Still capture from capture panel...

[kleima]

You should make it so that when the Record/Capture Panel is set to TIMED, and the the duration is set to one frame, that the still image formats would then appear in the video codecs. Then, one could set the input to PROGRAM OUT, and could instantly capture, as a still, any frame in the project that you put the play bar on.

[Paul Lara]

Nice idea! :cool:

[ted]

I bet ya Andrew and the gang could whip that out during their coffee break!;)
At least until a better option is implemented.

[SBowie]

There was a LONG thread about this on the BetaForce list. Not to discount the idea of adding still-format codecs within Capture, but some don't seem to realize just how easy this is already using Aura. Along with that, using Aura instead provides a number of other benefits - like de-interlacing the grab, which works better than the single-frame progressive scan AFAICS.

Many seem to shy away from using Aura, often simply due to lack of familiarity. (I often see someone posting a series of steps for doing something VT-related in Photoshop when the same thing could be done much more easily in Aura.)

For that reason, I wrote a small tutorial on using Aura for grabbing stills (and also as an ersatz "Freeze" button for the Switcher). You can find it on my website by following the primary VT link at the top to either Aura or VT[3] > Resources > Tutorials:

click for LIGHTWORX Website (http://www.videotoasterworx.com)

[ted]

Steve, don't make me spank you!!!

We just did a series of spots with countless Grabs from Video.
It was going to be such a pain using VT3 and Aura that I ended up using my "other system" to do the grabs, then drug them over the network.

Don't give the Aliens the impression that the current method is acceptable or I'll have to fly over there and punish you severely!!!

We do need a “Grab As” in TEd and the Switcher. Let me say it again… We do need a “Grab As” in TEd and the Switcher.

I'm not saying NewTek isn't doing a great job, lord knows they've put a lot more punch in the system, but this needs to be resolved.

[tmon]

No doubt Aura has many excellent powers.

But I think what many users would like to see is some of the functions in the Aura engine accessible from within VT-Edit.

Such as:

1. Screen Grab/still frame

2. Import and convert file sequences to RTV.

3. .MOV input/conversion and RTV output/.Mov conversion.

[SBowie]

Originally posted by ted

We just did a series of spots with countless Grabs from Video.
It was going to be such a pain using VT3 and Aura that I ended up using my "other system" to do the grabs, then drug them over the network. I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to have a simple button - I'm just saying try this and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well it works (while you're waiting). With Aura set up as shown, a (de-interlaced) freeze, grab, or exported frame is just a keystroke away.

And of course, you're always welcome here, Ted :)

[SBowie]

p.s. - #2 is possible now. As to no.3, no comment.

[Brian Peterson]

I'll throw my 2 cents in one this one. I agree with TED we need a one button push to do this from the timeline! Please Newtek!

Brian

[SBowie]

Sure. I repeat, sure! No problem, there should be a Grab As button, definitely, tomorrow.

OK, now with that out of the way... just curious ... have any of you guys actually tried this?

Running Aura minimized for this purpose takes next to no cpu cycles, about 25 megs of RAM on my system, and does everything you're asking for AFAICS.

For my own purposes, a Grab button would be handy for the odd time when the need crops up to grab one or two frames. But when I have a bunch of these to do, it sure doesn't take me long to open Aura. Once it's running, I don't see much practical difference whether I click a button in TEd, on the Switcher, or a minimized Aura panel? How am I wrong?

[ted]

Yes my Guru friend, I've actually tried it and it sucks! Just kidding.

It's not a life or death situation, but in our daily operations, I might do one or two, or dozens of grabs.

Often my GFX guy will come in and ask for a quick frame grab to be dropped over the network so he can size some GFX or match something up.
Having to open another application and do the few steps is NOT as quick as the RIGHT way.:rolleyes:

Again...it's not life or death, but it can put you in ICU if you have to do it every time you need a quick frame grab.
I have the need for speed!
(JMHO).

[SBowie]

Originally posted by ted
Having to open another application and do the few steps is NOT as quick as the RIGHT way. OK, I can buy that Ted. I'm all for convenience. I grab a lot of frames for various things, too, but Aura is almost always ticking over on my system anyway ... days go by without my hitting Exit in Aura :)

[Scott Bates]

Just so Steve doesn't get to feeling lonely with you guys ganging up on him, I gotta' pipe up in support of Aura. I also leave it running most of the time with fields set to none, the grabber panel open, mode set to .png and shortcut keys set for "g"rab and "e"xport image. Now when they get down the feature list to putting a Grabber button in VT-Edit, then maybe.......

Scott (just back from two weeks vacation and feeling refreshed 'n fiesty....) ;)

[tmon]

Let me ask this question:

When I go to Aura, change the mode to JPEG, grab my frame of video and select "export to image," why does the exported image look stretched horizontally? I haven't measured it, but if I open the image in say, a Win Explorer web browser, it looks like 720x540 or something.

Is this the reverse of the square/non-square pixel issue?

I'm just trying to provide screen grabs for client approval (i.e. sending them as email attachment), however, the stills, aspect ratio-wise, do not appear to be representative of video output.

What's going on and how do I rectify this?

[SBowie]

Yes, that's exactly correct. The rectangular pixels of video will appear vertically squashed when viewed on a computer monitor. You don't see this in either TVision or Aura (with default settings) because they are doing aspect correction (of the display only) on your 'square pixel' computer monitor.

There are several ways to correct this for when necessary. For example, suppose you have done a series of grabs at the NTSC size of 720x486, with an aspect of .9, and wish to export these with correction applied:

- Open the Aura menu point Project> Modify Project
- unlock Lock Aspect in the panel
- set Height to 540
- click "Stretch Project" at the bottom of the panel.
- accept the next 'nag panel ("Do you really want to..."

Done - export per usual...

[tmon]

Thanks Steve! Much appreciated.

Now, back to those feature requests......


:D

[dml]

There definitely needs to be an easy way to grab frames from within TED or at the switcher. My customers have been requesting this capability for the past year and a half.

Matt Drabick

[SBowie]

Again, not to diminish the convenience a new 'Freeze' function would bring, but there is the obvious (non-AuraVT) route:

Leave a Capture panel open, sourced from Program Out and set to 'timed' at 1 frame, progressive mode. Every click will grab a single frame RTV.

[kleima]

Yes, that's awesome, and I use it all the time for grabbing stills from incoming "live" video sources - cameras, vtrs, etc.
However, (back to my original suggestion), this does not work for grabbing TIFFs, JPGs, etc. It only grabs RTVs which then have to be converted.
My original suggestion was not for a new FREEZE or Still capture button, but for the still image "codecs" like TIFF and JPG to be available in the capture panel when the "timed" is set to one frame (or they could be there all the time, for that matter - you just might have a mess of files to delete if you accidently captured a long sequence in a still codec). These codecs already appear in the RENDER panel. Why not make them available in the Capture Panel, so we don't need more special buttons?

[PIZAZZ]

This feature would be really useful in DVD creation also.

Each pic could be grabbed and imported to be used as chapter images on the disc. It is a ton faster to use VT3 to do this than DVD Workshop.

Sign me up for this one too.

[SBowie]

Leaving aside whatever difficulties might be involved in showing the list of still codecs (I really don't think that needs to be a big issue, but maybe requires this to be a completely different function than the existing capture), there are one or two other things requiring thought in implementing such a tool:

First, it will require an optional aspect correction toggle and preference. Some here have expressed the desire to grab (or at least export) the still with square pixels; others want it to serve as an onscreen 'freeze' function. That means the (new?) function must allow *but not impose* aspect compensation (for both NTSC and PAL?). The behavior would need to be a Prefs option in order to keep this a one button tool.

Second, how do you want it to deal with interlacing? Drop a field, blend fields, progressive scan? Presumably no-one would want 'as-is'? But I would think that at least a couple of these otptions would be mandatory to satisfy the majority. Another Prefs option, methinks...

[videoconcepts]

There seems to be enough room on teds bottom half to put the grabber functions.
use bottons for as is, and mix, its faster
once its set up with a name and a hardrive location scrol over timeline and hit the g key or something. simple faster

and i like aura but i like things handy.

how about a little screen you could open up and attach to the editor or the switcher
so it wont go behind other screens and if you move your windows it will move with it.
just a thought
randyc