Extract frames carefully when image quality matters.
The safest workflow separates decoded image quality from the video container and from optional resizing or quantization.
Open the local editorWhat lossless PNG preserves
A lossless PNG stores the pixels supplied by the decoder without adding JPEG-style quantization. Chrona's original mode uses the displayed source resolution, so it does not resize the decoded frame.
What it cannot restore
PNG cannot recover detail that was already lost in the source codec. It also cannot preserve an HDR signal when the browser canvas has converted it to displayable pixels. Check the HDR warning before treating an export as a color-science master.
A quality checklist
For smaller review sets, Chrona also offers controlled lossy previews. That choice changes the exported pixels and is separate from the source-video decode.
- Keep original resolution when you need source dimensions
- Use the lossless profile when pixels matter more than archive size
- Do not compare PNG bytes to the compressed video as if they were identical media
- Keep the manifest beside the frames for provenance