yet another wrinkle in the screencap thing

[rivendellrose]

It never ends. Now that I can screencap reliably and efficiently, I discover that I can only do so in frigging .bmp format. Do you have any idea how chunky and ugly .bmp screecaps are? I do, now. These things are impossible to work with! They're hideous!

Please, by all that's holy - if anybody happens to a) know how to get PowerDVD to take caps that aren't in crap-format, or b) have a source for actually worthwhile B5 caps or pictures that aren't quite so obviously staged publicity shots, I'd be much obliged. I'm getting really irritated by having no resources to work with, here.

Comments

[sjen.livejournal.com]

.bmp is the best quality there is because it's entirely uncompressed. Large filesize, yes... crappy quality? Shouldn't be. I don't know how to change the output format for images in PowerDVD, and I'm not sure there even is the option. .bmps look great on my computer without any fiddling.

However, .bmps are not meant to be put online or viewed on a monitor. The only way to compress images to a gorgeous-yet-manageable quality (probably .jpg for screencaps) is to do so thru Photoshop. Hate to say it, but it's just about the only image program out there that really WORKS. If you don't want to download a pirated version, you can always buy an educational version, it's cheaper. But good gawd, I don't know how anyone gets by without it. ToT

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Argh argh argh argh argh. You have no idea how much it irritates me to have a perfectly functional and free program that no one respects, and then to find that, bloody hell, there's one damned thing that I really need it to do that it won't frigging do. I can't even open the damned bmps in GIMP - the only thing I've got that'll open them is frigging Paint, and resaving them as jpgs there is probably what's making the quality so hideous. Or a big part of it, anyway.

I absolutely hate this whole "there's only one program that'll work" thing, in anything. *Headdesk* Thanks for the advice, though - I'll have to think about this for a while to figure out what I'm doing.

[sjen.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah... no wonder your .bmps look awful... Paint makes everything look bad. *remembers fondling the early 90s when that's all she had* ^.^

Okay okay, I will admit that Photoshop's the only program I'VE used that compresses files so efficiently (but I've used a lot of art progs in my time, so I've seen a fair selection). It was MADE for print-quality output, afterall. There may be freeware programs out there that do it too. GIMP is an image creating software--that's too broad of a type of program to be thoroughly spectacular since it's a free program... So how about you try looking around specifically for image compressing software? If it's a specialty program, it may be better at doing it. Downloads.com is usually the best place to get virus-free freeware. ^^

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured. Paint = insanely icky.

I didn't mean that directed specifically at you or your comment, I just get frustrated with the whole idea. Photoshop is fabulous, I'm sure, but to my mind it's the whole Windows vs. Mac debate, or any other variation on the theme, where people get way too worked up over "this thing is the best and everything else is crap." I can totally understand Photoshop for artists, but since I just do graphics and art as an infrequent hobby, I just can't justify it. to myself.

That's a good thought about the compression software. I'll take a look, thanks! (Failing that, I might just email the ones I really want to work with to Terra, and beg her to compress them and send them back to me!)

[hoperomantic.livejournal.com]

The Lurkers' Guide to Babylon 5 used to have references and some screen caps I believe and may still do.

http://www.ntua.gr/lurk/

Also, there's babylon5 of course. I thought that I had seen some on there. At the very least, they may be able to better direct you. Good luck!

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Ack NOOOO!

You never ever ever ever ever send someone to Lurkers before they finish the series! There be SPOILERS BY THE BUTTLOAD there :(

The community isn't much better really.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

*Head tilt* I've been getting by okay just going episode by episode at the Lurkers... or maybe I've just been lucky?

The community, however, is a total nightmare for spoilers. I took one look at it and decided it wasn't worth the risk.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Ah, I should add - I've only been hanging out in the episode guides, reading them in the same batches I watch in. Helps to cement things, since I'm forced to go through them so fast.

[hoperomantic.livejournal.com]

*facepalm* OMG you're so right. *facepalm*

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

So apparently I should be glad that I haven't been there looking for caps, I guess? *g*

[hoperomantic.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. Yeah, it's been a while since I've been to Lurker's but I'm sure that it is filled with spoilers. I seem to remember it that way at least now.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

No worries at all! My own screencaps still kind of suck, but now that I can at least make them I don't feel quite so helpless. *g*

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

There are enormous amount of Bab 5 icons out there, but you can't really look for them until you finish the series. I had to wait, and now you have to also bwahahaha!

But here are some spoiler free and reasonably cool icons I came across:

http://camelwithbrush.livejournal.com/4487.html

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

...Even so much as a week ago I would have looked at your icon and thought "who's he? huh... amusing."

Now I'm going "gah, uck, no, not Cartagia!!!"

Yup. Getting through the series is fun.

(And thanks, I'll take a look at the icons. I want to make my own, though, darn it!!!)

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Cartagia: He's crazy, and he runs the WHOLE DAMN PLANET!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

And then... Vir. *Joy* Poor Vir. But yay.

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Vir is in my top 3 favorite Characters (after G'kar and Delenn). He's a good person, and strong in his hangdog kind of way. :)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I do very much like the Vir-puppy. Ivanova, G'Kar, Delenn, Marcus, Lennier... I have a hard time picking favorites. ;)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

Hi girl

I used to use the Microsoft Picture It version 9 then upgraded to version 10. But the version 9 was great too, really not much difference.

It is fantastic - it fixes color and exposure and crops and straightens and when you save the pic you can save it to any format - including gip and jpg. And, of course, I never throw anything away - send me your address privately at ptalleyrn@gmail.com and I will mail it to you. It really does work beautifully. You can even fix your own digital photos through it.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Heya! Thanks so much for the offer, but I actually figured out how to do it on my regular graphics program. Turns out it wasn't GIMP not liking the format, it was Windows... doing something weird. It wouldn't let me "see" GIMP as a possibility for the pictures, but when I went through the program itself, it went just fine. Weird, but who am I to complain? *g*