Video Handling

Historically all video material to for Subtitle Preparation would have been delivered on tape, mostly VHS. Recently the move to all tapeless operations has made digital delivery of subtitling video more common. Regardless of the delivery format all Subtitle Preparation is now done with electronic video on a PC workstation. One of the first steps in the workflow is to get the video onto the hard disk of the Subtitle preparation workstation.

The main options are:

Capture from a tape source.
This requires a video and timecode inputs and is a real time process with one hour of video taking one hour to capture to disk. Some workstations allow the video to be viewed, stopped, stepped, etc. while the capture is taking place. This is a significant time saving.

Open or import a video file.
There are many compressed video file formats but most can be used for Subtitle Preparation. Some formats are not suitable for non linear playback (stepping, reversing etc.) and some workstations will convert to a more suitable format. The video file can be accessed using any file system supported by the workstation including, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, Network, VPN, FTP, removable hard disk drive etc.

Access a browse copy of the video from a media asset management system.
Many broadcasters now have video management systems that store the master video and a lower resolution or browse copy. Often it is possible to access the browse copy directly for Subtitle Preparation.

Video and Audio Quality
The quality of the video displayed on a Subtitle Preparation Workstation is a trade off between file size, PC processing speed, image quality and security against piracy. In general quarter resolution (352x288 for PAL) is adequate for subtitle preparation and in MPEG-1 or Windows Media 9 (WM9) formats is a good compromise between file size and image quality.

In some cases lower quality or spoilers (Timecode, Logos, black and white only) are used to make the video less desirable for pirates.

In general the quality of the audio is more important for subtitle preparation so the dialog is clear.

The main criteria for good Subtitle Preparation video:

• Adequate video quality
• Good audio quality
• No missing frames
• Audio and video is in sync
• Timecode, preferably with no discontinuities (See the Subtitle Timing White paper for more details on timecode.)