I use DWS2 with the latest upgrades (2.231), and have done subtitles before without this issue, but now something strange has appeared. I did a search and saw that others have reported similar problems, and as far as I could tell no solution was found on this forum.
Problem 1.
I cannot see any preview of the subtitles. I only see them when I type them in (I type them in the Subtitle window by placing the cursor on the video image), afterwards they disappear. I don’t see them on the preview window of the Edit phase, nor do I see them on the Finish phase preview. But they are there on the burned DVD…
But obviously it is difficult to work when I cannot see what I am doing.
And as if this wasn’t bad enough…
Problem 2
If I use the “fixed” position setting (fixed bottom center), the subtitles on the burned DVD are partly cut off and situated partly outside of the screen. The longer they are the more they move to the right as if they would not “spread” to both left and right symmetrically. I have tried unchecking the “fixed” setting and defining various Y and X values. This works, but only partially. While I fix some, others are moved too much to the left etc. And doing this kind of “trial and error” fixing is almost impossible when I have no preview of what I am doing…
My MPEG file was rendered with MSP7.3, and it already has already some fixed titles, which means that in order to avoid overlapping titles I sometimes need to place the DWS2 titles on top of the screen rather than to the bottom. Therefore changing X and Y values everywhere by doing a one simple search and replace (in the text file) is not an option.
The text settings are Arial Western, 28 points, white text and 13 per cent black background. I have tried aligning the text right and center. My project is PAL and I have checked that the txt file has the corresponding setting.
I opened the project on another system, and had exactly the same problem, so I guess this eliminates any possibility of this being a hardware issue.
Aaaaargghhhh….My intention was to prepare a subtitle txt file and send it to translators, I need several languages. Apart from subtitles the DVD is ready. Should I give up now and change the software and start everything from scratch? I hope not.
But if no solution found, what can I do? Even if I would manage to get the my subtitles more or less in the right location, what will happen when the translator replaces the text with a bit longer or shorter bit? It will again be displaced. And if I don’t understand the language, I will not be able to wrap the text to make it more or less the same length as the original…
The “fixed titles” (in my MPEG file) made in MSP7 were already a pain, due to a bug in MSP I had to make a darker background manually (!). And now this! I find myself in trying to guess where each subtitle line might end up on the screen…
I get the impression that titling is very, very difficult for Ulead products. Even after several service packs both of their flagship “pro” products still completely fail some elementary titling tasks. (I know there is MSP8 out, but I started this project in MSP7).
Sorry for the rant, but I am in a bit of a trouble now with my DVD… so obviously unhappy.
I know others have had similar problems. Any ideas, anyone?
Thanks,
Maukka
Subtitles - two major problems
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Maukka
Anybody ?
Meanwhile I discovered the following :
1. In the subtitling module, once the text is typed in, it kind of disappears. I can only see a barely visible small box, the same which indicated cursor position when I first started typing. If I double click on this box, the text does appear and I can then drag it to whatever position I want.
2. The previews of “Edit” and “Finish” phase still do not show the subtitles at all, but if I burn the file to DVD, the subtitles seem to be in right place.
3. However, if I change any of the text attributes for any section of the text, (change from Arial to Times New Roman or use italics, center, or change the transparency degree of the background… ) I simply lose all the work I have done in positioning the textboxes!! Furthermore, the attributes I define for one single line all of a sudden become global. I end up having everything in italics, for instance.
4. To “crown” it all, DWS subtitling module all of a sudden stopped accepting commands from my AZERTY keyboard, it behaves as if I had a QWERTY keyboard!!!
So: no preview, no possibility of changing text attributes to one particular section, losing continuously the text positioning, wrong keyboard setting… c’mon!
It took me five days to create an 11 page subtitle file. Having previously experienced similar issues in the subtitling module of MSP7, I wonder if the underlying subtitle module isn’t the same in the DSW2 and MSP7.
Has anyone experienced these issues in MSP8?
Maukka
Meanwhile I discovered the following :
1. In the subtitling module, once the text is typed in, it kind of disappears. I can only see a barely visible small box, the same which indicated cursor position when I first started typing. If I double click on this box, the text does appear and I can then drag it to whatever position I want.
2. The previews of “Edit” and “Finish” phase still do not show the subtitles at all, but if I burn the file to DVD, the subtitles seem to be in right place.
3. However, if I change any of the text attributes for any section of the text, (change from Arial to Times New Roman or use italics, center, or change the transparency degree of the background… ) I simply lose all the work I have done in positioning the textboxes!! Furthermore, the attributes I define for one single line all of a sudden become global. I end up having everything in italics, for instance.
4. To “crown” it all, DWS subtitling module all of a sudden stopped accepting commands from my AZERTY keyboard, it behaves as if I had a QWERTY keyboard!!!
So: no preview, no possibility of changing text attributes to one particular section, losing continuously the text positioning, wrong keyboard setting… c’mon!
It took me five days to create an 11 page subtitle file. Having previously experienced similar issues in the subtitling module of MSP7, I wonder if the underlying subtitle module isn’t the same in the DSW2 and MSP7.
Has anyone experienced these issues in MSP8?
Maukka
You mention too many things to give you a full answer.
1. Neither MSP7 nor MSP8 have subtitling facilities.
2. You should understand that the possibilities of subtitling are limited by the DVD standards. For example, text attributes can be set only for the whole text file and not for just a part of them.
3. As the sub-titles are written after the video file has already been placed in the Edit screen, it is obvious they cannot be displayed there. That is why the sub-titling system displays them correctly overlaid on the video. If you had several language sets, which one would you want it to display in the main preview, anway?
4. In Finish, the subtitles display correctly, provided that you select the correct subtitle file. They do not display by default simply because they are selectable (absolutely logical if you think about it; otherwise, it would not know which subtitle language to display, would it?)
I have no answer for your keyboard problem. AFAIK, all the keyboard mapping is a Windows function. If you have more than one language/keyboard setting, this can be switched by Alt-Shift. I cannot see how any application could spontaneously change your setting.
1. Neither MSP7 nor MSP8 have subtitling facilities.
2. You should understand that the possibilities of subtitling are limited by the DVD standards. For example, text attributes can be set only for the whole text file and not for just a part of them.
3. As the sub-titles are written after the video file has already been placed in the Edit screen, it is obvious they cannot be displayed there. That is why the sub-titling system displays them correctly overlaid on the video. If you had several language sets, which one would you want it to display in the main preview, anway?
4. In Finish, the subtitles display correctly, provided that you select the correct subtitle file. They do not display by default simply because they are selectable (absolutely logical if you think about it; otherwise, it would not know which subtitle language to display, would it?)
I have no answer for your keyboard problem. AFAIK, all the keyboard mapping is a Windows function. If you have more than one language/keyboard setting, this can be switched by Alt-Shift. I cannot see how any application could spontaneously change your setting.
[b][i][color=red]Devil[/color][/i][/b]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
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Maukka
Thank for your reply Devil.
Sorry if I mentioned too many issues. There simply were too many!
1. Ok, sorry I got the terminology wrong, I should have called them titling facilities. But the problems are similar. As you know, if you are writing screen credits in MSP7 you cannot define one paragraph centered and an another one aligned right, for instance.
2. I don't know anything about DVD standards, I admit. But I find it a bit hard to believe that the DVD standard as such would not allow having, for instance, dialogue text in italics, while the rest is normal text.
However, the main problem concerning text attributes in DWS is that any change causes ALL subtitles in a particular file to be displaced.
3. I understand that the subtitles are overlaid over an already existing video file. But I don't quite see why it would be somehow impossible to show these overlaid texts also in the preview of the Edit screen. Nor do I see why they have to "disappear" from view in the subtitling facility as soon as they have been typed in.
I don't see them in the Finish screen either. I only have one subtitle track for the time being, and it is indeed selected. But no subtitles there. They do appear on the burt DVD, though. This issue has been reported by other in this forum.
4. I have never had any other keyboard on this system, and Alt-Shift has therefore no effect. The change in keyboard setting affects only DSW, not other Windows software. So it certainly doesseem to be internal to DSW.
Thanks again and sorry for having so many issues...
Maukka
Sorry if I mentioned too many issues. There simply were too many!
1. Ok, sorry I got the terminology wrong, I should have called them titling facilities. But the problems are similar. As you know, if you are writing screen credits in MSP7 you cannot define one paragraph centered and an another one aligned right, for instance.
2. I don't know anything about DVD standards, I admit. But I find it a bit hard to believe that the DVD standard as such would not allow having, for instance, dialogue text in italics, while the rest is normal text.
However, the main problem concerning text attributes in DWS is that any change causes ALL subtitles in a particular file to be displaced.
3. I understand that the subtitles are overlaid over an already existing video file. But I don't quite see why it would be somehow impossible to show these overlaid texts also in the preview of the Edit screen. Nor do I see why they have to "disappear" from view in the subtitling facility as soon as they have been typed in.
I don't see them in the Finish screen either. I only have one subtitle track for the time being, and it is indeed selected. But no subtitles there. They do appear on the burt DVD, though. This issue has been reported by other in this forum.
4. I have never had any other keyboard on this system, and Alt-Shift has therefore no effect. The change in keyboard setting affects only DSW, not other Windows software. So it certainly doesseem to be internal to DSW.
Thanks again and sorry for having so many issues...
Maukka
However, the main problem concerning text attributes in DWS is that any change causes ALL subtitles in a particular file to be displaced.
This what I was saying. You can have ONLY one set of attributes in s-ts, because they are NOT overlaid on the video but exist as an independent file.
3. I understand that the subtitles are overlaid over an already existing video file.
Wrong!, they are separate.
I don't see them in the Finish screen either. I only have one subtitle track for the time being, and it is indeed selected.
Sorry cannot help you. That is not how it works for me.
4. I have never had any other keyboard on this system, and Alt-Shift has therefore no effect. The change in keyboard setting affects only DSW, not other Windows software. So it certainly doesseem to be internal to DSW.
How can it?
This what I was saying. You can have ONLY one set of attributes in s-ts, because they are NOT overlaid on the video but exist as an independent file.
3. I understand that the subtitles are overlaid over an already existing video file.
Wrong!, they are separate.
I don't see them in the Finish screen either. I only have one subtitle track for the time being, and it is indeed selected.
Sorry cannot help you. That is not how it works for me.
4. I have never had any other keyboard on this system, and Alt-Shift has therefore no effect. The change in keyboard setting affects only DSW, not other Windows software. So it certainly doesseem to be internal to DSW.
How can it?
[b][i][color=red]Devil[/color][/i][/b]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
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Maukka
Devil,
Again, my terminology may not be quite exact. When I said the subtitles are overlaid I meant that, precisely, it is separate and independent of the video file.
But I still don't see why this would imply that only one set of attributes is acceptable. And even less do I see why putting one word in italics also changes the position on the screen of all text contained in the file. In other words, any change in text attributes changes the Y and X values for the entire file.
Are you really saying this is not a bug, but something somehow imposed by DVD standard?
Thanks for your patience!
Maukka
Again, my terminology may not be quite exact. When I said the subtitles are overlaid I meant that, precisely, it is separate and independent of the video file.
But I still don't see why this would imply that only one set of attributes is acceptable. And even less do I see why putting one word in italics also changes the position on the screen of all text contained in the file. In other words, any change in text attributes changes the Y and X values for the entire file.
Are you really saying this is not a bug, but something somehow imposed by DVD standard?
Thanks for your patience!
Maukka
I'm sorry, but how can you put one word in italics?
[b][i][color=red]Devil[/color][/i][/b]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
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Maukka
Ok, one more time:
I have one word subtitle line. I want put it in italics.
The result: every line in the file turns into italics and the Y and X coordinates are changed for every line so that the text ispartly off screen etc. Same thing happens with any change to text attributes.
I have done my best to describe a whole series of issues I am experiencing with the subtitling facility of DWS2. I understand that my formulation of the multiple problems is perhaps not always 100 per cent accurate. But I think I have by now made reasonably clear what the problems were. Particularly when similar issues have been reported by other in this forum.
And I understand that there is no solution to these issues other than not to touch any of the text attributes after one has dragged the text boxes in the right places. I myself just spent 5 days figuring this out, I wanted to share this info so that others would not have to do it.
Maukka
I have one word subtitle line. I want put it in italics.
The result: every line in the file turns into italics and the Y and X coordinates are changed for every line so that the text ispartly off screen etc. Same thing happens with any change to text attributes.
I have done my best to describe a whole series of issues I am experiencing with the subtitling facility of DWS2. I understand that my formulation of the multiple problems is perhaps not always 100 per cent accurate. But I think I have by now made reasonably clear what the problems were. Particularly when similar issues have been reported by other in this forum.
And I understand that there is no solution to these issues other than not to touch any of the text attributes after one has dragged the text boxes in the right places. I myself just spent 5 days figuring this out, I wanted to share this info so that others would not have to do it.
Maukka
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Jerry Jones
- Posts: 358
- Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2005 4:14 pm
- Location: Boise, Idaho, USA
- Contact:
DVD Workshop 2 is a "bug-riddled" program, in my opinion.
I've removed it from my computer.
I plan to pull the simple authoring tutorial from my Web site as I can't recommend the product any longer.
The sub-title truncation "bug" was supposed to be fixed by one of the patches, but the fix doesn't work in a permanent way.
Sooner or later, the "bug" comes back.
Ulead had an opportunity to make this program truly competitive, but I feel Ulead simply "blew it" due to the bugs.
Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net
I've removed it from my computer.
I plan to pull the simple authoring tutorial from my Web site as I can't recommend the product any longer.
The sub-title truncation "bug" was supposed to be fixed by one of the patches, but the fix doesn't work in a permanent way.
Sooner or later, the "bug" comes back.
Ulead had an opportunity to make this program truly competitive, but I feel Ulead simply "blew it" due to the bugs.
Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net
Gateway 7426gx
http://tinyurl.com/hagye
http://tinyurl.com/hagye