Change VLC to take Snapshots (Screenshots or Freeze Frames) in JPG Format

To change VLC's snapshot format to JPG/JPEG or TIFF on a Mac, go to VLC > Preferences > Video.  At the bottom of this preference window, there is a dropdown menu to change the format for video snapshots to JPG or TIFF.

VLC's default of creating Snapshots (Screenshots or Freeze Frames by any other name) in PNG format is a bit clunky for two reasons:

1. PNG format is not ideal for photographic images, and the overwhelming majority of clips played in VLC will be of movie files.

2. For sharing images on the web, JPG is the standard file format and PNG files will be about 3-5 times larger than a JPG file produced from the same photographic-style source, because its compression is not suited for photographic images.

The only reason to keep the PNG Snapshot format is if you are needing to retain a little higher quality than a JPG or if you are capturing an image from a cartoon, illustration, or something with text, that does not appear lifelike.

And if quality is your focus, you'd be better off changing your default file format to TIFF to have a higher quality format for your screenshots (snapshots).