Play a video in reverse mode using OpenCVPython (original) (raw)

Play a video in reverse mode using OpenCV-Python

Last Updated : 11 Aug, 2025

Playing a video in rever**se is useful for analyzing motion backwards, creating special effects or debugging frame sequences. With OpenCV in Python, frames can be read, stored and displayed in reverse order, enabling offline analysis, reverse playback and creative motion effects.

Objective

We will take a video as input and play it in reverse by:

• Breaking it into frames.
• Storing the frames in a list.
• Reversing the list using Python’s reverse() method.
• Displaying the frames sequentially to simulate reverse playback.

Python Implementation

Python `

import cv2

cap = cv2.VideoCapture("video_file_location") frames, cnt = [], 0

Capture frames

while True: ret, frame = cap.read() if not ret: break cv2.imwrite(f"frame{cnt}.jpg", frame) frames.append(frame) cnt += 1 cap.release()

Play forward

for f in frames: cv2.imshow("Frame", f) if cv2.waitKey(25) & 0xFF == ord("q"): break

Play reverse

for f in reversed(frames): cv2.imshow("Frame", f) if cv2.waitKey(25) & 0xFF == ord("q"): break

cv2.destroyAllWindows()

`

**Output: