Get video first frame in javascript

Question

How can I get the first frame of a video file in javascript as an image?

Answer 1

It can be done with HTML 5 video and canvas tags:

HTML:

<input type="file" id="file" name="file">

<video id="main-video" controls>
   <source type="video/mp4">
</video>

<canvas id="video-canvas"></canvas>

Javascript:

var _CANVAS = document.querySelector("#video-canvas");
var _CTX = _CANVAS.getContext("2d");
var _VIDEO = document.querySelector("#main-video");

document.querySelector("#file").addEventListener('change', function() {

    // Object Url as the video source
    document.querySelector("#main-video source").setAttribute('src', URL.createObjectURL(document.querySelector("#file").files[0]));

    // Load the video and show it
    _VIDEO.load();

    // Load metadata of the video to get video duration and dimensions
    _VIDEO.addEventListener('loadedmetadata', function() {
        // Set canvas dimensions same as video dimensions
        _CANVAS.width = _VIDEO.videoWidth;
        _CANVAS.height = _VIDEO.videoHeight;
    });

    _VIDEO.addEventListener('canplay', function() {
        _CANVAS.style.display = 'inline';
        _CTX.drawImage(_VIDEO, 0, 0, _VIDEO.videoWidth, _VIDEO.videoHeight);
    });

});

View demo