Vegas Pro 20 not showing titling on police camera mp4 file.

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/5/2024, 10:42 PM

I often work with police body-worn camera files - mostly .mp4 file format. The A/V recording have system-generated titling on the video showing officer name, date, time, etc. That titling is not visible on the screen in VP 20 unless/until I first convert the file format in another program from mp4 to mpg. The titling IS visible in other video software programs in mp4. How can I get VP20 to show titling of mp4 files? Thank you.

Comments

3POINT wrote on 2/6/2024, 12:56 AM

Is aspect ratio and resolution of Vegas set to aspect ratio of your mp4? Can you give media info of the mp4?

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 8:59 AM

Former user wrote on 2/6/2024, 9:06 AM

@Frederick-Dispensiere Hi, the 'media info' asked for is found with an app called MediaInfo, it shows the contents within the MP4 container -

The App - MediaInfo, download it, it's free & a fast download with no added adverts or any of that rubbish. https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo
After downloading, right click on the media file in your Windows folder, open MediaInfo, choose Text from the options at the top, Copy & paste the information in a new comment on here 👍

Like this or screen shot the MediaInfo window & post on here like you have above

mark-y wrote on 2/6/2024, 10:54 AM

The titling IS visible in other video software programs in mp4. 

That compels the conclusion that they are generic CAE 608/708 subtitles.

Easiest way to burn in the subtitles is to encode to mp4 in Handbrake.

Then finish your editing in Vegas as intended.

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 12:46 PM

The original (source) file presented to me is .mp4. Do you mean for me to re-code that file in .mp4? The original shows titles in other video file players. Titles do not show in VP20 in the timeline when played - only if I convert to mpg before. But I'll try a re-code, and also check on MediaInfo app. Thanks - I'll get back to y'all.

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 1:07 PM

Analysis from MediaInfo screenshot attached.

mark-y wrote on 2/6/2024, 2:41 PM

Your MediaInfo shot does not show the subtitle (Text) track. If you scroll down further, does the subtitle track info show?

It might look like this:

You can upload an actual source mp4 clip to Drive or Dropbox and someone will look at it, if you wish.

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 3:13 PM

Nothing more to scroll down to.

 

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 3:14 PM

The file is evidence in an ongoing criminal case. I cannot distribute it to anyone.

mark-y wrote on 2/6/2024, 5:25 PM

The titling IS visible in other video software programs in mp4. 

That compels the conclusion that they are generic CAE 608/708 subtitles.

Easiest way to burn in the subtitles is to encode to mp4 in Handbrake.

Then finish your editing in Vegas as intended.

Did the Handbrake conversion work for you?

DMT3 wrote on 2/6/2024, 6:18 PM

Did you try turning on the Closed Captions in Vegas?

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 7:06 PM

Re-coding with Handbrake did not fix the situation. Enable scanning for closed captions is enabled. Seems to do that only when putting a .mpg file in the timeline, not an mp4 file.

mark-y wrote on 2/6/2024, 7:48 PM

Best of luck.

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/6/2024, 10:57 PM

Puzzling to me how I can view the file with titling in VLC, but not in VP20. Maybe a Magix tech is covering this and can figure it out?

RogerS wrote on 2/6/2024, 11:03 PM

Can other software export the titles as a subtitle srt file which VEGAS can import?

Do you know the brand of bodycam? I see there is some footage online for download if we could find one similar to yours.

3POINT wrote on 2/7/2024, 12:51 AM

I'm still wondering/not convinced that this data (officer name, date, time etc) is recorded as a separate subtitle file and not recorded directly into the video. Gives the possibility for manipulation afterwards, since a subtitle file can always be edited later....

@Frederick-Dispensiere could you show us a screenshot of the Vegas timeline with the mp4 and a screenshot of the converted mpg at the same spot?

DMT3 wrote on 2/7/2024, 6:53 AM

After reading your original post, it seems this is not Captions or Subtitles, but more similar to a Date/Time Stamp. Probably part of the meta data. VLC can do a lot of things that video editors cannot do. That is why it is a useful tool.

mark-y wrote on 2/7/2024, 7:00 AM

 

Puzzling to me how I can view the file with titling in VLC

There are a number Subtitle codec formats VLC will display, in addition to 608/708. Since it will display them, it may burn them in, too.

Have your tried doing the conversion in VLC?

Perhaps the police or your lawyer can be of further assistance in identifying them and getting you a burned-in conversion for your records. The reason Vegas will not do what you wish is that this request may be a bit outside its area of focus. Good Luck! ;?)

 

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/7/2024, 11:15 AM

I think the botton line is this: VLC, a free video player, can play the file including the displayed text. VP20, a-state-of-the-art, rather expensive NLE program, cannot. I doubt either was designed to handle body worn cameras and cruiser camera files created by police. I hesitate to get involved in complicated processes to find a work-around - that can open the door to defense attorney attacks. For the meantime, I will play the file(s) in VLC and use a screen-capture program to record, then use that as a working copy in VP. Thanks to all of you for your assistance and suggestions. I truly appreciate it. I do welcome any further suggestions. Thanks!

VEGASDerek wrote on 2/7/2024, 11:25 AM

@Frederick-Dispensiere: You've been asked for information and have not provided it. Have you turned on the closed caption overlay in the preview window? If this is a standard caption embedded in the media, you need to turn on the caption overlay option to see the text. Please see help on this subject: https://help.magix-hub.com/video/vegas/21/en/content/topics/adding_closedcaptioningvideofiles.htm?skinName=Dark

3d87c4 wrote on 2/7/2024, 11:36 AM

Do you know what brand of body camera is being used? Perhaps the manufacturer can help?

Del XPS 17 laptop

Processor    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900H   2.60 GHz
Installed RAM    32.0 GB (31.7 GB usable)
System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch    Touch support with 10 touch points

Edition    Windows 11 Pro
Version    22H2
Installed on    ‎6/‎8/‎2023
OS build    22621.1848
Experience    Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22642.1000.0

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU
Driver Version: 31.0.15.2857
8GB memory
 

Frederick-Dispensiere wrote on 2/7/2024, 12:31 PM

I turned on the close caption overlay in the preview window. Same issue. I also have scan closed caption in Options. I do not know the manufacturer of the camera. Axon is the most popular. But vids I've seen recorded by them indicated Axon on the screen. I can call the LE agency and find out the make/model and contact the manufacturer. Thanks for your assistance.

Howard-Vigorita wrote on 2/7/2024, 1:18 PM

This page contains a downloadable sample of Axon footage:

https://news.met.police.uk/videos/body-worn-video-footage-41708

No problem seeing it in Vegas. However, additional info might be embedded after the fact by an agency server app.

VEGASDerek wrote on 2/7/2024, 2:16 PM

I turned on the close caption overlay in the preview window. Same issue. I also have scan closed caption in Options. I do not know the manufacturer of the camera. Axon is the most popular. But vids I've seen recorded by them indicated Axon on the screen. I can call the LE agency and find out the make/model and contact the manufacturer. Thanks for your assistance.

@Frederick-Dispensiere You need to run the script on timeline first before you can see it in the actual project (see the help file). If you open the media in the Trimmer, do you see the captions?