Subtitle experts - can you help?

Sherif wrote on 6/13/2008, 1:43 PM

#1.
I have searched the forum for the subtitle error i get when i try to burn a dvd in DVDA 4.5a.

It says "subtitle too complex or too many horizontal lines".

When I turn outline off on the text (i get a black background), this error no longer happens! Of course i dont want a black background. any ideas?

#2.
How do i change the font of the entire subtitle track? Cant seem to do it.

many thanks for any help - its driving me crazy and the movie is 3 hours long :-(

Comments

bStro wrote on 6/13/2008, 2:08 PM

The subtitle track(s) on a DVD can contain only so much information. That information includes not only the characters used, but also the formatting (font, style, outline, etc). Since there are so many factors, what you can do to correct this depends largely on your specific subtitles.

Some things you can try including using a different font, having less text in each subtitle event, and, yes, turning off the background.

To change the font for the whole track, first change it for one event. Then right click that event and choose "Apply Formatting to Selected Tracks."

Rob

MPM wrote on 6/13/2008, 3:33 PM

No expert but a subtitle track is just a simple image overlay DVDA creates from whatever sub events you have for that title. I've never seen that error, but I'd assume it happens because for whatever reason the programming in DVDA (that converts your text or graphics) doesn't like what you've entered. I normally use simple fonts like Arial Narrow because simpler sans-serif fonts are easier to read on a std TV with a CRT - it can't hurt to try another font as Rob has described, if only as a test.

I've only done subs in English - are you using another language, & if so, tell us what it is in case someone else has had problems, or not.

Also, how are you creating the subs in the 1st place? If you're working with text files Subtitle Workshop & similar programs can check it for errors... Most programs work with the .srt format, but using something like Subtitle Workshop you've also got to convert it - I use the DVD Studio Pro file format, which DVDA takes without complaint. [you do have to re-open the project for DVDA to display them properly]

Are you trying to use subs with formatting like underlines or italics? And while I don't think it should matter, have you changed the outline color for your subs?

bStro wrote on 6/13/2008, 4:28 PM

Here's what the manual / online help has to say about this error message:

If a subpicture graphic is overly complex (overall or on a horizontal line), it cannot be compressed to meet the requirements of the DVD specification.

Rob

Sherif wrote on 6/14/2008, 5:23 AM

bStro, thanks much

- with outline off it works fine. I 'm rther pisssed off at sony that I have to use trial and error to get this right - the y should have a real time message so that it tells me as i type .

- thanks for the tip.

Sherif wrote on 6/14/2008, 5:28 AM

MPM, I am using Arial at 14pt, no italics or underlining etc, i am copying and pasting the english subtitles from MS word into the event. I have 2 or 3 lines of text.

Interestingly i have a whole screen of text in a subtitle event (around 12 lines) which DVDA has no problem with as long as i turn off 'outline' !

I think i will live with the black background.

I will have a look at subtitle workshop.

Thanks.

MPM wrote on 6/14/2008, 11:14 AM

I don't know then - *as a test* my guess would be to try copy/paste into Notepad 1st, or convert to text 1st since copying from Word can bring along extra formatting info or data. You could also try saving the subs in DVDA & getting a look at the resulting text file... manually create a few dummy events in a quick test project to compare with (maybe rename your project and delete/add sub track). If you found something extra or strange in the file with the subs from Word, you should be able to fix it, maybe in Notepad using replace, & then import back into DVDA.

Also, I wonder if it wouldn't be easier importing your subs to start with? If your Word doc contains timing info, you should be able to convert it to something like the DVD Studio Pro format that DVDA accepts. If it doesn't, and you've just got a transcript, you might want to give a quick look at some of the captioning software available. DVDA is great for sub timing & all, but it's a bit sluggish for entering sub events one by one, and it doesn't have the tools you'll find in specialty software designed just for creating captions &/or subs (check the subs category in the tools section of videohelp.com to start with).

Using DGIndex & VFAPI can help a LOT getting responsive video on a time-line for most any Windows program - I wanted to mention that in case you find software that looks ideal but it'll only take avi. As a last resort if you *really* want to just have normal subs, it's a bit of a pain in the [bleep] because of the extra work, but it's not really hard to export your subs in DVDA, convert the file to the .srt format, render the subs outside of DVDA, then insert them replacing the DVDA sub track.