diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index ea3e2bcf2..db0a3be8d 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -5,10 +5,9 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
 
+	"github.com/gabek/owncast/utils"
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
-
-	"github.com/gabek/owncast/utils"
 )
 
 //Config contains a reference to the configuration
@@ -45,10 +44,11 @@ type socialHandle struct {
 }
 
 type videoSettings struct {
-	ChunkLengthInSeconds int             `yaml:"chunkLengthInSeconds"`
-	StreamingKey         string          `yaml:"streamingKey"`
-	StreamQualities      []StreamQuality `yaml:"streamQualities"`
-	OfflineContent       string          `yaml:"offlineContent"`
+	ChunkLengthInSeconds      int             `yaml:"chunkLengthInSeconds"`
+	StreamingKey              string          `yaml:"streamingKey"`
+	StreamQualities           []StreamQuality `yaml:"streamQualities"`
+	OfflineContent            string          `yaml:"offlineContent"`
+	HighestQualityStreamIndex int             `yaml"-"`
 }
 
 // StreamQuality defines the specifics of a single HLS stream variant.
@@ -106,6 +106,8 @@ func (c *config) load(filePath string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	c.VideoSettings.HighestQualityStreamIndex = findHighestQuality(c.VideoSettings.StreamQualities)
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/config/configUtils.go b/config/configUtils.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f15a443a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/configUtils.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+package config
+
+import "sort"
+
+func findHighestQuality(qualities []StreamQuality) int {
+	type IndexedQuality struct {
+		index   int
+		quality StreamQuality
+	}
+
+	if len(qualities) < 2 {
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	indexedQualities := make([]IndexedQuality, 0)
+	for index, quality := range qualities {
+		indexedQuality := IndexedQuality{index, quality}
+		indexedQualities = append(indexedQualities, indexedQuality)
+	}
+
+	sort.Slice(indexedQualities, func(a, b int) bool {
+		if indexedQualities[a].quality.IsVideoPassthrough && !indexedQualities[b].quality.IsVideoPassthrough {
+			return true
+		}
+
+		if !indexedQualities[a].quality.IsVideoPassthrough && indexedQualities[b].quality.IsVideoPassthrough {
+			return false
+		}
+
+		return indexedQualities[a].quality.VideoBitrate > indexedQualities[b].quality.VideoBitrate
+	})
+
+	return indexedQualities[0].index
+}
diff --git a/core/ffmpeg/thumbnailGenerator.go b/core/ffmpeg/thumbnailGenerator.go
index bea74d469..5c7ec054c 100644
--- a/core/ffmpeg/thumbnailGenerator.go
+++ b/core/ffmpeg/thumbnailGenerator.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 //StartThumbnailGenerator starts generating thumbnails
-func StartThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath string) {
+func StartThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath string, variantIndex int) {
 	// Every 20 seconds create a thumbnail from the most
 	// recent video segment.
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(20 * time.Second)
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ func StartThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath string) {
 		for {
 			select {
 			case <-ticker.C:
-				if err := fireThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath); err != nil {
+				if err := fireThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath, variantIndex); err != nil {
 					log.Errorln("Unable to generate thumbnail:", err)
 				}
 			case <-quit:
@@ -36,11 +37,11 @@ func StartThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath string) {
 	}()
 }
 
-func fireThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath string) error {
+func fireThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath string, variantIndex int) error {
 	// JPG takes less time to encode than PNG
 	outputFile := path.Join("webroot", "thumbnail.jpg")
 
-	framePath := path.Join(chunkPath, "0")
+	framePath := path.Join(chunkPath, strconv.Itoa(variantIndex))
 	files, err := ioutil.ReadDir(framePath)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/core/status.go b/core/status.go
index 8f7a34a50..d7c1c535b 100644
--- a/core/status.go
+++ b/core/status.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func SetStreamAsConnected() {
 		chunkPath = config.Config.PrivateHLSPath
 	}
 
-	ffmpeg.StartThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath)
+	ffmpeg.StartThumbnailGenerator(chunkPath, config.Config.VideoSettings.HighestQualityStreamIndex)
 }
 
 //SetStreamAsDisconnected sets the stream as disconnected