double-click on the entry “Take video snapshot” to choose a new key or combination for taking screenshots.
2. Take movie screenshots from the Video menu in VLC
VLC screenshots can also be taken using the Video option at the top. To launch Video in Windows, click or tap on it, then select the last option, Take Snapshot.
Snapshot is the option in the Video menu on your Mac that takes screenshots in VLC.
3. Take a VLC snapshot from the right-click menu
Right-clicking or pressing-and-holding on the video is another option available on both operating systems. This brings up a context menu. To take a screenshot, go to Video and click or tap on Take Snapshot.
It’s easier to take a VLC screen capture this way if you’re using macOS. From the contextual menu, right-click on the video and select Snapshot.
4. Take a screenshot in VLC with the “Take a snapshot” button
By clicking or touching a button, Windows 10 users can enable Advanced Controls and capture a VLC snapshot. To check the option, go to the View menu and click or touch on Advanced Controls. Additional buttons appear in the controls section at the bottom of the window as soon as you do this.
“Take a snapshot” is the name of the second button. It takes a VLC snapshot as soon as you click or touch on it.
TIP: “Frame by frame” is the last button in Advanced Controls, and it comes in handy when you’re taking movie screenshots and can’t find the image you want. Use it to take a VLC screen capture and forward a single frame in your movie.
Bonus: VLC snapshot location in Windows and macOS
“Where does VLC save snapshots?” you might question. The answer is right on your screen. After taking a frame from a video, the top left corner of the window displays a preview of the frame, followed by the VLC snapshot location and name.
“C:\Users\[Your username]\Pictures” is the default place for VLC screenshots in Windows. Images saved on macOS can be found in a similar location: “~\Users\[Your username]\Pictures.”
VLC snapshots can be easily moved to a different folder. To begin, press the Ctrl + P keyboard combination in Windows to enter Preferences. The following keys can be pressed at the same time on a Mac: Command (⌘) + Comma (,). Then go to the Video tab, and towards the bottom of the window, you’ll notice the Video snapshot area. Select a new location for the VLC screenshots by pressing the Browse button next to Directory (Windows) or Folder (macOS).
You may also modify the VLC snapshot Prefix, which appears in the screenshot name, as well as the Format if you wish to save it as JPG or TIFF rather than the default PNG.
When you’re finished, press Save to save your changes.
In this video, we are gonna show you How to take picture from the video using the VLC Media player:
What VLC screenshots did you take?
No matter the operating system you’re using, VLC media player makes it simple to grab the frames you want from your favorite videos. Before you close this window, tell us which approach you prefer. Although we prefer to use a keyboard shortcut, the Advanced Controls offer have additional valuable settings, so we usually enable them as well. We’d also like to know what you were hoping to capture. Were you taking movie screenshots with VLC? What movie drew your attention? Let us know what you’re watching in the comments section because we’re constantly seeking for new stuff to watch.
