Can Vegas do Mpeg CC?

[Albert Rodgers]

Hey guys,
I have a client who wants to know if I can add closed caption to a dvd. I have extremely limited knowlege when it comes to CC. I read in another post about using mpeg cc for this. Does this require special software and if so can it be incorporated into Vegas? Can someone also tell me a little more about mpeg cc? How long has this format been around? Any info. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Al

[Rob Lohman]

I found information on CC's in the official DVD FAQ, see this page.

I'm inclined to say that only the high end authoring application
will support this feature set. I haven't heard much about this,
at all.

[Edward Troxel]

No. Vegas will only do CC on WMV files. True CC for television is not currently possible in Vegas.

[Albert Rodgers]

So Edward or anyone else who may know,

How do you use a WMV file to create CC in Vegas? Is this something done in VV or DVDA?

BTW, can DVDA create subtitles that can serve the same purpose as true CC? And can these subtitles be turned on and off by the end user? I know, so many questions. Well, there is so much to learn. Thanks.

[Edward Troxel]

You cannot get closed captions or subtitles in DVDA.

You can ONLY get closed captions when rendering to a WMV file which is generally used for net access.

Anything you would play on a normal TV cannot be captioned in vegas using the standard closed caption technology.

You COULD manually create captions, that would show all the time, by simply creating titles as appropriate.

[David Mintzer]

Edward, have you heard about the new product from cinepak???

[Edward Troxel]

No I have not. Got a link and description?

[Jason Casey]

In order to put CC on a DVD you need to do it in the authoring stage. Most of the higher end programs will allow you to do this but programs like DVD-A, DVDIt will not allow you to do it. And just becasue the programs allow you to do it you can't simply type up a captioning script in notepad and import it and have it work. You need another program to create the closed captioning script such as Caption Maker in order to first caption the video and second export the file into a compatable file format for your specific authoring application. The Caption Maker software that we use also allow you to export your caption file as a subtitle file for various authoring programs as well. Basically if you don't have access to Caption Maker and an authoring program like Scenerist, Fusion, Maestro or DVD Studio Pro you won't be able to CC your DVD's. Even if you make a captioned wmv or MPEG file that still won't work, it needs to be imported as a seperate caption file in the Authoring Program. There are many places that can do this for you, but it usually isn't cheap. But you can let me know if you need it done and I can get a price for you.

[Edward Troxel]

Jason, what about CC for VHS?

[Rob Lohman]

Thanks for explenation, Jason. I knew a lot of parts of the puzzle,
but it finally all fell into place when reading your post. Thanks!

[Albert Rodgers]

Hey guys,

Thanks for your help thus far. the more info. - the better.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Don't forget that Ulead's DVD Workshop 2.0 will also do subtitle/CC work, with up to 32 tracks of subtitles/CC.
FWIW, Vegas can also insert metadata into REAL and QT files as well. But this won't help with MPEG files.

[Jason Casey]

But you still need a Captioning program in order to create the CC file that the Authoring program needs.

[Robert Bobson]

I'm posting this two years after the last entry.

DVDit 6 WILL do closed captioning, and you don't need another program to create the text - any text (.txt) program can do it.

But you DO need to format it correctly.

here's a sample of a typical formated page - and I'm sure there are webpages to take you through the process step by step:


$DropFrame = TRUE
$TapeOffset = TRUE
$FontName = VERDANA
$FontSize = 18
$Bold = FALSE
$Italic = FALSE
$Underlined = FALSE
1 00:00:10:00 00:00:13:00 Look over there
2 00:00:16:10 00:00:19:00 Ahhh, this is so nice.
3 00:00:20:00 00:00:22:00 Very nice.
4 00:00:23:00 00:00:25:00 Beautiful day…
5 00:00:25:10 00:00:27:00 nice temperature…
6 00:00:27:01 00:00:28:13 Probably about 80.
7 00:00:28:14 00:00:29:25 85...
8 00:00:29:26 00:00:32:00 Yeah, 85 - maybe.
9 00:00:33:00 00:00:36:00 And, a... slight breeze
10 00:00:38:00 00:00:39:00 Very nice
11 00:00:39:01 00:00:41:00 Not a cloud in the sky

[Albert Rodgers]

Thanks. Never late than never. Have you used closed captioning for any of your projects? If so, what type of project was it? Did you do the tyeping yourself? or did you have someone else to do it? Thanks.