At this time, this document is for historical purposes only. Most frame capturing done on this site is now done with PowerDVD and is done completely in software. Only when we encounter an occasional video tape or Laserdisc are these methods used. If you are capturing from DVD, the software capture method is both easier and results in a higher quality image.
First I would like to mention that several people have commented on how they would like to upload images to the site. Since the site runs on a dedicated server and also runs FTP this is fairly easy. If you would like to upload use the Microsoft FTP client like this:
You may wish to try WS_FTP instead of Microsoft FTP for this as it is easier to use.
When I started this site I received several email messages that commended the resolution of the images in the library. I responded to these messages that I was using a Play, Inc. Snappy Video Snapshot device in order to do all of the captures and that the quality of the captures was almost completely attributable to this little technological wonder. In fact, I find it surprising that captures on other sites are not at least as good as mine as the Snappy is widely available and cheap by any reasonable standard. In the past six months I have noticed that I am still getting the best resolution of the few sites on the Internet that do video captures of armed women. Because of this fact I have decided to put together this short tutorial to evangelize the greatness of this little device and try to create some unsolicited sales for it. In addition I have an ulterior motive. There are many movies that I do not have access to because of limitations of time and geography. I have seen still captures on other sites for films that are simply not available in America and not available in the NTSC format. If anyone would like to contribute to this site then read this article, shell out the fifty bucks it takes to get a Snappy, and send me some 800x600 resolution (only, please) stills of movies that are not available on this site.
The company that created the Snappy has gone under. This is not a reflection at all of the quality of the Snappy, they simply over expanded. They sold millions of these things and they are still widely available used and new. There is no better current-production still capture out there and the Snappy is still the gold standard, its low price notwithstanding. The Snappy was produced in four versions from 1.0 to 4.0. I use the Snappy 3.0 and have no problems with it. My understanding is that the only real difference between versions is the included software. The device is really a wrapper for a custom integrated circuit and the same circuit was used for all versions. The Snappy 3.0 can be purchased used on eBay for less than fifty dollars. I have seen new version 3.0 and 4.0 Snappys going for fifty to one hundred dollars on eBay.
Microsoft knows nothing about plug-and-play compared to Play, Inc. Hardware setup of the Snappy is simplicity itself, really! Plug it into the parallel port, install the software, run an RCA video cable from your VCR, DVD, or AV receiver to the Snappy, and you are done. The Snappy tunes directly to what is on the RCA cable. This must be an RCA cable and not a coax cable. Hopefully you have an RCA-out on your VCR. Most recent VCRs and all DVD and AV receivers have an RCA-out so this is probably a non-issue.
For long-term usage of the Snappy there are things that you can do to improve convenience. One of the first things you can do is to spend an extra ten bucks to get a parallel switch box. This will relieve you from unplugging your printer from the computer and plugging in the Snappy every time you want to use it. These are great and cheap. Get a manual one. Automatic switches are for two computers sharing one printer, not the other way around. There is a link in the equipment section to one that costs less than ten bucks. You will also need an extra parallel cable. Another nice accessory is a 9v battery eliminator. This allows you to plug the Snappy into the household current and avoid going through 9v batteries. This thing pays for itself in only three batteries and it protects the environment. The Snappy uses batteries up very quickly. I also suggest a quality RCA video cable (I use a 6' Monster Cable) to go between your video equipment and the Snappy. The return video cable from the Snappy to the television (monitor) can be any quality, it won't affect capture performance. If you want to have a truly swank capture station then get a dedicated monitor and an AV receiver with a auxiliary out so you won't effect your home theatre for normal operations. I use a nice 20" Sony television for this but you do not need to go this far.
Setting up the Snappy hardware is pretty obvious. The software is a little more complex as it relies on the user to make judgment decisions on how to capture the scene. These choices are made more complex as there are better ways to capture moving video such as VHS and televisions as compared to DVD, Laserdisc, and VCD that can be effectively paused.
The preview screen is almost worthless except when using a live video camera. I never use it.
This is the Snappy screen you will spend the most time in. For my taste I almost always start out with an adjustment of +10 for 'Color' and +20 for 'Brightness' if the scene is indoors or +10 for 'Brightness' if the scene is outdoors. If the color in a person looks washed out I sometimes adjust 'Red' +1 to +3, this helps with skin tone. As the scenes change I change the settings to my taste. The other function that I use all the time is the 'Crop' function for widescreen. I always use 800x600 true color mode. I can't see what the high definition button does except waste time. I don't use it. After making changes to settings you must click 'Process' to apply them to the current image. For subsequent images you don't need to do so.
The setup screen is usually only used once per time you are switching from tape/TV to DVD/Laserdisc or back. I use high-quality still for DVD and Laserdisc. Some DVDs have Macrovision protection that screws this up however, in that case use 'Moving Scene'. In my experience it is always better to use 'Moving Scene' on tape than stills, even if the tape appears to hold a good pause. My other default settings are shown on the image above. Once you get this set up it is a good idea to save the settings using the 'Save Settings' function.
After getting and adjusting your image click 'Save' to save it off. I use a very simple naming convention as it allows a program that I have written to regenerate the site. You can use any you like, but if you take me up on submitting still captures then using this naming convention would be great. Spaces and non-alphanumeric characters are sometimes bad for file names so I have decided to use the name of the movie with all non- alphanumeric characters removed followed by _## where ## in the number in the sequence of captures from 00 to 99. Replace spaces in the movie name with the underscore (_) character. The extension of the file is .JPG where JPG is always in upper case. So, if there was a movie named "Janie's Got A Gun" with 13 images the names of the images would range from Janies_Got_A_Gun_01.JPG to Janies_Got_A_Gun_13.JPG.
I do not use the other functions, 'Print', 'E-Mail', and 'Help'. For 'Print' And 'E-Mail' other programs work better in any case.
Usually you don't have a choice of media source but when you do knowing the aspect ratios of your choice is a good thing. Generally DVD is better than Laserdisc is better than SP VHS is better than EP VHS or Video CD. But this can change with the available aspect rations on the media. Full-frame DVD blows away full-frame VHS, however most of the time a full-frame VHS tape (in good condition) is better than a narrow (1:2.35) letter-box DVD. Sometimes a full-frame VHS tape (in good condition) is better than a standard (1:1.85) letter-box DVD. But your mileage will vary. This is my opinion of how to select media, when possible:
Within categories, the media type to the top is the better choice.
| Usually Excellent | Good to Very Good | Acceptable to Good |
|---|---|---|
|
Full-Frame DVD 1:1.85 DVD |
Digital Cable Television Full-Frame Laserdisc Full-Frame SP VHS (like-new condition) |
Over-Air Television 1:2.35 DVD Full-Frame SP VHS (rental condition) 1:1.85 Laserdisc 1:1.85 SP VHS (like-new condition) |
| Usually Not Very Good, Sometimes Acceptable | Poor, Not Acceptable |
|---|---|
|
1:2.35 Laserdisc 1:1.85 SP VHS (rental condition) 1:2.35 SP VHS (like-new condition) Full-Frame EP VHS (like-new condition) Full-Frame Video CD |
1:2.35 SP VHS (rental condition) Full-Frame EP VHS (rental condition) 1:1.85 EP VHS 1:2.35 EP VHS 1:1.85 Video CD 1:2.35 Video CD |
Snappy is available in PAL but not in SECAM. I am told that the PAL version is slightly more expensive than the NTSC version but no sales of the PAL version are done in the United States so I am not sure of the pricing. The Play, Inc. website has a reference to Australian and British PAL version sales on this page.
Convenient switchboxes.
Environment-friendly battery eliminators.
The Snappy.
Convenient switchboxes.
Updated 11/25/2006 by Sysop