The next question you ask is, “Do I have a video card or break-out box that came with my editing system’s software?”  If your answer is “no,” you must buy a video card or break-out box through a third party vendor.  The cost can be anywhere from $1000-$3000 depending on the manufacturer.  For example, Matrox MXO2 costs $1500 and AJA Kona 3 costs $3000. The video card is to be attached to your computer and functions as encoder.  When you output to tape, your NLE system maps the closed caption information from row 0, 1, or 2 encodes it to to your tape.   For example, all Avid editing systems come with cards, but Final Cut Pro does not include a card with its software.  If you are using firewire to output to tape, you cannot do NLE (tapeless) captioning.  Why?  Because the 6 lines of data get stripped, removing the caption data. The editing software package that you use is usually not the issue, but rather the hardware path used to get the video off your system and onto the tape. Some hardware boards/break-out boxes will ignore the caption data.  You can call your captioning company for a test file to see if your break-out box supports NLE (tapeless) captioning.

If you want to do NLE (tapeless) captioning you must ensure that you have the tape deck(s) that your station(s) require. If not, you may want your captioning company to record a different tape format than your original master.  If you don’t have the needed tape deck and you still want to do NLE (tapeless) captioning, your only option is to buy a tape deck.

If you are editing in standard definition, you have a break-out box or video card, and you have the appropriate tape deck, you can consider yourself a candidate for SD NLE (tapeless) captioning, captioning directly onto your editing system.  The NLE (tapeless) captioning process begins by posting a compressed video of your entire program from start to finish to your captioning company’s FTP site.  After they complete the captioning process, they will e-mail you a caption file, which is normally a compressed black QuickTime or AVI video that is either a picture-in-picture effect (alpha channel overlay) or crop effect (you must crop the video).   They can match the codec you are using so you do not have to re-render your project.  You then take this video and lay it on another video track in your project.  You must ensure the captions match the video by doing a 3 point check while viewing the captions as the video is played out of your editing system.  From here, you output your entire project–with captions included–to tape! Captions are created because two of the video’s lines are merged with your video program material.  When you output to tape, your NLE system maps the closed caption information to your tape.  There you have it–no shipping tapes, fast turnaround time, and a first generation quality closed captioned master!

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

A tapeless workflow for captioning is relatively new and is not used by the majority of captioning companies.  But companies like Aberdeen call this tapeless workflow, NLEdirect, which uses a patented technology that can save you money and time through closed captioning directly onto your editing system.

HOW IT WORKS:

• You create a small digital video file and post it to your captioning company’s FTP site. Captioning company then uses the digital video to do all the captioning work (transcript, placing text on screen around graphics, synching text to spoken word, etc.) Then they create a black CC video file and e-mail the file to you. You add the black CC video file to your project in your NLE system just like any other video.

• You crop the black CC video so only the top few lines of video are present (captioning data) allowing your video to be seen.  In some systems, the black video can also be an alpha channel overlay with no cropping needed.

• You lay the program to tape with closed captions included.

WHAT MAKES IT WORK:

The black CC video file contains captioning data in row zero or one. When editing in standard definition (486 lines), the first six lines are for video data. When dumping the video to tape, your video must go through a video card or box–YOU CANNOT USE THIS TAPELESS WORKFLOW IF YOU ARE USING FIREWIRE as it only contains 480 lines. This video card or box takes the information from row 0 or 1 and places it into line 21 for closed captions. Your video card or box acts as an encoder. You will need to let your captioning company know your specific card or box (AJA Kona, BlackMagic, Matrox, etc.) in order to determine the correct settings for the black CC video file we create. Each card handles the data in row 0 or 1 differently.  You should be able to call your captioning company for some test files.

Some of the benefits of using a tapeless workflow are:

• No generation loss…first generation CC master tape

• No shipping tapes…saves money and time

• Reduced turnaround time…more control

Some questions to ask yourself to determine if you are a candidate for a tapeless workflow:

• Are you editing in standard definition?  If yes, consider using a tapeless workflow. If you are editing in HD you need to consult various captioning companies for your options.
• Do you have a video card or box and a tape deck?  If yes, consider tapeless workflow.
• Do you like to be the last quality check of your master tape before it goes to the station? If yes, choose tapeless workflow.
• Do you have quick production turnaround times?  If yes, choose tapeless workflow. 
• Do you like to be in control of the entire production process?  If yes, choose tapeless workflow.
• Do you mind shipping the master tape(s) to the stations yourself or would you like the captioning company to provide that service for you?  If you want the captioning company to ship the tapes for you, choose the standard workflow.
• Do you dub out to multiple stations or only one or two stations? Multiple stations=standard tape workflow. One or two stations=tapeless workflow
• Are you too busy to worry about dubbing your own tapes and shipping them out?  If yes, choose the standard tape work flow.