Comments

RBartlett wrote on 8/2/2009, 9:08 AM
Quick answer is no.




Nothing within the product afaik. For other folks considering posting - Subtitles in DVD-Video are not closed-captions.

A means to generate subtitling (in the broadest sense) is mandatory in many countries yet while player software often has the means to decode metadata or even line-21-data into characters it continues to be the case that creating the material is a tough and often disjointed workflow.

Firstly, will Vegas pass through material that has already been encoded intact?
here is one possible set of test files, there are others on this same company's site:
http://www.cpcweb.com/blackmovie/


Then, given that this tool isn't a plug-in for Vegas, why might you worry about it from the Sony perspective at all? Many tools will take accept a rendered AVI (or MOV) and apply in-band closed-captions.

The TV stations seem to not always be hung up on taking their closed-captions in-band from tape from the submission. DVD authoring tools from SonicSolutions can accept closed-caption material (often in addition to subtitles that are generated from the DVD player rather than closed-captions that are more often generated in the TV receiver itself). These can be supplied as EDL style data in a separate file. CPC works in a similar way to encode your material in-band with the AV data. Generally you then deliver on HDD or via tape using a digital transfer that will preserve the line placement. As for format, there are sweet options to select, don't assume every format available is easy to overlay closed-captions onto as this isn't always the case.

For a DVD-Video CLOSED-CAPTIONS workflow you'll have to jump ship:
DVD Studio Pro, Adobe Encore, Sonic Solutions,
Daikin Scenarist or Spruce with additional 3rd party software such as that from CPC.

Oh, and despite the mandatory nature of providing some form of subtitling in pre-recorded and broadcast programs, don't expect a cheap and swift solution either.

More is the pity. In this Internet generation of content creation, closed-caption is to the media explosion what RS232/dial-up is to etherne/broadbandt. ie It is slow and appears simplistic but nevertheless it is overlooked.


Fredv wrote on 8/5/2009, 6:19 PM
I would think that there would be a market, (and a tool for Vegas that Sony could sell as an add on), for closed captioning. In a year or so there is going to be a need, or requirement if Congress has their way, for more CC content in broadcast.

I'm getting tired of having to produce in Vegas, then rerun the project through another program just to add 608 or 708 captioning. If someone else in the NLE market comes out with an program that does what Vegas does and has CC I may have to jump ship. :(
ChipGallo wrote on 8/6/2009, 6:38 AM
Vegas has had closed caption support for several versions. Check the manual for Vegas Pro 9, p. 118 and 256. I am the Section 508 Coordinator for a federal agency and have overseen numerous multimedia projects where captions were a requirement.

It is necessary to understand the type of distribution the program will get. Typically we use Windows Media files or Flash. My captioning vendor of choice often is www.automaticsync.com which will accept your media file and transcript and generate caption files at a cost of around $80/hour (runtime). They can also give you a DVD Architect subtitle file. For the one fee you can request any or all of the caption formats they support.

Broadcast TV line 21 captions are also supported by AutomaticSync, but I have not used that part of their service.

I will say that the Sony Vegas method described in the reference above is painful and slow, at least compared to other techniques I have used. If you are dealing with lots of material, I recommend getting to your distribution format and uploading to this vendor. You can even use a lower quality file to keep the size small, then put the resulting caption file into the full rez end product.
Former user wrote on 8/6/2009, 6:58 AM
ChipGallo,

That method only supports Windows Media File output. For closed captioning on an MPEG, it needs to be either done by the DVD Authoring program, or a MUXING program such as Pixel Tools.

Dave T2
Fredv wrote on 8/6/2009, 5:52 PM
What I would like to see is something like the Text Media tool in Vegas, where you can drop (cut & paste from text) words into a timeline. Think of how "Credits" work.

One you have your video complete, you then enter the text into the Caption Media, and when rendering it encodes into the video.

I realize that I'm in the minority here because the bulk of my work is commercials and programs for broadcast television. But I also realize that I'm going to be left behind when captioning is mandated on more and more material, and other people can do it. A lot of times I don't have the budget or time to allow someone else to caption for me.

I really believe Sony is missing an important tool for those of us in broadcasting.
ChipGallo wrote on 8/7/2009, 6:12 AM
This and your similar posting last year around this time are enhancement requests to Sony, which I imagine are placed on a list to be prioritized. Full captioning and subtitling support are non-trivial tasks, in part due to the multiple file formats and output types. You are asking for broadcast (line 21). Others would want WMV, Flash, Quicktime, etc. There is ample support outside of Vegas through service providers (CaptionMax, CPC, AutomaticSync, Caption Colorado) and low-to-no-cost software utilities. Turnkey line 21 is more expensive, but broadcasters expect high(er) quality, durability, life cycle support.

I have been using Vegas since 2002, maybe 50 projects, for web and DVD. I captioned exactly one of those projects in DVD Architect and none in Vegas. The government stuff was done with 3rd party support. I am able to turn a one or two hour show around in two business days including transcript development and for less than $350. There is time in there for proofreading of the captions too. Admittedly it would add a day or so for making dubs, which we get to skip because we use electronic delivery, but I don't see a need to add a caption module to Vegas as it isn't their forte and can easily be done with available tools or services. Better they should focus on making the core product more stable, faster, and so on.
kkolbo wrote on 8/7/2009, 8:43 AM
Well I hate to say it, but this is one place that Final Cut Studio has the edge. It handles 608 and 708 captioning insertion from SCC files as well as Quicktime caption channel files.
Fredv wrote on 8/30/2009, 7:30 AM
As you point out, Chip, I have been saying this for years ever since Congress/FCC has placed rulings on the percentages of captioning on broadcast material. This not only applies to commercials, but also PSAs, promos, as well as feature news productions and entertainment shows. I realize that most of the participants in the forum don't see captioning as relevant, but in broadcasting it is very important.

Perhaps Kkolbo points out the solution to the problem. ((deep sigh)) Thanks, Sony.
JJKizak wrote on 8/30/2009, 8:54 AM
One of my ideas was to use Dragon Speaking as a pluggin after you are fully edited to apply the language text to a separate caption track. (Not audio/video) Then go through and edit the mistakes which is easier than typing up the whole track. The track would have positional controls to place in upper/lower areas with the full shot of media controls. Then rendering would go to DVD-A with DVD-A doing the rest with a caption track which could be activated by the observer of the video.
Dragon Speaking does make a lot of mistakes but it sure is easier to correct them than to figure out how to sync them in the first place.
JJK
Fredv wrote on 9/1/2009, 5:55 PM
That would certainly be an option. That would be real easy in some respects. The only other thing you need, (besides editing) is a tool to place italicize text on for singing, the music note image, and comments.

I would just be happy to cut 'n paste text into a box like Text Media just to get it integrated with projects so I can stay with Vegas. But I'm afraid our shop is going to have to bail out on Sony.

One of the other stations in our chain, who is in a major market, uses something like Dragon that allows for the voice to be captured either off the mic or line feed and coded into the Mpeg stream during acquisition in the field.

They use it for projects with news and feature productions where talent doesn't use scripts. As I understand their system, the guys in post have to massage the text at times so it comes out right, but it's about 98% good most of the time. I don't know who makes it, but I do know it runs on the Mac platform. It's also megabucks. :)
ChipGallo wrote on 9/2/2009, 9:30 AM
We have a Mac around here somewhere ... if you come up with the product name, that could be useful.