capture posts

Filed under: Audio, Software, Video, Odds and ends

Capture Skype video calls with SkypeCap for Mac 3.0

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Jul 22nd, 2009

Earlier in the week TUAW reported on the release of Skype 2.8, which allows screen sharing and now provides better video calls as well. There are many different ways of capturing Skype audio & video -- we use eCamm's CallRecorder to record the TUAW Talkcast every week, for example -- but there are other ways to tackle video recording. I use my favorite screen capture application, Snapz Pro X from Ambrosia Software, to nab Skype videos now, but I find that if I bring up other screens while I'm capturing, I end up ruining the video.

The recently released SkypeCap for Mac 3.0 is able to capture both audio and video chats from Skype, and since it taps into the Skype video stream you can open other windows on your Mac without capturing them as well. The application also converts the captured video into a number of formats, including MP4, .swf, and .flv.

If you're in the market for a Skype audio/video recorder, you may want to look at SkypeCap. However, the price tag (US$49.95) of the application is a bit out of line for what it does. CallRecorder also captures Skype video at a third of the price (US$14.95), and has a good reputation as a solid program.

Do you capture Skype video calls? If so, what's your favorite Mac application for grabbing them? Leave a comment below.

Update: Looks like we jumped the gun on this one. Version 2.1 is the only version available for purchase and download at this time.

[via MacTech News]

Tags: audio, capture, skype, software, video

Filed under: Terminal Tips

Terminal Tips: Change your current screenshot format

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Sep 11th, 2008

Do you like using the built-in Mac OS X screenshot utility but dislike the format of the output file? With this simple Terminal hack, you can easily change the file format of the image. Open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities) and type the following command:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg

You can replace "jpg" with your desired file format (example: tiff, pdf, png, etc.). If you wish to change it back to defaults, Mac OS X originally grabs screens in png format. To activate the changes, just logout of your account and then log back in.

Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.

Tags: capture, Mac, screen, terminal, tips

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Internet Tools, Beta Beat

Skitch opens doors with invite-only public beta, begins sending out copies

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jun 14th, 2007

We may have been playing with Skitch and teasing you with screenshot galleries since the app's debut at Macworld '07, but today is the day that some of you can finally start teasing someone else for a change. That's right: the plasq crew have officially opened the flood gates and have begun sending out Skitch beta copies to users who signed up (you can now sign up at the official Skitch site). Not everyone will receive their copy right away, mind you: by 'invite-only public beta,' I mean that copies will more or less be sent out at a moderate but steady pace and only to those who sign up, as plasq wants to make sure they can maintain control over testing (after all: it is still a beta) and ensure their slick MySkitch photo sharing service can handle the load.

That said, if you get a copy, start testing away! It's a beta, so it'll act funny and it just might eat the family cat. Just remember: Skitch will be a commercial app when released as a 1.0 (though no official word on price yet), and the plasq crew is still kicking around whether they need to split some services or features off into a Pro version, so send in that feedback.

Tags: capture, flickr, image, images, myskitch, photo, photos, pictures, plasq, screenshots, sharing, skitch

Filed under: Hardware, Video, Features, iTunes, Reviews

TUAW Review: HDTV with the EyeTV Hybrid

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Mar 20th, 2007

While we eagerly await the living room convergence that the now-shipping Apple TV will bring, it's not too soon to start building up that library of HDTV media. I recently got an eyeTV Hybrid unit from Elgato (that's Spanish for "the cat," you know) and have been merrily hauling down those airborne bits of yummy video goodness. There are a few caveats to note with the eyeHybrid, but if you want to watch digital broadcast HDTV (ATSC) on your recent-vintage Mac, this is a great way to do it. Even for analog video input, it's relatively affordable at $150. There's also a suspiciously similar unit from Pinnacle, featuring the 'lite' version of the eyeTV software, announced last week for $130.

Before you consider the Hybrid, there's a basic question to be answered: how's your over-the-air TV signal? If you normally watch cable or satellite, you might not even know which standard and high-def broadcast channels are covering your house. In my locale (Brooklyn, NY) I've got pretty good OTA signal for the networks and independent channels, with the unfortunate exception of PBS. To check your location, hop over to http://antennaweb.org and give them your address for a detailed map and antenna recommendations. We'll wait...

If you can't get HD via the airwaves, cable subscribers with Firewire-equipped set-top boxes do have another DIY option for recording unencrypted HD programming (the broadcast networks, basically) -- the Apple Firewire SDK. Check out this post for a brief how-to, and this macosxhints thread for more; it's not a supported solution but it may be worth a try. There's even an all-in-one tool under development (iRecord). None of these approaches, however, will let you watch live HDTV on your Mac like the Hybrid does.

More on the EyeTV setup after the jump.

Continue reading “TUAW Review: HDTV with the EyeTV Hybrid”

Tags: appletv, capture, eyetv, features, hdtv

Filed under: Software, Internet Tools

NetFixer - capture screenshots of entire websites

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Dec 5th, 2006

NetFixer is a new webpage capturing utility from Shiny Frog software, the same crew that brought us the fantastic Delibar. In the same vein as Paparazzi and Yoink, NetFixer employs some unique features:

Very small and light app, only 240kb (Universal Binary)
Shot directly from your preferred browser with the awesome bookmarklet
Export the shots in various formats
The user can set the default size of the canvas

From my brief tinkering, NetFixer is pretty brain-dead easy to use, and it creates good looking screencaps (though I admittedly haven't had much of a reason to use any similar apps in the past). NetFixer is apparently free from Shiny Frog Software's site.

Tags: capture, delibar, netfixer, shiny frog, shiny frog software, ShinyFrog, ShinyFrogSoftware, utility, webpage

Filed under: Audio, Multimedia, Software, Video

Capture audio and anything on screen as a movie with iShowU

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on May 16th, 2006

iShowU is a versatile utility from shinywhitebox for recording video captures of your display (including any audio). Users have quite a bit of control over what exactly is recorded and how, including specifying a capture size and format, as well as 'mouse capture' and 'follow mouse' modes of recording. Check out iShowU's features page for the full rundown.

While iShowU is in its 1.x beta mode, it's free, as the dev has "no intention of releasing a half baked product that works only on Thursdays, and then, only if you are holding the mouse juuust right." Once it goes commercial, shinywhitebox is aiming for a $40-$80 price point, so why not grab a demo before they hit the big leagues?

Tags: audio, capture, display, follow, H264, iShowU, mouse, MPEG4, record, screen, video

Filed under: Hardware, Software, iMac, Internet Tools, Open Source, Macbook Pro

Gawker - record, share, combine time-lapse movies with an iSight

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on May 1st, 2006

Gawker is a really interesting open source app that takes a very simple, yet powerful, approach to capturing time-lapse videos from an iSight camera - be it your own or someone else's. As you can see in this image, Gawker can utilize smart networking abilities of Bonjour to see if any other Macs on your network are running Gawker with an iSight, or you can enable iSight access over the web. You even have control over image quality, resolution and fps.

Check out the project's examples page for some intriguing samples of what this software can do, such as sped-up footage of snow melting in Colorado and a PowerBook hard drive replacement.

After a little tinkering, I must say Gawker is darn slick and drop-dead-easy to use. But before you ask: I'm not sure if other cameras are compatible. Head over to Gawker's project page for more information.

Tags: camera, capture, Gawker, iMac, iSight, lapse, MacBook Pro, MacbookPro, sped up, SpedUp, speed, time, video, web cam, WebCam

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