Earlier this week, Scaramouch asked for and received quick and expert help correcting an HTML issue. I'm going back to the well, hoping another reader can lend me his or her expertise.
What I want to do is capture an HD still image from a program I'm watching on an HDTV. A simple screenshot. Is there a way to receive the HD signal on my computer? If there is, will the quality be comparable to what I'm seeing on the TV? If I had a DVD recorder, I could record a show and play it back in my computer. But I'm not sure what kind of quality I'd be getting there, either.
For reference, I'd be happy with this level of resolution. (Might not even be HD, but it's good enough.)
Any folks living in HD care to help me out? (If you can easily do this and want to prove it by emailing me any HD screenshot, send away.)
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Hi! I don’t have the capability to transfer HD video, myself; however, I can offer some suggestions – if no other reader has the ability to transfer the video for you.
There are only two ways, that I know of at least, to transfer HD-quality video to a computer for taking stills/screenshots.
1. A video-capture card which supports HDMI or component video input (these can start at $600, though there may be cheaper ones depending on your needs).
2. A HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc recorder (connected to your video output device) and a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc drive for your PC.
Also, the image you linked is 3000x2000 pixels, much higher than the High Definition standards – it was resized from 1920x1280 (increased by 1.56 times). The two main standards are: 1280x720 (720p) and 1920x1280 (1080i).
I don’t know what you intend to use the captured image for, but if you don’t absolutely NEED to have it in HD resolution, there are other options (they can be a bit complicated, but I’ve used them before – and they are much cheaper than the above).
Depending where your video is coming from, your device is either using a set of component cables or a single HDMI cable. But, some devices also have composite and S-Video outputs.
3. If your device has either of the latter, and you have a camcorder capable of connecting to your PC, you may be able to transfer video to your camcorder then to your PC to take the digital screen shot.
4. Or, if you have a video card with an S-Video or composite input like I do, you can simply connect your device to your computer and take the screen shot that way.
5. Recording the video onto a DVD using a device that is external to your computer, playing the DVD on your computer, and taking the screenshot through your DVD player-program is another option.
3, 4, and 5 will give you an image with standard NTSC resolution, 720x480. The quality of the image wouldn’t be as great as HD because of A. The lower resolution & B. Composite/S-Video cables don’t transmit as clear a signal as the cable used for HD.
HD is just hitting the mainstream so there aren’t as many readily available options for it as there are for standard definition video.
After the above, about the only thing I could suggest is taking a picture with a digital camera of the TV screen :) Barring that, of course, you’d have to find someone capable of options 1 or 2 if you really want true HD quality.
If you have any other questions, or want me to explain something further, just let me know via the comments.
There are also a lot of cheaper HD alternatives available that are antenna based. However this will only work if you want to capture from one of the HD signals broadcasted over the airwaves (generally network feeds only).