How do I take screencaps and videos of scenes from movies?

[danfrandes]

Excuse me. How do I make screencaps from movies on the mac computer or on TV?

[goofystitch]

I am also interested, but I use Windows, so if anybody can help out with both, that would be awesome.

[Escapay]

With Windows, what I do is have the DVD play in Media Center. Then hit the PrntScrn button, go to Microsoft Paint, hit Ctrl-V (paste), and simply crop from there. It's a rather crude way of doing it, but I've been doing it for all my caps.

Escapay

[danfrandes]

Excuse me. How do I make videos of scenes from movies or parts of movies?

[271286]

Handbrake - if you are a Mac user

[danfrandes]

Handbrake - if you are a Mac user

What's Handbrake?

[TM2-Megatron]

Most DVD playing programs for the computer (WinDVD, PowerDVD, etc.) include a screen capture option, which it then saves to a specific directory (usually somewhere in 'My Documents' under the default settings.).

Creating an actual video is a bit harder, as you need a lot of specific software depending on exactly what you're trying to get. Whatever type of video you want (ranging from just a short clip to the entire movie) you'll generally need a program that bypasses the CSS encryption and a DVD ripping program. Mind you, bypassing the CSS is quasi-legal at best, although it does depend on the country you're in... and only if you're only doing it to DVDs you actually own. In my experience, Slysoft makes the best software available for these purposes:

http://www.slysoft.com

They make several programs. AnyDVD is basically just a driver that runs in the background, disabling things like CSS, macrovision and other forms of copy protection. CloneDVD makes copies of DVD movies, either 1:1 or compressing a dual layer down to a single layer disc. CloneCD isn't really for movies unless you want an exact 1:1 copy... it's the best to use for this purpose since it preserves the layer break in exactly the same place on the copy for movies on dual-layer discs. CloneDVD mobile basically converts DVDs for playback on a great many portable devices... video iPods, Creative Zen, etc. CloneDVD, CloneCD and CloneDVD mobile all require AnyDVD running in the background, though, as none of them can bypass CSS or any other type of copy-protection on their own.

If you do get them, though, remember not to use them on movies you haven't bought yourself.

And if you aren't interested in paying that much, you can always go with DVDShrink. It's a lot like CloneDVD, but it includes built-in copy-protection removal... although it hasn't been updated for quite some time, it still works on many DVDs. When using it, you can set it to just dump the DVD files on your hard drive instead of burning a copy... and then just rename the VOB file you want a clip of to an MPEG format. If you don't want the whole film, though, you'll need some kind of video-editing program in order to crop it down to the segment you're after.

[memnv]

I like the slysoft programs too, they do work great

[Disney Duster]

I'm hi-jacking this thread, just so I can say I am, and pose these questions:

Can I get a free trial of PowerDVD? Does it work well? Can I keep using it so I don't...have to...buy it?

And how can I view my movies one frame at a time? Neither Media center nor Cineplayer can do this, unless I just haven't found a way. Any programs already on a Dell PC I can use? Do I have to get new ones?

By the way, danfrandes question dealt with MACs, not PCs.

[Disney Duster]

Hey, I'm back again, I'm asking if anyone knows how I can get PowerDVD, to more accurately and precisely take the screencaps I want. But I don't want to...buy it...any free online ways to get PowerDVD?