Over the past few weeks, Chrome has received some handy features, including a new tool to make sure you"re using secure extensions and to make default HTTPS much more secure. Today, Google has quietly rolled out a new feature in the latest version of Chrome— the ability to capture still frames from videos.
As announced in a blog post about Chrome tips for college students, users can now easily grab high-quality screenshots from videos playing in the Chrome browser. To use the new tool, pause any video, right-click on it, and select "Copy Video Frame" from the menu.
This eliminates the need to utilize third-party tools or screenshot workarounds to grab images from videos on sites like YouTube, Netflix, and more. It provides a quick and seamless way to copy exact frames with just two clicks.
It"s easy to copy an image from a website in Chrome — but what if you want to capture an important frame from a recorded lecture for your notes? You could take a screenshot, but you"ll likely get a lower-quality image (with the video"s progress bar cut across it).
Available starting today, you can pause anywhere in a video that"s playing in Chrome and get a clean copy of the exact frame you want. Just right-click on the video and select "Copy Video Frame."
While Google mentioned the feature was available starting today, it does not yet appear to be widely available. Early testing in Chrome version 116.0.5845.141 shows it working on YouTube, but support on many other sites is limited. The captured frames are copied directly to the clipboard rather than saved as image files.
Nonetheless, when fully implemented, the video frame-capturing functionality will be a handy addition for many Chrome users who work with online video and imagery.
It is worth noting that Microsoft already added the "Copy Video Frame" feature in Edge 116 Stable. As its name suggests, it provides a new and better way to capture screenshots from web-based videos, such as those you might find on YouTube.
Chrome remains the most popular browser, with around 61% market share as this new feature feature brings it one step closer to fulfilling the needs of its diverse user base. In addition, Bing Chat launched last week for all Chrome desktop users.