can VLC 3.0 play frame-by-frame backwards?

The VLC help says : "Unfortunately, VLC doesn’t support frame-stepping backwards; it’s only possible to move forward".

Other players may have a limited support for backward playing. This would be somewhat slow, because video files are usually constructed with the occasional full frame, while in-between frames only contain the difference. Backward stepping would involve going back to the last full frame and then forward to the requested frame.

I found two posts that relate to your request :

  • Video players that have frame by frame playback feature
  • video player that can step forward/backwards and change play speed

These posts contain links to various players that are said to be able to step backward, but VLC is not one of them. You will need to test and see.

Because product recommendations are not allowed on our site, I cannot list these players here.