I need a high-def screen capture of a TV show no longer on any website, so I bought the episode on iTunes. When I do a screen capture, however, it picks up the whole screen with a grey checkered box where the video image should be. Is there a way to do a screen capture from this file? Or convert it to something else with Handbrake or something?

Yes, most likely on both questions.

Handbrake can convert to other formats, but depending on the protection employed on the original, you may have to try a different ripping/conversion application.

SnapZ Pro might produce a different screen shot result if you happen to have that. The upgraded version will also allow you to record the video, which might help you as well.

Tried Handbrake and didn't recognize it. Used RealPlayer converter and although it looked like it was actually doing something and took over an hour to do it, rendered a useless file. Also tried FLV Thing which, surprisingly, does a lot more than the name implies. I have Snapz or something like it. Will try. Thanks.

*hates DRM* If I were you I would acquire the latest version of Sentui, and rip that obnoxious DRM off your video files. Then you can play them in VLC, mplayer, etc, and do with them as you need to. iTunes itself is causing the checkerboarding you see, to prevent you from doing exactly what you are trying to do.

I don't know if Snapz Pro will scrape that, but I am inclined to doubt it, since it's itunes talking with the screen reading APIs and telling them to deny that region of the screen to you.

When I open Snapz it really doesn't let me do anything, just makes funny noises. How do I 'run' movie through Snapz? Sentui seems to be just to move things from my iPod to my Mac. How would it help this situation?

To use Snap Z Pro with the video player open on your screen:

1. Launch Snap Z Pro X. It makes a clicking sound like that of a camera shutter and puts a small window on your screen. In that window there are four icons labeled
   • Screen
   • Objects
   • Selection
   • Movie
2. Click on Preferences to be sure what the key to activate Snap Z Pro is. The default is, I believe, Option+3. You will need this later.
3. Click on "Movie" which will darken the screen background and a dotted line box to appear along with a selection of movie options. size the box to encompass the area of the screen you want to capture.
4. In the options box check the box to record the audio track and UNcheck the box to show the cursor
5. Double click in the box to start recording.
6. Start the video running
7. when the "movie" is complete press the Snap Z Pro launch key combo (Option+3) to stop Snap Z Pro Recording
8. You will then be prompted to save the recording. Be sure check the option to include the audio track.
9. The rendering process will take some time. Typically a lot longer than it took to play the initial video so be patient.

I realize I may have left out some minor details here, but these are the major steps. Whether or not Snap Z Pro will capture a DRM protected movie or not, I don't know as I have not tried it, but it does do a nice job of capturing a video in a variety of formats.

Been busy for awhile with other stuff. Tried Snapz and iTunes disables it and it just beeps when you start Snapz. I will set up my camera in front of the screen. I just need a few low-rez stills.

Just a thought but perhaps you could just use the Grab Tool that comes with the OS. I just did a couple of quick experiments. To get a moving image I opened Eye TV and had it fill the screen. Then:

1. Used the Grab Tool Selection and grabbed the entire screen.

2. With Grab Tool, used the Screen Capture function.

In both cases I got pretty good images that would likely fit your criterion for a couple of low-rez stills.

ryck

What is Eye TV? I already tried Grab, QT record, Command-Shift-3 or 4, doesn't matter. All I ever get is a blank image.

EyeTV is a device that takes a television cable feed and puts it into the computer where it is viewed in a separate window. Then it works the same as your television i.e. you change channels depending what you want to watch. You can also record the television feed to your hard drive.

It's quite handy. I keep a news channel going in a small window at the bottom of the computer screen while I'm doing other stuff, and enlarge it if a story peaks my interest.

I just used the EyeTV feed as a source of moving images to test with Grab. Since you're still getting blank images, you're beyond my ability to provide any helpful input although logic suggests, if you're getting the same result no matter which tool you use, the problem isn't the tools.

That suggests to me that, even though you may use your camera to get the low-rez images, you still have a problem that needs a solution. Good luck with it.

ryck

I appreciate your suggestions. The problem is, I need a screen grab of an outfit a character is wearing on an older episode of the show. (It was a rental from a vintage store that needs the pic for their website.) The show's website took down the episode but I was able to download it from iTunes and since I had a credit anyway, I did so. As Virtual1 says, it's locked up with "DRM," whatever that is.

I've gone from needing a hi-rez to settling for a lo-rez and will probably end up with nothing using my digital camera on video mode trying to shoot a computer screen, but I guess I have nothing but time on my hands, not!

Sorry, Sentui is not the name of the app. It's called Requiem. They're in a continuous game of cat and mouse with apple, so you have to download a new one every time apple updates itunes, locking out requiem again is the #1 priority in every itunes update. I personally don't update itunes until Requiem has been updated. But apple forces the issue by denying you access to the store until you update.

Once you have the DRM stripped, you'll be left with unprotected M4V and M4A files any re-encoding app can read, you can easily transcode. Don't use a screen scraper if you have this option you'll get a lot better results.

I can't seem to find Requiem.

http://undrm.info/remove-DRM-protection/Requiem-freeware-Mac-and-PC-DRM-remover-for-iTunes-files.htm