Grabbing frames from a DVD

[alan gowdy]

Anyone recommend a good application (free or cheap) to play and grab good quality still frames off a DVD? I had a reasonable one as part of the supplied bundle of programs on my previous computer but can't recall what it was called.

[Freddy]

Windows 7 came with Snipping Tool which I always use, can be a touch fiddly but if it's just for dvd you can use the dvd pause then line the area you want to copy (a bit like cropping). I also use it for you tube. If there is no pause facility Snipping can pause the picture itself though getting the timing correct requires practice.

Paul

[Edward G]

Alan,
VLC media player has a built in "snapshot" facility which is easy to use and highly recommended. VLC is free and plays all DVD's on your PC, regardless of region.

[mariocki]

Yes, VLC Videolan is definitely the one to go for.

[rjd0309]

Many programs can take a still frame and save as a bitmap file. VLC is good, I use MPEG Video Wizard.

You'll also need a good image processing program such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to resize and perhaps sharpen the images.

Resizing is necessary if you're going to display the image on a computer screen or print on paper. Television aspect ratios are not the same as for computers, see this discussion which is probably more than you ever wanted to know about aspect ratios. http://lipas.uwasa.fi/~f76998/video/conversion/

For example, if you captured a still frame from a PAL 4:3 source, you would need to adjust the horizontal dimension of the image by 109% while leaving the vertical dimension alone. Otherwise, the image will look distorted (circles will appear as ellipses, etc).

PAL 4:3 109%
PAL 16:9 145%
NTSC 4:3 91%
NTSC 16:9 121%

[CaptainWaggett]

Many programs can take a still frame and save as a bitmap file. VLC is good, I use MPEG Video Wizard.

You'll also need a good image processing program such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to resize and perhaps sharpen the images.

Resizing is necessary if you're going to display the image on a computer screen or print on paper. Television aspect ratios are not the same as for computers, see this discussion which is probably more than you ever wanted to know about aspect ratios. http://lipas.uwasa.fi/~f76998/video/conversion/

For example, if you captured a still frame from a PAL 4:3 source, you would need to adjust the horizontal dimension of the image by 109% while leaving the vertical dimension alone. Otherwise, the image will look distorted (circles will appear as ellipses, etc).

PAL 4:3 109%
PAL 16:9 145%
NTSC 4:3 91%
NTSC 16:9 121%

This is the method invariably used on the quiz threads

[alan gowdy]

Thanks folks - appreciated.

[Johnallan]

We've had this conversation on another thread in the past but I'm still puzzled why it is felt necessary to use a dedicated program to make a grab. I simply pause playback, press the Print Screen button, paste into Paint, crop and save. In what way is using a program superior?

[CaptainWaggett]

We've had this conversation on another thread in the past but I'm still puzzled why it is felt necessary to use a dedicated program to make a grab. I simply pause playback, press the Print Screen button, paste into Paint, crop and save. In what way is using a program superior?

In VLC, you simply hit Snapshot in the Video menu and the screengrab is saved in My Pictures. No need for Paint or cropping or even saving. Valuable keystrokes saved

[jimw1]

In VLC, you simply hit Snapshot in the Video menu and the screengrab is saved in My Pictures. No need for Paint or cropping or even saving. Valuable keystrokes saved

It is a much easier way...........

[moonfleet]

Is it possible to capture grabs from a film, or a film sequence online ?? If yes, how could I do it ??

Thanks

[jimw1]

Is it possible to capture grabs from a film, or a film sequence online ?? If yes, how could I do it ??

Thanks

Do you use Windows 7 Catherine ?

[moonfleet]

Do you use Windows 7 Catherine ?

Hi Jim

No, XP

[Steve Crook]

Is it possible to capture grabs from a film, or a film sequence online ?? If yes, how could I do it ??

Thanks

It depends what it is played with. If they use Adobe Flash like YouTube does then there are some applications like KeepVid which let you save videos from there. Then you can play the video with VLC and grab whichever frames or whatever sequence you like

Steve

[moonfleet]

What's VLC ?? some software application ?? ...compatible with Firefox ??

[jimw1]

Hi Jim

No, XP

I asked because there is a Function in Windows 7...Snipping tool...But I dont think its available in XP

What's VLC ?? some softweare application ?? ...compatible with Firefox ??

VLC is a Media Player Catherine' which has a very easy Function for Screen grabs...

http://www.vlcapp.com/jump/vlc-free-uk-3/?pk=6059

[moonfleet]

Ok, thank you, I'll try to understand how it works...

[CaptainWaggett]

Ok, thank you, I'll try to understand how it works...

It comes in Francais aussi - http://vlc-media-player.org/

[moonfleet]

Oui, je l'ai trouvé en français

And also the Wiki definition, but it seems complicated, and I don't think I can do captures on a film with it

[CaptainWaggett]

Oui, je l'ai trouvé en français

And also the Wiki definition, but it seems complicated, and I don't think I can do captures on a film with it

C'est tres simple - when you're playing a dvd, in the Video menu, click Snapshot. It will save a picture automatically in your picture/document folder. If the dvd doesn't play automatically in VCL, right click on the folder and choose VLC.