How to take a screenshot
Why not Print Screen?
When using hardware acceleration, Print Screen will be unable to capture the overlayed image. This is due to the image being stored in a different area of memory to the main display, and will manifest itself as an area of colour (typically nearly black) where the image appears.
Workarounds
Disabling hardware acceleration
As a workaround, you can disable hardware acceleration. This is done from Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Troubleshooting.
Lazy disabling
Only one program can use video overlays at once. Thus, you can load two copies of your media player (or two different programs that both try to use overlays), and one of them will display without hardware acceleration.
Taking a screenshot in specific software
- VirtualDub
- Video > Copy source/output frame to clipboard
- BSplayer
- P: Original size
- Shift+P: 'What you see'
- Media Player Classic
- F5
- Windows Media Player
- Ctrl+I
- Zoomplayer
- Alt+F
- NMC player
- Enter
How to upload the picture
If you've been asked to upload a screenshot by a mod, use a free image hosting site - not only is this easier than using your own hosting/transfer method, but also means that the picture will probably stick around for long enough to be there if it needs to be referred back to again. If it's a screenshot to illustrate an anime entry, see the guidelines for anime images.
Other issues
Quality/Exactness
Relative quality of different types of frames, differences in output of different renderers, etc.
Seeking precision
Problems with some splitters, frame-by-frame stepping.