Create subtitle track in vegas??

blink3times wrote on 11/3/2008, 4:26 AM
I can manually create a subtitle track in dvda easy enough... but how do I create one (if it's even possible) in Vegas for import to dvda?

I've tried rendering a "transparent" title track (as m2t) and of course it simply comes out as track with a full black background. Is there a way to render out a title or text track with a truly transparent background?

Thanks.

Comments

PeterWright wrote on 11/3/2008, 4:38 AM
In Vegas you create a Region lasting the desired duration of each subtitle, and the name of the Region is the text of the subtitle.
Then you use the export regions as subtitles script to create a file which can be imported into DVDA.
I used to do it that way, but now I prefer doing the whole job in DVDA, as you can see exactly how the final subtitle is going to look, as you create it.
rs170a wrote on 11/3/2008, 4:39 AM
VASST has a free plugin on their site designed to, as I recall, turn markers into a file (*.sub ??) that can be imported into DVDA.
Unfortunately the site is down right now so I can't give you the link to it :-(

Mike
farss wrote on 11/3/2008, 4:54 AM
"Is there a way to render out a title or text track with a truly transparent background?"

Change the text's background to transparent. In fact if you select the Default Text it is white text on a transparent background.

As pointed out above though that's just a title which is quite a different thing to a subtitle. Subtitles can be turned on or off by the viewer, a title is burned into the vision and cannot be controlled by the viewer.

A single title on a track with nothing underneath it will render with a superblack background unless you render to a codec that supports an alpha channel such as uncompressed AVI.

Bob.
blink3times wrote on 11/3/2008, 5:05 AM
"In Vegas you create a Region lasting the desired duration of each subtitle, and the name of the Region is the text of the subtitle.

Got it... Thanks.



"Change the text's background to transparent. In fact if you select the Default Text it is white text on a transparent background."
I did this Bob, but you can't render it out as a separate track with a truly transparent background... the transparent background goes black. What I didn't really understand was how to maintain a transparent background while exporting a subtitle track. I was setting the text for transparent background and then rendering that track as M2T.... it doesn't quite work that way as I have discovered!
bStro wrote on 11/3/2008, 5:29 AM
but you can't render it out as a separate track with a truly transparent background...

Bob addressed this is the last sentence of his post -- the format you're rendering to, M2T, doesn't support alpha channels.

Rob
blink3times wrote on 11/3/2008, 5:39 AM
"Bob addressed this is the last sentence of his post -- the format you're rendering to, M2T, doesn't support alpha channels."

Thanks bStro.... and Bob

I missed that, and in testing it as absolutely true!
rs170a wrote on 11/3/2008, 5:56 PM
blink, rather than edit my post and have it get missed, here's the link to the free utility called SubText from VASST.

Mike
blink3times wrote on 11/3/2008, 6:46 PM
Thanks Mike... that actually looks kind of interesting. I'll give it a try.