Can someone explain this to me? (Photoshop question)

[BTM]

Okay, this will probably sound a bit confusing but still, I'm hoping someone can explain why this is happening. 

I have a movie file I was wanting to cap a picture from.  So, I paused the file in the right spot while it was playing on my Windows Media Player, hit "PrintScreen", loaded Photoshop, click New Picture (it automatically came up with the dimensions of my desktop) and then pasted the desktop image onto Photoshop.

Here's where it gets weird: the image of the desktop was fine, but the Photoshop image of the area INSIDE my Windows Player was messed up It had a large black frame where most of the picture should be, showing only the center of the movie.  Now here's where it gets really weird, I move around the image, and the area inside Windows media CHANGED depending on where I positioned the pasted picture.  Parts of the film would move in and out of viewing range WITHIN Photoshop.  It's like that part of capture is a window leading back to whatever I was playing on WMP instead of being a static image (which, in my opinion,  is what it should be.)

And, even more amazing, if I CLOSE Windows Media Player and look at the capture image, it shows a black, empty picture. 

I just find this whole thing really bizarre.  Can anyone explain this to me?

[akiratubo]

I sometimes have that same issue with pasting printscreen-ed images into Photoshop, as well.  Like you said, I think it makes a window that looks back at your video file instead of actually capturing an image.  Don't ask me why.

Paste you printscreen-ed image into Windows Paint and save it as a .png, then import the .png into Photoshop for manipulation.  That always works for me.

[BTM]

I sometimes have that same issue with pasting printscreen-ed images into Photoshop, as well.  Like you said, I think it makes a window that looks back at your video file instead of actually capturing an image.  Don't ask me why.

Paste you printscreen-ed image into Windows Paint and save it as a .png, then import the .png into Photoshop for manipulation.  That always works for me.

Ironic, you have to use Paint to get it to work. 

Well been asking around and someone told me that, depending on your version of WMP, Printscreen doesn't work on it.  Guess I'll just pop in the original DVD and take caps that way (if I can find the dang thing.)  Burnt the movie to my hard drive for a video I was thinking of doing, then decided to do some stills for another project.

[dean]

Not sure if its the same with media player, but I know that printscreen doesn't work with DVD player in quicktime due to copyright issues, or something along those lines.  Either try akira's suggestion or maybe another program rather than wmp.

[Rev. Powell]

I'm a little late to the discussion but try downloading VLC Media Player, BTM.  It's a great little free video player that is perfect for grabbing screenshots.  I had the same problem as you with WMP, which is why I made the switch. 

[BTM]

I'm a little late to the discussion but try downloading VLC Media Player, BTM.  It's a great little free video player that is perfect for grabbing screenshots.  I had the same problem as you with WMP, which is why I made the switch. 

Not sure, but I think I DID try it with VLC and couldn't get it to work there either.  Course, I was trying it with the file, and with playing the DVD itself.  I guess I'll just have to dig the DVD out and do it that way (there's a cap button on most of my computer DVD players that should work.)

What I was trying to figure out was less about why it wouldn't capture and more why it was doing that weird "hole in Photoshop" thing.  Where the cpature would show different parts of my desktop when I moved it around rather than what I was playing.  That was just freaking WEIRD to me.

Anyway, thanks for the tips guys, been busy of late so I haven't gone back to this project yet, but I'll get back to it soon.  (Got a lot on my "To do" list once I finally get some time off.)