Importing Caption Files (.scc) into DVD Studio Pro
Oftentimes, when I give my clients caption files for their DVD Authoring Systems they encounter problems and call me with questions on how to insert the caption file. In today’s blog, I am going to specifically talk about .scc files being used in Apple’s DVD Studio Pro.
Here are the steps to follow to import a .scc into DVD Studio Pro:
- Select Outline tab > Tracks folder > Track1 > Select Other tab (in Inspection window) > Select Choose > locate .scc file > Select Okay.
NOTE: Either field 1 or field 2 will be populated, but most likely not both.
- DVD Studio Pro > Preferences > Encoding > MPEG-2 SD > Select desired timecode in the start TC field > Check or uncheck the Drop frame box accordingly.
NOTE: You must let your captioning company know if your project is in Drop, Non Drop, FILM, PAL, et cetera. Most captioning companies’ default time code is Drop frame.
- Highlight the actual video content/track on the timeline > Right click the timecode directly to the right of the yellow playhead and purple chapter marker > Select Zero-Based Timecode or Asset-Based Timecode.
NOTE: I strongly recommended that all timecode options (there are many) be changed to zero-based, so that the captioning company can create a file that corresponds to these settings. The captioning company will probably need to have the exact timecode of the first word spoken on the video so they can match their caption file to your project.
To view captions from your computer using DVD player:
- Open DVD Player > Preferences > Features > Closed Captions > On.
NOTE: I strongly recommend that you burn a closed captioned DVD and play it out of a DVD player, viewing it on a TV. Viewing the captions from your computer will sometimes not play roll-up captions nor pop-on captions accurately, if at all.
14 Comments, Comment or Ping
Juliet
I created an .scc file for someone to use with DVD Studio Pro. They imported it just fine, but are getting an error during imaging/burning of the DVD: “Closed caption timecode overlap at line 41”.
Any idea of why this is happening and/or how to resolve the problem?
Nov 3rd, 2008
Patrick
Try MovCaptioner for Mac. It can export Spruce STL captions which can be imported into DVD Studio Pro.
Mar 27th, 2009
Michael
Great tutorial. I am using MagPie to create caption files, but how do I create .scc files?
Thanks,
mz
Aug 25th, 2009
Joanna
Hi Michael,
I am not familiar with the system MagPie. Usually closed-captioning systems have an export option where you can export a .scc file to import into a DVD authoring system. Does your software have that option? If not, if you give us your caption file, we can do an export for you for a very minimal cost.
Cheers,
JOANNA
Sep 3rd, 2009
Mark
I have a ,scc file in DVDSP that I cannot see when I build and try to view with DVD player. The track’s other tab shows my file
with the correct timecode time and type. Any suggestions? Thanks, Mark
Jan 5th, 2010
Joanna
How are you importing the (.scc) file? SCC files must be imported as line 21 files by right clicking on the timeline and selecting “Import Line 21 File.” You can’t see the captions in DVDSP – and you can’t always see them in DVD Player either – it’s hit or miss. The only way to verify that the (.scc) file has been imported correctly is to select the Video file and open inspector – which it appears you are seeing. From this point it requires a leap of faith. Burning to DVD is the only real way to verify. With Roxio Toast you can cut down the time it takes to burn to DVD.
Hope this helps!
Jan 14th, 2010
Michelle
I follow all the steps but I keep getting the error “Some closed caption data does not fall within the video timecode range and is being skipped.” The closed captions don’t burn onto the disk and I can’t figure out how to fix it. This is an older project that just needs to be re-burned so nothing has been changed but I keep getting this error. How do I fix this?
Jan 19th, 2010
Roger
I’ve created a DVD using an .scc file and the captions appear without a problem when playing the burned DVD in Apple’s DVD Player. The problem comes when I put it into my DVD player and try turning on the captions through the TV, and I can’t get them to appear. I try turning them on to no avail through the TV’s remote. All TV shows play the captions, but not the DVD. I’m stumped. Is there any additional programming required in DVDSP? Many thanks in advance for any guidance.
Mar 7th, 2010
Joanna
Hi Roger,
Can you see captions when you play a professionally authored DVD in the DVD Player in question? The DVD player or TV may be in question. If you can see captions from another DVD, then we can narrow down the problem….
If you have a 13-inch or smaller television monitor, it will not have a built-in caption decoder….
The fact that you can see captions in Apple DVD Player suggests to me that the problem is with your DVD Player or TV….
Also, another quick thought: did you make sure the TV’s CC decoder was set to Line 21?
May 14th, 2010
Joanna
Hi Michelle,
This is a time code problem and suggests that the Time Base in DVDSP is different from the Time Base in DVDSP. IE: the DVDSP timeline is ZERO-BASED and the (.scc) file is 1-HOUR BASED. (Or vice-versa)
You should verify the Time Base in DVDSP, and then you can manually change the time code in the (.scc) file using a simple Find & Replace procedure. Or if you want you can forward the (.scc) file to me and we can do it for you. Just let me know, and we would be glad to help you out.
May 14th, 2010
Joanna
I meant to say CC1 – not Line 21!
May 14th, 2010
Andy
I have been trying to use movcaptioner to caption my TV show. When import the scc file into DVDSP 4 and try to burn to disc I get a syntax
error on line 13. I’ve reworked the project, went through the steps again
and get the same error message on a different line. I was able to get
it to work one time on a three minute project. However when I did another
project I once again got the error on line 13 again.
Any Ideas on how to fix this glitch?
Thanks
Andy
Sep 14th, 2010
Michael
Hi Joanna,
Thanks for your reponse…it’s been a while. I am back working on my DVD caption project. I have MovCaptioner for Mac. I import my .scc file into DVD Studio Pro, but then get an error message when I try to burn a DVD. The message reads…Track 1: Closed caption timecode overlap error at line: X. Any thoughts/suggestions? Also, how long can each line be…will MovCaptioner give me an error if the line is too long?
Thanks for your time and help.
Michael
Oct 5th, 2010
Joanna
SCC files require more or less a blank time in between each caption. You may not notice this in the time code, and it certainly doesn’t blank when displaying, but it requires this buffer time to begin to load each upcoming caption. So even though the time codes of each line may not appear to overlap, it may be necessary to add a little time in between the captions. I suggest that you delay the caption line in question by 5-10 frames.
32 chars/line is the max line length.
I am not sure what the syntax error is unfortunately.
Oct 28th, 2010