SCREEN GRAB

Almost every keyboard is fitted with a button which instantly captures screen activity into a picture which is sent to clipboard for you to paste in an editor or document. However, it’s also possible to use specialized applications like SCREEN GRAB to record motion, either in a visible, or stealthy mode.

There are several things you need to check before the application can properly run on your computer. Because of the development tools used in the building process, it completely relies on .NET Framework to function. What’s more, the MSU Screen Capture Lossless Codec needs to be installed for capturing to be possible, and you need to manually grab it because the installer doesn’t come with it.

The configuration window shows up on launch so you can set up general behavior options first. You can choose between a regular and stealthy operation. Whereas the normal mode makes everything visible, the stealthy mode runs as a service and records in the background, saving to a custom location. Note that even regular users can disable the service from the Task Manager.

The result is always an AVI file, with no option to simply capture and save pictures. Related to output, options let you specify the number of frames to capture per second, as well as frame rate, but with options for one and two. A save location also needs to be specified with the browse dialog.

Before recording can start, trigger keys need to be configured. You’re stuck with the Ctrl and Alt combination, with an additional slot to fill in with keys from 0 to 9. Hotkeys need to be specified for start, stop, and pause. Note that leaving the application running as a service with continuous recording can create a pretty large file in the end for lengthy sessions.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that SCREEN GRAB comes with good intentions, but feels a little rough around the edges overall. Several requirements need to be met first, which is rather frustrating for the result you get in return.