Whatever the reason, ImageGrab is way more comfortable than the manual way of pressing PrintScreen on the keyboard, and processing the image in an image editor.

ImageGrab requires that Haali Media Splitter, or ffdshow are installed on the system before the program can be used. The software reminds the user after installation if that is not the case.

Videos are then loaded by drag and drop, or by using the file menu. The beta version had a few problems with that, as it was sometimes possible to load videos without problems, only to find out that the same videos could not be loaded at a later time with the two codecs not installed. This problem should go away if the codecs are installed.

Videos that have been loaded can be played, and the usual playback controls are offered. It is furthermore possible to jump right to a specific position in the video.

imagegrab

Images can be grabbed by left-clicking on the video or pressing F12. A smaller thumbnail of the image appears and the image gets saved on the local system. Ctrl-C will copy the snapshot to the clipboard instead, from where it can be processed further.

ImageGrab definitely has its uses, the beta version however is not completely stable yet, and most of the interface is in French, which makes it harder for users who do not speak French.

The program offers a few features that applications like VLC do not offer. This features include taking automated screenshots, and extensive command line options to grab images without user interface.

It is up to the user to decided if its worth the troubles of installing another application.

ImageGrab is available for download at the developer’s website. Both the stable version 4, and the beta of version 5 are offered. We suggest to stick with the stable version for now, until the beta quirks are sorted out.

Users who need several thumbnail images instead can take a look at Auto Movie Thumbnailer, Thumber or Image Grabber.

The program, as the name suggests, requires the Microsoft .net Framework. The only other dependencies are an installed copy of Microsoft’s Windows Media Player and codecs for the videos that the screenshots should be created of.

Some users might feel reminded of the program Imagegrabber II which provides a similar interface and functionality. Scenegrabber.Net offers 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 support, something that the latest version of Imagegrabber II does not.

A video can be loaded from the file browser or by dragging and dropping it into the program’s interface. It will start playing automatically and the controls on top make it possible to select specific scenes for the screenshots. It is also possible to let the program make the selection of the scenes by pressing the corresponding button.

A total of 30 screenshots will be created by default, a number that can be changed in the header as well. The created screenshots are displayed in the lower half of the program. Here it is possible to delete single scenes, preview the output and to configure the layout options.

Layout options include the information that are displayed on top of the scene compilation as well as color and font settings, jpg quality and the height and width of the individual shots.

Another interesting option of Scenegrabber.NET is the batch file mode which can be used to create screenshots of multiple videos without having to load each of them individually into the program.

Scenegrabber.NET is available for download at the developer’s website.

Image Grabber can read most image formats including Apple Quicktime .mov, avi, mpeg, wmv and dat. The movie is then played like any other movie and the user has the option to create screenshots by pressing a button or to automatically grab a certain amount of frames from the movie.

The automated approach is definitely the faster one while the manual approach makes up for that with a better selection of images. Screenshots are placed in a timeline at the bottom of the movie and it is possible to remove some or all of them again. If the result is satisfactory it can be saved to the hard drive.

The dimensions of each thumbnail and other settings can be defined before saving the image. Additional details can be added to the image. Some variables or custom text can be added to the screenshot as well.

The authors homepage is regularly running out of bandwidth. If Imagegrabber II is not working for you look for Imagegrabber II .net which is also available on the authors homepage.