Update:
It’s really a pity that Media Preview is no longer working on the latest Windows 10 since there are no updates since 2014. But I am glad I find an alternative that can custom thumbnail for me on both Windows and macOS.
How to Custom Thumbnail | Add Thumbnail to Videos like MP4 MOV M4V on Windows and macOS
When I rip a DVD, the thumbnail icon for the video is the first frame of the title I am ripping. I was always wondering if there was any way to make it the icon/picture of the video itself? For example, the Toy Story Series all have the same look. Is there a way to place the DVD cover be the thumbnail icon?
I also have a large collection of DVDs and I have another 1TB hard drive to backup all my DVDs just in case my collections get scratched. What I really cannot tolerate is that all I get are hidebound icons of players, generic thumbnails, or meaningless black screen. It really helps if the computer shows a preview or thumbnail of every media file. Media Preview is such a thumbnail maker that helps you so.
Actually, Microsoft has added a thumbnail preview function to ensure you get the first frame from the video clips Windows Media Player supports since the release of Windows XP in 2001. However, the fact is, Microsoft only supports very few video formats like MP4, AVI, WMV even in the latest version Windows 10. Some users, like me, cannot imagine how difficult it is for my little kids to recognize their favorite movies as they are too young to know words. It really does not make sense of the very first frame of a movie. There are even black screens!
Media Preview—Smarter Thumbnail Maker
Windows Media Preview from BableSoft redefines your experience of Windows Explorer with full previews for all kinds of media files. It is a thumbnail maker that is able to show you a better, smarter, and more relevant thumbnail with a clever rendering algorithm. And, it is FREE.
Let take a look at how your media files look like before and after Media Preview is installed:
How to Setup the Thumbnail Maker
It is going to be up and running within 4 steps!
- Leave the program to do all for you if you are not so tech-savvy, but feel free to adjust all the settings and parameters. It would be great fun, isn’t it? Just enable Customize and remember to Apply.
- Select Video Formats. Completist please check “Select All”!
- Clear Thumbnail Cache and Enable Force Update.
Video format is mp4. I did restart my computer and cleared the thumbnail cache.
Hi Lee,
I am sorry to hear that. I tested the program on my Windows 10 PC and it does not work either.
It seems it is no longer compatible with the latest Windows since there are no updates since 2014.
I have a workaround for you with Wondershare UniConverter to customize the thumbnail yourself:
1. Add video
2. Choose MP4 Video(Same as source) as the output
3. Enable High-Speed Conversion
4. Click the exclamation mark to customize the thumbnail
5. Set your own thumbnail
6. Click Save to Confirm
7. Click Convert All to starting converting
Enabling High-Speed Conversion is important as it won’t reconvert your MP4 videos except adding the thumbnail in SECONDS. This is how it looks like:
I will have a more detailed guide in a new post.
Hunk
Hi Lee,
How does Wondershare UniConverter work for you?
I have a more detailed guide here now:
https://mysolutions.tech/custom-thumbnail/
Hope it helps.
Hunk
When I transfer the movies onto the iPad there is no cover photo for the movie so my son does not know which movie is which. He can’t read yet. Is there a way to transfer the movie photo?
Hi Ebedo,
Thanks for the comment. Do you mean the cover art? Media Preview just automatically creates thumbnail for you. If you need to customize the cover art for your DVD movies, Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate is able to help. Go Toolbox-Fix Video Metadata to add the cover art.
Hunk
Thanks for the guide! I’m no computer whiz, but this seems simple.
This doesn’t seem to be working on my Windows 10 machine. I run through the process and the thumbnails remain the same with no changes. Any thoughts or recommendations?
Is your video format supported? Do you try rebooting and clear thumbnail cache?