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View Full Version : Getting subtitles in sync with Adobe Encore CS5.1


muzicman82
22nd July 2011, 03:31
Hello all,

Using Subtitle Edit 3.2 Beta 3, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5, and Adobe Encore CS5.1.

I just spent a couple days transcribing a long training DVD. I want the subtitles to be a normal subtitle track on a DVD. My workflow was:

* Edit the video complete in Premiere Pro CS5.5. Source video is HDV and the sequence is natively 30fps non-drop. Premiere created this sequence based on the footage.

* Export with Media Encoder to MPEG2. Timecode is still non-drop and is set to 29.97.

* I used Subtitle Edit 3.1 to do the transcription. Frame rate in the program is set to 29.97.

* Exported/Saved as Adobe Encore TXT file.

* Started Adobe Encore CS5.1 project. Imported the same MPEG2 as asset.

* Imported the TXT as new subtitle track.

The subtitles start off fine, but they kind of drift. I thought Encore was supposed to handle drop/non-drop TC formats? By the end of the hour of video, the subtitles are about 3 seconds late. For instance, I have a title that is supposed to be at TC 00:52:46:10 (that's timecode, not time). When I import it, it actually comes in at TC 00;52;49;11.

Anyone have any idea what is going on? I have Subtitle Edit set up for 29.97 frame rate. Is this a conversion issue? Or do I really need to put frames between titles? It gives a warning about Blu-ray, but I am only doing DVD.

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

muzicman82
22nd July 2011, 15:59
Figured it out!

Adobe Premiere uses semi-colon notation for drop frame TC and colon for non-drop frame.

Adobe Encore does NOT, even though, to my knowledge, DVDs are non-drop frame. It is using semi-colon notation.

Subtitle Edit saved the Encore DVD TXT file with colons, which I assume is correct.

I used notepad to search/replace all colons with semicolons and it imports just fine and in sync.

davidhildreth
4th August 2011, 22:38
Thank you. This thread just saved my bacon.

muzicman82
5th August 2011, 00:29
Glad it helped somebody. I've gotten Adobe involved over on the Adobe Forums (http://forums.adobe.com/message/3832355), but I don't think they see this as critical.

I don't understand why Encore treats everything as drop-frame timecode when DVDs are not drop frame. Seems incorrect to me. If they are just using the wrong punctuation, that seems like a bug.