Alex Chan presents a practical technique for turning videos into audio-first, glanceable podcasts by abusing MP3 ID3 chapters. The process converts a video to MP3 with FFmpeg, extracts a frame every few seconds (the example uses fps=1/5) while scaling images to fit within 945×945 pixels, and injects those thumbnails as per-chapter artwork using Mutagen. Each chapter is a CHAP frame with an APIC subframe containing the image and millisecond start/end times; the implementation deliberately omits a CTOC table of contents to avoid populating the chapter list with hundreds of entries. Example commands and a short Python snippet show the concrete FFmpeg flags and Mutagen usage that produce a chapter per 5-second slice.
The outcome is a stop-motion-like rendition of the original video in podcast players that support chapter artwork (tested with Overcast and inspired by Forecast). Playback updates the lock-screen artwork every few seconds, providing quick visual context when a speaker refers to slides or diagrams while otherwise allowing hands-free listening. The script, packaged as glancecast, automates the pipeline; conversion takes about a minute (mostly transcoding) and yields MP3s around 40-50 MB. The approach has been applied successfully to multiple talks and makes video content more consumable in an audio-first workflow.
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