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Supports: MP4, M4V
MP4 is a video container — typically holding H.264 or H.265 frames. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is the print, prepress, archival, and scientific-imaging standard, stable since 1986 and accepted by every pro imaging tool from Photoshop to medical PACS systems to government scanners. Pulling a TIFF still from MP4 is key-frame capture into the most archival-friendly image format. Common reasons people pull TIFF stills from MP4:
If you want web-optimized stills instead of archival TIFF, see MP4 to PNG for lossless web output or MP4 to JPG for tiny lossy stills.
| Property | TIFF (from MP4) | PNG (from MP4) | JPG (from MP4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression options | None, LZW, DEFLATE, Zstd, PackBits, CCITT Fax 4, JPEG, JP2K, WebP | DEFLATE only (lossless) | DCT lossy (1992) |
| Bit depth | 1 / 8 / 16-bit | 8 / 16-bit | 8-bit |
| Color spaces | RGB, CMYK, LAB, grayscale, palette, multi-channel | RGB, indexed, grayscale | RGB / YCbCr |
| Multi-page in one file | Yes | No | No |
| Transparency | Yes (alpha channel) | Yes (alpha channel) | No |
| File size for 1080p still | ~3-8 MB (None), ~1.5-4 MB (LZW) | ~2-5 MB | ~200-500 KB |
| Browser preview | Rare | Universal | Universal |
| Pro print acceptance | Universal | Limited | Limited |
| Archival longevity | Stable since 1986 — preferred for long-term | Stable since 1996 | Degrades each save |
| Compression | Size | Lossless? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Largest | Yes | True archival, prepress masters, scientific data |
| LZW | ~50% | Yes | General-purpose TIFF — universal compatibility |
| DEFLATE / Zstd | ~40% | Yes | Modern workflows where decoders are recent |
| PackBits | ~80% | Yes | Legacy Mac systems, simple flat images |
| CCITT Fax 4 | Tiny | Yes (1-bit only) | Black-and-white scans, faxed documents, line art |
| JPEG inside TIFF | ~10-15% | No | Photo-heavy archives where size matters |
| JP2K inside TIFF | ~10-20% | No | High-fidelity lossy with wider gamut than JPEG |
| WebP inside TIFF | ~15-25% | No | Modern lossy in a TIFF wrapper |
Each captured frame is written as its own TIFF file. Specific Frame produces one TIFF at the chosen timestamp; Multiple Screenshots produces a sequence (one TIFF per captured frame) downloaded as a ZIP. If you need multi-page TIFF (several frames packed into one file for legal or surveillance retention), bundle the resulting TIFFs in Photoshop, ImageMagick, or a multi-page TIFF authoring tool afterwards.
TIFF defaults to lossless. A 1080p frame is roughly 3-8 MB as uncompressed TIFF, 1.5-4 MB with LZW or DEFLATE, vs 200-500 KB as JPG. The cost buys bit-perfect pixel data, higher bit depth, and CMYK / LAB capability that JPG lacks. If file size matters more than archival fidelity, pick JPEG inside TIFF, JP2K, or WebP as the compression type, or use MP4 to JPG instead.
By default the TIFF is RGB — MP4 video is decoded in RGB (or YCbCr converted to RGB), and TIFF output preserves that. CMYK requires a target ICC profile and a rendering intent that depends on the print process, so the conversion happens in Photoshop or Affinity Photo as a second step. The typical workflow is MP4 → TIFF (RGB) → editor → TIFF (CMYK) for the print vendor.
72 / 96 DPI for screen-only use. 150 DPI for inkjet draft prints. 300 DPI for offset printing, magazines, brochures, and books. 600 or 1200 DPI for fine-art prints and large-format work. Note: changing DPI alone updates metadata — the underlying pixel grid is set by the source MP4 resolution. A 1920×1080 frame at 300 DPI prints around 6.4 × 3.6 inches; for a larger print you need a 4K or higher source.
Yes — pick Specific Frame in step 2 and enter Time in seconds (12.5 means 12.5s into the clip). The decoder seeks to that timestamp and writes one TIFF. Useful for grabbing a poster frame, a documentation screenshot for a regulatory filing, or a single archival still from a finished cut.
Multiply duration by capture rate. A 60-second clip at "1 second per frame" produces 60 TIFFs; at 0.1s (10 fps) it produces 600. Because TIFF is lossless, a 4K source at 10 fps for one minute can hit 2-5 GB total — start at 1 fps or 0.5 fps and refine downward, or pick LZW / DEFLATE compression to roughly halve the size.
Any standard MP4 / M4V container — H.264 / AVC (most common), H.265 / HEVC (iPhone HEIC-era recordings), MPEG-4, and AV1. Audio tracks are ignored since the output is a still image. If the file plays in QuickTime or VLC, frame extraction will work.
Industry archival standards settled on TIFF in the 1990s and have not migrated. TIFF's stability since 1986, multi-page packing, CCITT Fax 4 1-bit compression for scanned text, lossless compression options, and decades-long decoder availability make it the safer long-horizon choice for content that must remain legible and pixel-faithful in 30-50 years. JPG re-encodes degrade every save, which is unacceptable for chain-of-custody evidence.
Yes — see TIFF to MP4 to assemble a TIFF sequence into video, or TIFF to JPG for web delivery once the archival master is locked. The lossless TIFF acts as the source of truth; downstream copies derive from it without ever touching the original MP4 again.