Confused about generating thumbnails from video. Should I use ffmpeg php or canvas?

Question

I wanted to know what is the best practice for generating thumbnail from a video.

After exploring I have come across two ways:

1) Using ffmpeg php on the server side

Which of the above two options is better? Also are there any other third party solutions(paid or free)?

Even tho the load should be relatively low, consider if you want to put the load on your server or at the client. — Niek van der Maaden, Mar 09 '17 at 08:37

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 09 '17 at 10:25

I don't think there is a 'right' answer - it will depend on your needs.

Server side

Generating the thumbnail server side has the advantage that it reduces client side processing overhead and, depending on how your page is structured, may speed up the page load and user experience.
Generating server side allows you to have a 'human' check stage, or even an automated check more easily, if this is important - in other words make sure the selected frame the thumbnail is from is a good one. This is actually quite important if it is for some sort of paid video service.
Server side also allows you have consistent thumbnail across devices - i.e. Android, iOS and Browser.

Client side

Generating on the client side simplifies your server side workflow.
Although, the load is probably not that high you are also reducing the amount of server resources you need and effectively using the users own device to do some of the work.

1 Answers1