What You Need

You need Final Cut Pro 7, an AJA Kona card (3, LHi or LSe), and the most recent Kona drivers.  Of course, you will also need a special caption file created by a closed captioning service like Aberdeen Captioning (ONLY created using CPC/Mac Caption software).

What You Get

If you have the above-mentioned hardware and software, you can create the HD master caption tape in various HD tape formats, create HD captions for optical disc format delivery, and create captions for web video–and all of this can be done in-house without having to ship anything back and forth with a caption company.

How it Works

The AJA Kona cards ($1490 US) function as an HD encoder and place the captions in the accurate area in the HD video data.  Here’s how:

The closed captioning file that you receive is then imported into Final Cut Pro 7 and it doesn’t require you to do any rendering.  Final Cut Pro 7 has been designed to accept this caption file and in conjunction with the AJA card, it places the caption data into the correct location in the video being laid to tape.

AJA, Final Cut Pro, and CPC have all worked together to create this new technology. 

Note: This workflow can also work for SD video if needed.

File-insert captioning works with the following formats:

• MPEG2
• .mov
• DVCPRO HD
• XDCAM

The process for MPEG2, .mov and DVCPRO HD:

Client…

sends full res file & proxy file via FTP, thumb drive, hard drive, et cetera

Captioning Company (Aberdeen) …

does captioning and inserts captions into video file

returns captioned video via FTP, thumb drive, hard drive, etc.

How this process is used:

Option #1: CC to be played out through a SkyMicro card to a tape. This will keep the captions, but only works with MPEG2 and DVCPRO HD, not .mov.

Option #2: Video with CC to be deliver directly to station for their play-server

The Process for XDCAM:

Client…

sends full res file & proxy file via FTP, XDCAM disc, hard drive, et cetera

Captioning Company (Aberdeen)

does captioning and inserts captions into .mxf video file

returns closed captioned video via FTP, XDCAM disc, hard drive, et cetera

How this process is used:

Option #1: The XDCAM disc goes to the station for broadcast

Option #2: If it is an MXF file, then client drags and drops file to XDCAM disc

]]> http://abercap.com/blog/2009/05/05/hd-captioning-done-simple-tapeless-hd-file-insert-option-takes-the-hassle-out-of-hd-captions/feed/ 0 http://abercap.com/blog/2009/04/30/new-tapeless-hd-captioning-high-def-captioning-sent-directly-to-your-non-linear-editing-nle-system-is-finally-here/ http://abercap.com/blog/2009/04/30/new-tapeless-hd-captioning-high-def-captioning-sent-directly-to-your-non-linear-editing-nle-system-is-finally-here/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:43:42 +0000 Joanna http://www.abercap.com/blog/?p=160 It has finally come! Captioning data for HD video can now be sent directly to your non-linear editing system.  This HD update in captioning technology has been a longtime coming, so we are excited to be able to offer this workflow to clients with the proper set-up.

Why this should get you excited too

Our clients have enjoyed the benefits of captioning to their NLE systems for SD video for a couple of years now.  It saves time and money by not shipping tapes back and forth, the video quality is first generation, and the client has all the control.

Now these same benefits can be obtained for HD video.  This new technology has been developed to make your HD production easier and less expensive–it will significantly cut down your costs as recording closed-captioned masters for HD tapes is much more expensive than SD tapes when outsourcing to a captioning company.

The Set-up Required for NLEdirect HD Captioning

• Macintosh computer with an Intel processor
• NLE system (Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere…)** that can be used in conjunction with a Matrox MXO2 I/O breakout box. The device costs around $1500.
• HD tape deck

How the NLEdirect HD Captioning Process Works

Video Editor…

• Uploads a proxy video file to Aberdeen’s FTP site

Aberdeen…

• Performs captioning (transcription, syncing & placement of text)
• E-mails client an audio file containing the captioning data with .mov extension

Video Editor…

• Receives the audio file and designates it to audio track 8 in their NLE project
• Outputs project with captioning data through Matrox MX02 I/O breakout box and lays project to tape***

If you would like more information on this process or if you would like to obtain a test file to try out in your NLE system, contact Steve Holmes at info@abercap.com or call 800-688-6621 ext. 207.

**Note that this HD NLEdirect captioning system cannot be used in conjunction with AVID non-linear video editing systems at this time.  We have reason to believe that this advance will be made an option soon!

***Note that the Matrox breakout box acts as a closed-captioning encoder, so when your video is laid to tape the CC can be viewed through a closed-captioning decoder.

Copyright notice:

© Joanna Scavo & Aberdeen Captioning, Inc. 2009.

This article can be freely reproduced under the following conditions:

a) that no economic benefit be gained from the reproduction

b) that all citations and reproductions carry a reference to this original publication on [online] http://www.abercap.com/blog

“Because the XDCAM system is file-based, we’re able to do our work in a much more refined and streamlined way,” said Matt Cook, President of Aberdeen Captioning. “Now, once someone is done with their XDCAM edit, we take their file, caption directly onto that file, and then place it back onto the disc. We’ve eliminated the need to go through a closed-captioning encoder—which can cost up to $10,000—therefore eradicating the requirement to do real-time play-out.”

According to Cook, clients—which include a range of broadcast networks, groups and independent producers—benefit from faster turnaround times and a more cost- and time-efficient process than previous methods.

“The primary benefit for clients is that they can keep their file in its original form, and send it to us on a hard drive, via FTP site, or on a disc,” he said. “Once we put the captioning data back in the video file, we can then return it to the client in the format of their choice.”

The PDW-HD1500 deck is designed for file-based recording in studio operations. A Gigabit Ethernet data drive allows it to write any file format from any codec onto the optical disc media, and it also makes handling either SD or HD content much easier.

“This deck is perfect for applications like closed captioning, where turnaround time is often critical and multi-format flexibility is a key,” said Wayne Zuchowski, group marketing manager for XDCAM system at Sony Electronics.

Cook added, “We can handle any format without a problem. That type of capability and functionality is very important to us because as a captioning company we’re required to deliver a finished product in any format a client requires.”

When Aberdeen receives content from a client, the company first converts it to a smaller “working file,” for example Windows or a Quick Time media file, which is used to do the transcribing, captioning and timing.

“Once the captioning work is done, we marry the original MXF XDCAM file and our captioned data file through our MacCaption software,” Cook said. “With the press of a button, both files are merged, and we can drag and drop it back onto the disc and send out, or FTP it to a client and they can drag and drop onto a disc.”

The Sony and Aberdeen joint captioning system will be on display at NAB in Sony’s exhibit, C11001, Central Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center.

Article Written by Tom Di Nome, from Sony Electronics

Copyright notice: 

© Sony Electronics & Aberdeen Captioning, Inc. 2009.

This article can be freely reproduced under the following conditions:

a) that no economic benefit be gained from the reproduction

b) that all citations and reproductions carry a reference to this original publication on [online] http://www.abercap.com/blog

First off, to get the record straight, Blu-ray does not support closed captioning.  This is for a very logical reason: Subtitles can be turned on and off through the disc’s menu (just like an SD DVD), therefore there is no need to add the closed captioning option.  Consequently, BD does not carry Line 21 due to its High-Definition Multimedia Interface specs (HDMI).  These specs were designed to displace the older digital and analog standards.

Converting SD captions to HD subtitles

You have a DVD or any other standard def video that you are putting on Blu-ray Disc.  The SD version already contains closed captioning and you don’t want to have to pay or take the time to get it subtitled all over again.  Don’t worry, there is a solution.  Your closed captioning company (like Aberdeen!) can convert your old caption files to Blu-ray compatible subtitles for your authoring system.  Depending on how it was captioned there may need to be some reformatting.

Some Cool “Blu-ray” Features

The really nifty thing about Blu-ray subtitles as opposed to normal SD subtitles is that multiple layers can be created.  SD subtitles must have the same font type, font size and color throughout the entire program.  With BD (and with the right service provider with this capability), you can add up to six different colors, fonts, and sizes.   For example, to subtitle on-screen signs, you can subtitle them in the same font, color, and size that is different from the dialogue.  Maybe you want each character to speak in a different font and/or color.  This could help in the area of speaker identification.  It’s now possible to have all your sound effects stand out from dialogue as well.  The options are endless.  If you want them to, HD subtitles can turn your boring subtitles from straight text on the screen, to an artful masterpiece.

Files Type for Subtitling for Blu-ray

The file type used for Blu-ray subtitles is an xml based textual format along with pictures (jpg) of each subtitle, similar to the type of files that are sent to DVD authoring systems.  The xml file is considered the directory file that tells each subtitle picture when and where to be placed.

Copyright notice: 

© Joanna Scavo & Aberdeen Captioning, Inc. 2009.

This article can be freely reproduced under the following conditions:

a) that no economic benefit be gained from the reproduction

b) that all citations and reproductions carry a reference to this original publication on [online] http://www.abercap.com/blog