I’m just using printscreen… for some reason the method you said makes it 1920 x 1090
 
It looks perfectly fine with printscreen… as long as I turn my resolution from 3840 x 2160 to 1920 x 1080 first :P
 

 
Also cut file size from 1.59mb (default compression level of optipng, which is what site uses on all PNG images uploaded) to 1.35mb just by using stronger lossless compression… and it only took about 5 minutes to compress the image
 
I used truepng, which is slightly better than optipng… but also takes a lot longer

“Post processing attempts to increase the quality of a decoded stream. In VLC media player, it will reduce blockiness for low-bitrate video streams, at the expense of smoothing out some detail.”
 
Yup… straight from the VLC page

BTW
 
I recommend turning post-processing to highest… it really helps reduce the jpeg look
 
Althoooough… it could be applying deblock and stuff to the image which can kind of blur the lines and reduce fine detail…
 

 
Overall I think it looks better though

@fapx3  
Blu-ray is high enough quality that it’s practically lossless… but unfortunately there’s only the compressed iTunes version…

@fapx3  
To be fair I zoomed in a bunch which is why it looks so jpeged
 
But if I’m like trying to vector something and I want accurate colors it’s kind of an issue
 
 
Also it’s iTunes fault that the 1080p is more compressed than the 720p version…
 
 
This is it not zoomed in

@Rainboom Dash  
I should also mention that when I say the raw iTunes version is the highest quality version available (to my knowledge, assuming a Blu-Ray version doesn’t exist), that doesn’t mean it’s not without compression artifacts. It just has the least amount of post-processing and compression artifacts. I mean, just look at the image above. As a screencap from a lossy video file, there are clearly compression artifacts, but since it’s output directly from VLC into a PNG file, I haven’t introduced MORE compression artifacts by saving it as a JPEG or GIF.
 
There is no way to get a completely lossless screencap, because you don’t have access to the raw, unprocessed Flash vectors used to make the show. And once the show is compiled for broadcast, it has been post-processed and compressed already. So, again, the point is to work in a way that introduces minimal post-processing and minimal compression artifacts.

@Rainboom Dash  
I don’t know what source file you’re working with, but in general, the best practice I’ve found is to use VLC’s “snapshot” feature. That outputs a PNG image directly from VLC into a folder, which is not only going to produce the best quality image at the resolution of your video, but is also simpler than the way you’re describing of having to change your monitor’s resolution, etc.
 
Like I mentioned before, I had a weird issue with my VLC outputting the wrong resolution (1920x1090 instead of 1920x1080), but resetting the program fixed the issue. Try completely uninstalling, resetting all settings back to default, and installing the latest stable version again.
 
The show’s native resolution is 1080p. That’s the “true” version that the animators worked so hard to produce. If I was making art from screencaps, I wouldn’t want to work with a video in a lower quality than that. If you check YayPonies, they have several versions of the show with different kinds of color correction and other alterations. Unless there is a Blu-Ray version, the raw iTunes version is the highest quality version available, and most “true” to what the animators have created.

This is the jpeg I’m talking about
 

 
It mostly affects like if I want to vector the image… because the colors aren’t right
 
Actually.. the 720p is probably less jpeged… because it’s only like 20% less file size for half the resolution… should be at least around 35-40% less… I understand double the resolution doesn’t mean double the data (since the encoder can estimate the motion more efficiently when there’s more pixels) but… should be somewhat close…
 
So 1080p is more compressed than 720p
 
 
And I said “take snapshot” I assume that’s what you ment
 
Actually I don’t think I quite did it right.. it says it’s 1920 x 1088

@fapx3  
Well, duh…. I change the resolution of my computer to the resolution of the source when I take the screenshot…
 
 
Why would I want a 4k screenshot when the source is 1080p… lulz
 
 
Hmm.. I guess you’re right… but the difference is probably negligible…. as long as you disable the hardware YUV>RGB conversions if you have hardware acceleration on… I made that mistake one time and uploaded the image to Derpibooru and then realized that the colors were faded… heh
 
 
Blu-rays are amazing… perhaps a little excessive…. but if you’re putting it on a disk then might as well have it be super high quality
 
 
The lossless audio might be a little overkill… but it’s better than 192kbps 5.1 channel audio which sounds like crap
 
 
Seriously though… um…
 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwSqPTVShvBlQ0dGZm1yYWd4VEk?usp=sharing
 
Yeah.. 64 sounds like shit, 96 doesn’t sound very good but is listenable, 128 sounds decent and is very listenable but still sounds a little distorted…. 160 is pretty dang good… but I can still tell a difference…. 192 sounds a liiiiiittle better…. 256 sounds a LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTLE better than 192…. and there’s absolutely no audible difference whatsoever between 256kbps in an efficient format and lossless… unless you have REAAAAAALLY good speakers and ears
 
I have really nice planar magnetic headphones and I can’t even tell the difference between 256 and lossless… I can’t even SEE a difference… and seeing a difference is a lot easier than hearing
 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwSqPTVShvBleF9PZURNNmNZZVU?usp=sharing
 
But… as I said… if you’re putting it on a disk then might as well do lossless… I guess

@Rainboom Dash  
You’re right that the source file is lossy. I meant that PNG as a format is a lossless format, unlike JPEG.
 
There is a big difference between making frame captures through a program and making screenshots from your computer’s operating system. When you capture a frame through a program like VLC in a lossless format like PNG, you’re capturing the frame as output by the software, in the video file’s native resolution. When you simply hit “print screen” or the equivalent, you are capturing what’s being displayed by your operating system. That means the resolution is different, and there could be other video artifacts (like the JPEG artifacts you’re describing) that come from the operating system.
 
When it comes to working with digital videos/images/music, it’s best to start with the highest quality source available (the iTunes raw is the highest quality source available short of the Blu-Ray) and then put the files through as little compression/transcoding as possible. When you’re capturing the frame through your software with no additional filtering or processing instead of using your operating system to “print screen” a picture of your display, you’re getting the cleanest output. That’s why these screencaps look noticeably cleaner than the screencaps made of video streams on episode day that have logos all over them and stuff.
 
All of which is to say: You can do it, too! I am not the only one who can do these and I welcome you to try it, too. But I think you need to use the highest possible source and the direct screencap technique from VLC, in lossless PNG.

@fapx3  
Um
 
The source file is lossy to begin with… so it’s not lossless
 
Maybe the screenshot itself is lossless… but not the content
 
I didn’t mean motion blurring…. I ment jpeg
 
Like it’ll look pixelated… it’ll start making the colors less accurate and make it look pixelated to reduce data
 
 
Wait… you take screenshots through the program? Heh.. I just press print screen and paste it in a program and then save it as PNG there
 
I guess both ways work

@Rainboom Dash  
I am using VLC to take PNG screencaps, which are lossless. I haven’t had any problem with motion blurring. In fact, one of the great things about the Flash animation style the show uses is that when you pause the video at any given moment, the screencaps look crystal clear (unless the animators have intentionally put in motion blur for artistic effect, like the intro where Rainbow Dash flies into Ponyville). One of the reasons I started doing these screencaps (and obviously, I’m not the only one) is because the still frames look so clear that you can capture a lot of funny frames with “bedroom eyes” and scrunch faces and stuff like that.
 
I highly recommend VLC, although somehow, it started producing screencaps that were 1090 pixels high. I don’t know why, but after resetting my settings, it went back to normal.

@fapx3  
Oh
 
Thought that said 1080 x 1080… heh…
 
iTunes is good… but if there’s any motion at all when you pause it to take the screenshot then it’s jpeged…
 
But… it’s the highest quality available… may not be the best… but still pretty good
 
I think 720p is less jpeged than 1080p but it’s lower res…

@Rainboom Dash  
Thanks for your observation. If you look at the duplicate report under the “Reporting” tab, you’ll see that I’ve replaced my previous version, which was in 1920x1090, with a new screencap in the correct resolution. I use the iTunes version to make lossless PNG screencaps, giving you the highest quality version available. It takes time and effort to get it right, but I think it’s worth it.

@fapx3  
Um… both were 1920 x 1080
 
Unless you mean you were screencapping the 720p version at 1080p res

@Hclegend  
Well, I’m glad you asked. I discovered that all of the screenshots I uploaded in Season 7 had been the wrong resolution (1920x1090), so I am slowly going back through and redoing them the right way. Thanks for your comment.

Apparently people really like reuploading screenshots.

Somepony needs an adult. Please, call an adult!

Stupid mean auntie Twilight >:(

COME OUT! COME OUT! YOUNG FILLY.

leave her alone twilight

Flurry Heart needs an adult.

This is both cute and creepy, thank you Twilight.