Image By Image

Image By Image is a straightforward software application that enables you to load AVI and WMV-formatted video files and view them frame by frame. It also offer support for MPEG, MP3, MPG and MPA files.
The app can be paired up with a snapshot grabbing utility (e.g. ShareX, Greenshot, FastStone Capture) to capture movie frames and save them as images, for example. It doesn't require setup.

Portability perks

Provided that you have Windows Media Player installed, you don't need to set up anything else. This means that you can save Image By Image's program files anywhere on the HDD or on a pen drive and just click the executable to launch it on any PC. Unlike most installers, it doesn't change Windows registry settings.

Load videos in a familiar interface

Made from a small window that resembles Windows Media Player, the interface shouldn't present any kind of issues for any user familiarized with the well-known Microsoft tool. After opening a media file, you can use basic controls to pause and resume playback, adjust the volume level and play speed, enter full screen mode, or seek a particular position within the stream.

View the video frame by frame

The tool lets you toggle frame-by-frame and normal play mode, click two buttons to view the previous or next frame, change the default step, as well as jump to a particular position in the movie by entering the time mark. Unfortunately, Image By Image doesn't have a built-in function for grabbing screenshots and saving them to file.

Evaluation and conclusion

We haven't come across any stability issues in our tests, thanks to the fact that the program didn't hang, crash or display error messages. It left a small footprint on system resources consumption, running on low CPU and RAM.
Although it doesn't come packed with additional options, Image By Image offers a fast and simple solution to viewing video files frame by frame, and it can be handled by all user levels. Plus, it's freeware.