General Subtitling FAQ’s What's the difference between open and closed captions? Open captions are sometimes referred to as ‘burnt-in’ or ‘in-vision’ subtitles. They are generally encoded as a permanent part of the video image. Closed captions is a generic term for subtitles that are viewer-selectable and is generally used for subtitles that are transmitted as a discrete data stream in the VBI then decoded and displayed as text by the TV receiver e.g. Line 21 Closed Captioning system in the USA, and Teletext subtitles, using line 335, in Europe. What's the difference between "live" and "offline" subtitling? Live subtitling is the real-time captioning of live programmes, typically news and sports. This is achieved by using either Speech Recognition systems or Stenographic (Steno) keyboards. Offline subtitling is created by viewing previously recorded material. Typically this produces better results because the subtitle author can ensure they produce An accurate translation/transcription with no spelling mistakes Subtitles are timed to coincide precisely with the dialogue Subtitles are positioned to avoid obscuring other important onscreen features Which Speech Recognition packages do Starfish support? Starfish supports Speech Recognition packages from IBM and Dragon and other suppliers who confirm to the Microsoft Speech API. The choice of the software is usually dictated by the availability of a specific language. Starfish Technologies Ltd FAQ General FAQ’s What's the difference between subtitling and captioning? The use of these terms varies in different parts of the world. Subtitling often refers to the technique of using open captions for language translation of foreign programmes. Captioning is typically used for same language transcription, as used for closed captions for the hearing impaired and consequently will include captions for relevant noises and background sounds. What languages do Starfish subtitling products support? We have worldwide language support through the use of Unicode True Type fonts. For more details on Unicode - www.unicode.org The menus and dialog boxes in Isis are normally in English, however other languages are available as an option e.g. French. Which video/subtitling formats does Starfish support? Both Open caption, including DVD, and closed caption (e.g. Teletext, Line 21 and DVB ). We support all common standard definition, widescreen and high definition television formats, and some web streaming and digital cinema formats. How are subtitle files interchanged between systems? We import and export the widely accepted EBU - .STL format for Teletext subtitle file exchange as well as importing common caption formats including ESEF, IDL, PAC, RAC, SAMI, RealText, 890, ETitle, CAP. For file export we support includes EBU, ESEF, Spruce DVD, RealText, CAP, NCI CAP, PAC, and SAMI. Other formats can be supported on request. SAMI is a Microsoft proposed standard (Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange) that will allow captioning of any digital multimedia file. SAMI is based on HTML. Starfish Technologies Ltd FAQ General FAQ’s Can more than more subtitle author work on the same project? Yes, Isis is built on an industry standard SQL database and this allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same subtitle file e.g. the same programme or news story. This is vital when tackling late-edit or late-delivery programmes. What video formats can be played in Isis user window? Isis supports playback of low-resolution digitised video using Windows DirectShow codecs for MPEG-1, MPEG-4/AVI, and Windows Media Video. Baseband video can also be viewed when using a recommend video capture card. Isis also supports IPV's SpectreView browsing technology for MPEG-1 and Windows Media Video. More details at www.ipv.com How can we preview the finished subtitles with the video? The Isis video window displays a WYSIWYG preview of the subtitles, including the final font in open subtitles. What hardware is required? Isis runs on Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP Professional, and is compatible with Windows 2003 server. We strongly recommend Microsoft Windows XP Professional. The PC should have the following minimum specification: Pentium class processor running at 3GHz or higher. Higher processor speeds are required if integrated with Voice Recognition, and strongly recommended for more rapid response to video controls. Windows Media player 9 or above installed. 512MB RAM (1GB recommended for use with Voice Recognition) Do you support multiple language subtitling? Yes. We cover this in some detail with a specific FAQ sheet Starfish Technologies Ltd FAQ General FAQ’s Company Overview Starfish Technologies Ltd was formed in 2000 and is based in Twickenham, UK. It is an ISO 9001 registered company. Starfish Technologies Ltd 110 Holy Road Twickenham Middlesex TW1 4HF UK Tel: +44 (0) 7779 287461 +44 (0) 7884 181580 Fax: +44 (0) 870 132 6277 Web www.starfish.tv Email [email protected] Starfish Technologies Ltd FAQ General FAQ’s .