I've been toying around for the past hour to make a screen shot of a WMV video yet the moment I close the video the picture becomes blank... that's like beyond my understanding... I've used various players and various image programs but with no result.
OK these might explain it...
http://www.allformp3.com/dvd-faqs/44.htm
http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138858
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There are solutions given on those pages...
Vintage!
The basic idea is that videos are normally rendered on an "overlay", which as its name suggests, exists on a layer above everything else on the screen. When you press PrintScreen, these overlays don't make it into the screenshot, so that's why you get the black background. Some screen capture programs can capture overlays, but usually they're not free.
Not sure if this problem exists in Vista with glass enabled, though, since everything has to go through the 3D pipeline; overlays essentially don't exist in this environment. I've never tried it though, so I can't say for sure.
Thanks guys!
I ended up using the Windows Movie Maker... not the most elegant way around but it did the job. Never knew about video "overlaying" (my ignorance has no limits I guess) but it makes perfect sense.
Yeah, overlaying can catch you off guard if you're not aware of it. But you can see it in action by moving a WMP window around the screen while watching a video: The video follows the window, but it's delayed.
I normally use the KMplayer.
I have just tested it and it will capture still shots or video segments from a wmv movie. (this is done by a capture function in the player - not by print screen) Many of the video players can also do this, it comes down to your choice of player & the formats that they can play.
VLC does that too. I've never had an issue.
Cool. My ignorance truly has no limits - I'v been using VLC for quite some time... never thought of making a screen shot with it... duh...