Glad to know there's yet another convert to the SIHH/Grayson-as-Pepe cult, which is, of course, a subsidiary of Grayson's Legion!
LOL, John! A cult you say? Are vodka shots part of the initiation ceremony?
Good lord, I've been on a Pepe kick lately...wanting to pair her up with other interesting characters [I could really use a devil smiley here - LOL]
Heather, if you wouldn't mind, could you send me a personal message regarding the program you used to do screen captures? I've tried using the "Grab" feature on my iMac, but it won't allow me to use it with the DVD player. Also, will it allow you to print the caps?
I'll try to help, if I can. And since Midnite's also wondering, I'll post it here too.
First of all, what system are you running on your iMac? Is it OS 9 or OS X (and higher)? I'm just asking because I have an eMac, which, oddly enough, has both systems installed (but you can't run both at the same time - chuckle). The DVD capture software I downloaded is for the Mac OSX operating system. It's called
DVD Capture[/i] and you can get it at:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/16324or
http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/software.php3The great thing is that it's completely free. No money or info required to download it. The catch is that you have to have the right system, and a Mac DVD player (version 3.0 and higher). I know exactly what you mean about the grab feature...you think you could capture anything on the screen, but it doesn't do ANYTHING when a DVD is playing. I was almost pulling my hair out one day, wondering what I was doing wrong - LOL.
I know that there's other software one can download--for PC's, Linux, Unix, Windows, etc...some of them costing some moola to acquire
but I'm just going over what I have.
*IF* what i mentioned is compatible with your computer system [crossing fingers], you intall it fairly easily, and then a gold DVD icon appears in a window, along with additional info to read. Once you get it going, it's used as a companion to your DVD player. Now, when i insert a DVD, the standard DVD player comes on, but you can use the 'DVD Capture' controls to operate everything instead.
You're presented with a metallic-looking window that has the controls (fairly self-explainatory) and a few options. First of all, I'd set it up so there is NO capture delay--easier.
I can send you more info privately, but basically--after you find a nice shot to capture, you click on pause then click the capture button (the fast-forward and rewind buttons come in handy to find just the right shot, as well as the step feature--steps through a scene frame by frame). You'll know it's working when you see the the desktop fade to black, with the "normal size" DVD frame in the center of the screen. You'll hear a little snapshot (as long as the volume is turned up - lol), then the screen goes back to normal. You have a choice of saving it to the clipboard or a PDF file--I find it less confusing to just save it to the PDF file.
Okay--open up the PDF file you've just created and click "select image" in the toolbar. Position your mouse next to the picture and then drag the little cross-hatch marker until it creates a little marquee around the part of the photo you like best. Realease the mouse--the area you circumvented should turn into a negative image. Now, position your mouse into the center of the negative photo and click. Holding down your mouse, drag the pointer beyond the PDF window frame. When you reach the desktop, let go. Now, close the PDF file. Click on an open space in the desktop--the photo you've just highlighted should appear as a .pict file on the desktop. Double click on that to view the image, full size. If everything looks okay, click on *file* in the toolbar and select *export*. Now you can save the image in a file/folder of your choosing, and most importanly, change the format (click on format in the little window--they list different file extensions. Just choose .jpeg -- it's easier, and greatly reduces the KB's LOL)
Now you have a .jpg image. [a grinning, clapping smiley would be appropriate here]
Oh yes--once you make the capture--you can indeed print it out. The PDF file will print what's in the file, but you can also print the image once you convert it to a .pict or other file.
Some of this came to me through trial and error, but eventually you get the hang of it.
Whew--enough detail for ya? LOL Is your brain hurting yet?
John (who often dreams that a long-lost Douglas Sirk melodrama starring Grayson, Lauren Bacall, Lovelady Powell, and Carol Channing is discovered in a vault somewhere...)
LOL... you guys are too much!
Take care,
Heather