Replace thumbnail on a video upload

[ch_bt]

Hello, I am uploading demo videos to share with clients. The thumbnail / static image on each video is random and is not taking the first image (which is a title card). I am getting awkward shots of our speakers in the still images, and they are not the most attractive thumbnails to share with clients. Is there any way to choose what screen the thumbnail comes from and/or replace this image? Thank you!

[Rich]

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@ch_bt wrote:

Is there any way to choose what screen the thumbnail comes from and/or replace this image?

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No, there isn't. The thumbnail is generated from a frame at about the 8 second mark. There's no way to change that.

[ch_bt]

Thank you! We will edit our videos to keep the title card up for 8 or 9 seconds vs. 5 seconds, so hopefully we can work around it. 

[joelsnewton]

Any chance this is changing in the future? I just ran into the same problem on a video where I don't want to add 8 seconds to the beginning.

[Jay]

Hi @joelsnewton, currently, there isn't any information on this matter.

If you wish, you can suggest this change for others to vote on, so the dev team can look into this in future.

[BigSlick]

I agree 100% and suggested a change to dropbox.
The thumbnail should be the first frame of the video of course!
I am having the same problem and wasted hours trying to get around this bug.

[Boss Mama]

Totally agree. Who wants to chew up 8 valuable seconds of video to appease this thumbnail issue or indeed give the spoiler in a thumbnail before the video is viewed - which is my gripe! I wont be messing up the flow of my content to correct this. Dropbox you need to up your game on this. We take the time in video editing to present this suitably for our clients with a cover pic or title so it’s common sense for your application to be consistent with that.

[unger15]

I actually found a workaround for this, but I'm trying to remember.  I have 5 videos uploaded with the title screen in advance of 8 seconds.  Just uploaded my 6th, but the last one was almost 2 years ago, so I'm trying to figure it all out again.  I make the videos on iMovie (older version), which allows you to update the thumbnail via the "Get Info" menu for the movie file.  But when I upload to Dropbox Replay, it reverts to the 8 sec spot.  When I figure it out, I'll repost.

[unger15]

Ok, posted too soon!  When you open your video, play to the part of the video you want in your thumbnail.  Then in the upper right selection tab (below "Share") is an icon that looks like an image background setting... that's the "set frame as thumbnail" option.  Try it out!