How to take a screenshot on a console?

[hokman]

I have a strange habit of pressing print screen when i'm using the computer and see something interesting (either nice graphics, or a nice drift around a bend, or some computer virus). After using dreamcast's vga box for a week and the incredible graphics (I won't ever go back to the tv, maybe except s-video), I want to do that too! I see people at gamespot or ign, having really high quality screenshots, how do they do that?

[Blur2040]

They probably use TV tuner/capture cards in their PC. They're pretty much a PCI card with a coaxial cable jack and either an S video, or RCA jack. You can plug in your cable TV, or a console, and view it on your PC screen. From there, you can make videos and take screen grabs.

[Yakumo]

Do you mean like these type of quality pics?
http://www.gamingpics.servehttp.com/dreamcast-ora3.jpghttp://www.gamingpics.servehttp.com/dreamcast-2.jpg

I made them by connecting my Dreamcast to my PC's MPEG2 Video Encoder card Via S-Video. The original pictures are much bigger than these shown. I made these smaller to save on bandwidth. This is probably the same way magazines and other sites like IGN get their screen shots.

Yakumo

[wombat]

and the best way to make screenshots is by using an devloppers kit. although I do know that you can take high-resolution screendumps with it when you've got the dreamcast devloppers unit.

[LeGIt]

I use a tool in the dreamcast sdk with my dev box hooke dup to the pc ;) Only Downside is everytimeyou take a pic it freezes the screen so you have to softreset the dev box and get back to wherever to take the next pic.

[AntiPasta]

Yeah I use my TV capture card as well. Pics dont look terribly great though, perhaps using something like Dscaler would improve the quality but i cant be arsed :P

Its funny to look at very old game magazines with their shitty screenshots, obviously there was no cheap & good way to do screenshots back then so some just look like they've been made by pointing a camera at the screen :smt043

[GaijinPunch]

I use a capture card. It takes S-video, so the quality isn't too bad. 640x480 looks okay, although it's actually some queer number -- 572xsomething.

[madhatter256]

I have an ATI All In Wonder 9600 Pro Radeon. I'm able to hook up just about every console. It can't however, do component video. It's a gread video card. I used it to record some of my Gran Turismo 2 runs as well as some Zelda adventures I undertook.

[AntiPasta]

as far as I know there are no (or maybe an obscure few) video capture cards that have video inputs other than RF, Composite or S-video.
Pretty stupid, for the Euro market they could've left out the composite & s-video bits and just slap on a SCART connector that also takes RGB :snipe:

[Calpis]

There are some RGB capture cards for the Euro market, they're SO expensive though.

[hokman]

Ok, i guess I can't do it. What's the print screen key doing on the dc keyboard??

[LeGIt]

the ninja library has the ability to take a screen dump with a command and save as a bmp - but probbaly as a bmp would be too big for a vmu i guess it was never used.