Subtitles shift in 4x3
by Scott Sniffen
on
Oct 7, 2008 at 1:24:44 am
There has been quite a bit said here about subtitles shifting when viewing a 16x9 letterboxed program on a 4x3 CRT TV. My question is, is there a definitive setting in DVD Studio which deals with this? Or do we have to play around with the area that the titles are displayed to see what works best in both displays? This sounds like a bug of sorts, yes? Anyway, just looking for clarification.
So, is there a way when making titles in 16x9 to have them display in 4x3 letterbox in the same area without any monkeying around with the title placement?
Re: Subtitles shift in 4x3 by Alex Asp on Oct 7, 2008 at 6:18:52 am
There is no bug in DVD SP, but rather a missing feature. High-end DVD authoring programs such as Scenarist and Creator ( RIP ) as well as proprietary systems by Toshiba and Panasonic allow the author to define separate subtitle streams for each presentation mode.
If you really want this functionality you need DVD After Edit, so you cold manipulate subtitle streams.
Re: Subtitles shift in 4x3 by Alex Asp on Oct 7, 2008 at 12:52:04 pm
You can write a script based on SPRM14 which checks player's display mode and activates the correct subtitle stream. In such case you'd need to prohibit Subpicture stream change UOP for the track, so user wouldn't accidentally choose wrong subtitle stream
If you have access to DVD After Edit, it is even easier and more elegant. You just mark specific subpicture stream for specific display condition, and the player does the job. User sees only one subtitle stream, and there is no need for any UOP actions.
Re: Subtitles shift in 4x3 by Steve Kirkham on Oct 7, 2008 at 1:18:14 pm
Sorry to hijack this thread but was interested by your comments about subs and using After Edit. Out of interest how do you do this - do you have to have two subs or does the marking up of them take care of it...
Re: Subtitles shift in 4x3 by Alex Asp on Oct 7, 2008 at 2:02:21 pm
Hi Steve,
Like any project to be re-authored in DVDAE, you prepare all elements in DVD SP. In this case it requires separate subtitle stream for each presentation mode. Let's assume LBX subtitles in slot 1 and WS subtitle in slot 2.
Once the project is built you open it in DVD AE and navigate to the PGC that contains your subtitles. In DVD AE the stream numbers become 0 and 1 respectively.
Open Subpicture Stream Control [Language] and assign stream number as follows: stream number for 4:3 as is (0), Stream number for wide 1. Save and burn your DVD for testing. That easy. Of course you can assign specific subtitles for each of the possible 4 presentation modes, but that would be too excessive.
Re: Subtitles shift in 4x3 by Scott Sniffen on Oct 7, 2008 at 2:14:26 pm
Don't have After Edit but with in DVD SP, where do you access SPRM 14 and input this information? Sorry extremely new to DVD SP and we took on a subtitle project which may have been a bit premature. Also, what offers the best results in terms of readability of titles? Is there a black background to overlay your titles on? The titles built in DVD SP are a bit jaggy so anything to make them more readable can only help. And if we do go get DVD AE, which version, Standard or mastering?
Thanks for helping the learning impaired,
Scott Sniffen
Re: Subtitles shift in 4x3 by Alex Asp on Oct 7, 2008 at 3:30:06 pm
System parameters (SPRM) are accessed from Scripting Interface. You need to know how to write and use scripts and this is not something newbies like to do, although it is not as complicated as it might seem. DVD SP manual is a good place to start.
Subtitles in Standard Definition DVD are always jaggy. This is because you have only 3 colors to work with. There are ways to make subtitles look nicer, but this requires rendering subtitles as graphics in external application and using Cris Linke Photoshop filter.
Black border around individual letters is usually enough to make them stand out, and at the same time make them unobtrusive. If budget permits, you'd be better off outsouring subtitling job to a reputable service bureau.
For what you need right now a Standard version of DVD AE will do, but you might very soon discover that you'd like to go for a full Mastering edition.
