Subtitle Scripts

DarrenStarr wrote on 11/12/2007, 3:18 AM

I've developed all our own subtitling software here and am struggling to find out how to support text formatting in DVD Architect.

DVD Studio Pro requires that I export BMP images and an import script to take them in, and DVD Architect does allow importing subtitle images, but I have two questions.

Can I use a subtitle script to import all my graphics files at once with time code? A typical film we ship will contain between 3 and 10 tracks of 1500-2000 subtitles, manual insertion and timing is impossible since we don't speak all the languages to be know what maps to what.

What's the best file format for importing graphics? I would have imagined 4-color BMPs would work, but they didn't do so well. I haven't tried PNG yet, but PNG is kind of overkill since DVD subtitles require a maximum of 4 colors from a 16 color palette per PGC.

Comments

MPM wrote on 11/12/2007, 2:37 PM

Probably not what you're looking for...

To use .sup subs with a DVDA authored DVD (or one created in any software that doesn't do graphics subs) I go the round-a-bout route of rendering the DVD twice, once in DVDA & once in the free version of Muxman. The Muxman version has no menus, so it only take a few minutes. Then I use VobBlanker to swap out the VOB files for the title w/subs from Muxman. The extra work takes as long as it does to copy the files from one hard drive folder to another, X 2.

I don't know how hard it would be to export or convert your graphic subs to the common sup format, which AFAIK is the actual overlay track muxed into the VOB files.

My understanding is that DVDA (Encore etc.) uses the imported image to create a mask (what I think of as a stencil) for the 1 - 3 shapes created for the sub-picture. If there are more than one color to the image, they are used to designate which shape that color is assigned to, i.e. fill, outline, anti-alias. Each shape is a true bitmap -- each pixel (bit) is either on/off, black/white. Therefore the import format or size is largely irrelevant, as long as it works. ;-) The colors/palette you mention have nothing to do with the actual sub-picture tracks, but tell the player what color/transparency to use to fill in that stencil shape. The CLUT (Color LookUp Table) is in the IFO files per TitleSet.

Purely guessing, but based on my experience with menu sub-pics, I'd think that converting your sub to sup outside of DVDA (or other authoring program) might yield better results. If committed to importing your graphics into DVDA, I'd suggest a png file with characters in black fading to transparency, either using feathering or creating a fade by filling a selection/shape with black, then 2 expanded selection/shapes with black at greater transparency. I think a working breakdown is something like 100%, 60%, & 25% opacity, all black, which breaks down to fill, outline, and anti-alias respectively. Remember, your sub-pics will not reflect any feathering, but rather any black at 25% opacity will become the shape that filled in by the player with the anti-alias color specified in the CLUT.

As far as any scripting goes, I AM NOT the person to ask. -- Sorry.