Amiga Format CD 23/Amiga Format AFCD23 (Feb 1998, Issue 107).iso/-seriously_amiga-/shareware/graphics/subtitlerdemo/subtitler.doc

Text File | 1997-12-06 | 19KB | 461 lines

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    SubTitler - Demo Release v2.17
      (c) 1996-1997 Ott M. Aaloe
     Release date 30. November 1997
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This document tries to explain in brief all functions and features of the
SubTitler. In order to understand it all you should at lease have some
basic knowledge of the Amiga and video work.

In this doc you will find a term 'VTR Mode' - this means the mode where
Time Code is read from RS-232 (i.e. from VTR).

For quick start, you could load the demo subtitle file that came with
SubTitler and play it back with Player mode to get the basic idea of
what the SubTitler is, and what it is not capable of.

NB! Some parts of the SubTitler (especially Displayer mode and functions
connected with external Time Code) won't work exactly like described here.
For example, in Player mode, if VTR mode is used, normally subtitles are
synced to the external timecode (and also this docs claims it) but due to
fact that this IS a limited demo version syncing is not actually possible.
So in other words all features described here work in full version but
*may* not work with demo.


1. Installation and Setup
1.1. Connecting Amiga to VTR

Amiga is connected to the VTR with standard serial cable. Be sure to turn
the power off before you connect the devices to each other. There are two
different methods depending on the VTR you're using. The following table
illustrates cables for Sony and Panasonic.

      Amiga      Sony     Panasonic
        1        1        1
        2        3        2
        3        2        3
Pin #    4        N/C        4
        5        N/C        5
        6        20        6
        20        6        N/C
        7        7        7

As you can see, the main difference is that Sony uses flipped TXD/RXD
and DSR/DTR. So you just have to be sure which cable you need, otherwise
your Amiga won't receive any data from your VTR.


1.2. Installing the SubTitler software

If you don't have Hard Disk, copy all files from archive to a disk
and start SubTitler by just booting from it (NB! You should have
diskfont.library and reqtools library also on that disk). Otherwise you
should install SubTitler to Hard Disk by running HDInstall script.
The installation procedure is quite simple. Just follow the onscreen
instructions (such as where and what to install).

1.3. Setting up

Setup can be altered by opening a menu with the 'Right Mouse Button'
from the upper left corner of the screen and choosing your desired menu
item. As Setup is saved to SubTitler.info file there is also the
possibility to change the setup manually. To read more about manual
Setup editing and settings that can only be altered by editing
SubTitler.info file, refer to Chapter 1.3.5.

1.3.1. Editor Setup

Work dir        Set the default directory for your subtitle files.

Backup dir         Set the default directory for your backup files.

Backup level    Set how many backups are made (0-5). Set 0 if
                backups are not needed.

Editor warn     Lets you specify how many characters can be shown in one,
                single row. If you enter more symbols than defined here
                then the editor outputs red coloured symbols instead
                standard black ones (to warn you that characters won't
                fit in row in displayer mode).

1.3.2. Displayer Setup

Show preview     If set, preview of the next page is shown during
                Recorder mode.

Show Time Code     If set, the current Time Code is shown during Recorder
                and Player mode.

Center titles    If set, all subtitles will be centered.

Screen Mode     Lets you choose screen mode and depth used in Displayer
                mode. SubTitler is designed to run with PAL:Hi-Res Laced
                and PAL:Super-Hires Laced screen mode. I can't give any
                guarantee that other resolutions work properly.
                NB! Be sure to have enough free memory to use
                'Super HiRes ' modes as they requires lots of free
                Chip RAM.

Select Font     Set font for Displayer. Note that fonts that come with
                SubTitler are grouped as Standard and Super Hires
                (SH extension). So be sure you set the font according
                to your Displayer Screen mode.

Set Font Color    Set the color of the font. This setting will be ignored
                if color font is used.

Mask Type        Specify the type of Mask used underneath the subtitles.
                Three modes are available:

                Filled    :One color Mask is used.
                Raster1    :Raster 1 is used.
                Raster2    :Raster 2 is used.

Mask Color        Set the color of the Mask.

Mask Y Pos Fix    Normally the Y position of the Mask equals to the
                Displayer font's Y cordinate. The actual Y position
                can be corrected -20 to 20 pixels.

Mask Y Size Fix    By default the height of the Mask equals to the
                Displayer font's height. Height of the mask can be
                corrected -20 to 20 pixels.

Mask All        If set, all subtitles will have mask (filled or raster)
                underneath the actual text.


1.3.3. RS-232 Setup

Enable Parity Checking     If set parity checking is enabled.

Odd Parity                 If set, Odd Parity is used. Otherwise Even Parity
                        is used.

Disable XON/XOFF         If set, XON/XOzFF is disabled.

Set Baud Rate             Set needed baud rate for serial (most devices work
                        with 9600).

Default settings for Sony and Panasonic are shown in following table:

Menu Setting            Sony    Panasonic
Enable Parity Checking    Set        Set
Odd parity                Unset    Set
Disable XON/XOFF        Unset    Set
Baud Rate                9600    9600

NB! The only parameter you can't change within SubTitler program is
the number of data bits. Sony uses 8 data bits while Panasonic uses 7.
You should run 'Sys:Prefs/Serial Preferences' to change this parameter.

1.3.4. Time Code Setup

Available Time Code modes follow:

Simulated     Choose, if you don't need external Time Code.
Sony UVW     For Sony Betacam VTR.
Panasonic     For Panasonic SVHS VTR.

1.3.5. Tool Types Overview

All SubTitler settings are saved to SubTitler.info file. To change
settings manually, go to WorkBench, click on the SubTitler Icon once
and choose Icon > Information from WB's menu. NB! Settings marked
with (*) can be changed only by hand.

Overview of the Tool Types recognized by SubTitler:

TITLEDIR         = Default work directory.
BACKUPDIR         = Backup directory.
PALETTEFILE     = (*) Name of the file to load palette from. If file
                  cannot be loaded default palette is used.
CENTREX         = Displayer's screen Center coordinate - all subtitle
                  centering is aligned to this coordinate.
DISPLAYERFONT     = Name of the font for Displayer.
DISPLAYERFONTSIZE = Displayer font size.
LINEX             = X coordinate of the subtitles.
LINEY             = Y coordinate of the first line.
LINESPACE         = Space between lines in pixels.
LINEUPY         = (*) Y coordinate of the first line if lineup
                  effect ([1]) is used.
PREVIEWX=        = X coordinate of the Preview box in Displayer mode
PREVIEWY=        = Y coordinate of the Preview box in Displayer mode
SHOWPREVIEW     = TRUE / FALSE. Preview is shown in Displayer if set to TRUE.
TIMECODEMODE     = 0 - simulated, 1 - Sony, 2 - Panasonic.
EDITWARNING     = Number of visible characters in row.
BACKUPLEVEL     = number of backup levels.
CENTRETITLES     = TRUE / FALSE. All subtitles are centered if set to TRUE.
SERIALBAUD         = Baud rate for serial port.
SERIALFLAGS     = Settings for serial port.
PICTUREDIR         = (*) Default graphics directory.
CLOSEWB         = TRUE / FALSE. If set to TRUE SubTitler tries to
                  Close WorkBench (too get more free memory).
DMODE            = Displayer mode DisplayID.
DDEPTH            = Displayer mode depth.
DSCREENX        = Displayer mode Screen's width.
DSCREENY        = Displayer mode Screen's.
DOVERSCAN        = Displayer mode Overscan Bit.
DPENCOLOR        = Displayer mode subtitle output color.
DMASKTYPE        = Mask type to use in Displayer mode.
DMASKYPOS        = Mask Y position fix (-20 to +20).
DMASKYSIZE        = Mask Y size fix (-20 to +20).
MASKALL            = If set to TRUE mask is used under.


2. Using SubTitler
2.1. Editor

Text editing part consists of three fields. The middle one is the editable
area, above and beneath it are preview sections. To edit the text, click
to the middle area. Each page can have max three lines. Cursor can be moved
around with the arrow keys or by clicking to your desired location.
Pages can be scrolled up or down by clicking onto the upper or lower
preview area of the editor, using slider gadget on the right of the
editor area or using up and down arrow keys. Special effects can be
achieved using special in-text commands:

[1]    Line is output to upper are of the screen
[2]    Starts Italic text.
[3]    Stops Italic text.
[4]    Line is centered.
[5]    Picture is loaded for background.
[6]    Line has Mask underneath normal text.

To understand the in-text commands better study the demo subtitle
file that comes with SubTitler. Note that the 'Line - up'
effect ([1]) can be added by simply activating the gadget at the
beginning of the line.'Mask' effect can be added by activating the
gadget at the end of the line.

You can add subtitles to the page even if effect [5] is used (i.e.:
a picture is loaded for background). Obviously, the picture's palette
is used so you just have to be sure that picture's and font's palette
match. Also note that the effects [2] and [3] (italic text start/end)
can be anywhere in text while effects like [1], [4] and [5] must be at
the beginning of the line, effect [1] being the leftmost. So if the text
has to be up and centered then just start the line with '[1][4]' and
after the effects add the text itself. Effect [6] (Mask) has to be at
the end of the line.
The printing of the subtitles in Displayer is adjusted in a way that
that lowest line is always filled. So even if you enter text to the
line 1 and 2 it will be output to the place of line 2 and 3.


2.1.1. Gadgets overview

Load File
    Loads subtitles from disk. After the subtitles have been loaded,
    SubTitler also tries to load the Time Code. Time Code file have
    the same name as subtitles but has ".tc" extension. By default,
    the file requester won't show Time Code files but if you want to
    see them you can always edit the pattern field of the file requester.
    After file is loaded, it will be processed. Lines will be spread to
    different pages and all ASCII characters will be remapped if needed.
    Please note that the characters are remapped only once - in case
    subtitles were not edited with SubTitler's editor (this is assumed
    by missing Time Code file) and ONLY if file has 'txt' extension.
    After you save file, remapped characters are saved and also a Time
    Code file is saved (even if you haven't recorded any). So if the Time
    Code file is available, this means characters are already remapped
    and further remapping is not done.
    ASCII remapping is needed to make MS-DOS text files compatible with
    SubTitler and only once, because otherwise there may be conflict
    between certain characters.
    So if you need to import files from PC then make sure you use 'txt'
    extension.
    Keyboard shortcut: L

Save File
    Save function is disabled in demo version.

Current page
    Jumps directly to any page in memory. Enter the page number you wish
    to go and press Enter.
    Keyboard shortcut: C

Start Player
    Starts the Displayer in Player mode. More about Player mode in
    Chapter 2.3.2.
    Keyboard shortcut: P

Start Recorder
    Starts the Displayer in Recorder mode. More about Recorder in
    Chapter 2.3.1.
    Keyboard shortcut: R

Time Code I / O
    Refer to Chapter 2.2.
    Keyboard shortcut: I, O

VTR controls
    With VTR control keys you can command VTR to Rewind, Play, Fast
    Forward, Stop and Pause.
    Keyboard shortcuts: F6, F7, F8, F9 and F10

Tape Pre-Roll
    This gadget makes the VTR to rewind tape 3 seconds before the
    current 'In Time Code'. If the previous page's 'Out Time Code' is
    less than 3 seconds before the current page's 'In Time Code' then
    the tape will be 'pre rolled' to just after previous page's
    'Out Time Code'. Pre Roll helps to continue work if you must stop
    during recording. An example: Something went wrong - you inserted
    a subtitle a bit too early. Now exit the recorder (by hitting the
    Escape key). Choose the page that got shown too early, press the
    'Pre Roll' gadget (tape will be rewound 3 seconds) and lastly press
    the Recorder gadget to return to the Recorder again. The tape starts
    to play and you will be about 3 seconds away from the place you made
    the mistake. Note! If Simulated Time Code mode is used then instead
    of Tape rolling, internally generated Time Code will be set to 3
    seconds before the current 'In Time Code'.
    Keyboard shortcut: T

Test TC to end
    Tests Time Code accuracy from current page to the end. If an error
    situation occurs during the test, the editor will jump to the page
    error was in, and a warning message is displayed. So to be sure
    everything is ok, test your subtitles before the air/final recording.
    Keyboard shortcut: E

Insert Page
    Inserts an empty page before the current page. Empty page will become
    active and current one moved down.

Delete Page
    Erases current page from memory.

Picture
    Adds picture to the current page.

Search
    Searches for string entered to upper string gadget.
    Keyboard shortcut: A

Replace
    Searches for string entered to 'Upper string gadget' and if found
    waits user's confirm to replace it with string entered to 'Lower
    string gadget'.

Search / Replace
    The cycle gadget selects the Replace mode. If 'Search' is selected
    replace mode searches for single matches and waits for confirm to
    replace or search next. If 'Replace All' is selected all 'found'
    matches will be replaced.

2.2. Time Code

As mentioned earlier, if 'VTR Mode' is not used the Time Code is
simulated by your computer. Otherwise, the Time Code is read from VTR.
Time Code gadgets in Editor are grouped as In and Out. 'In Time Code'
represents the time after what showing of the current page is started
and 'Out Time Code' is the time current page showing is ended (clear
page is shown). If you edit the Time Code manually then use Enter key
to move to the next Time Code field. If 'Show Time Code' is set from
Settings menu then current Time Code is displayed during Recorder and
Player mode. The displayed Time Code may stop for a moment or flicker
during the page swapping. This is normal as the next page is generated
in background and at this moment no Time Code is output (internally the
Time Code counts normally). So this is like indicator showing that the
next page is ready to show. Useful if pictures are loaded for background
as this takes a bit time. For technical reasons the Time Code is not
shown on pages where the background picture is used with effect [5].

Functions selectable from Time Code menu:

Time shift        Enables shifting Time Code n seconds (+ or -).
Reset            Sets the internally generated Time Code to zero.
                Not needed if 'VTR Mode' is used.
Clear current    Resets current page's Time Code to zero.
Clear all        Resets Time Code for all pages.
Load            Let's you load Time Code from file (form backup
                file for example).

At the moment SubTitler can't handle negative Time Code. It will be
added in the future versions if there is demand for this feature.
So be sure you reset the VTR's counter (SVHS) or set the VTR's Time
Code mode to TC (SONY) before you start the recording/playback.

2.3. Displayer

Displayer part handles the actual subtitle showing in SubTitler.
To exit back to Editor mode press 'Escape' key or click the left
mouse button. Displayer can be started in two modes:

2.3.1. Recorder

In Recorder mode the actual Time Code is recorded to pages. If
'VTR Mode' is used then the 'Play' command will be sent to VTR and
Time Code is read from VTR, otherwise Time Code is generated
internally. The following keys control subtitle appearing in Recorder
mode:

Space        Pressing space will display subtitles in current page.
            Hold down 'Space' as long as you need the current subtitle
            to be shown. After you release 'Space', an empty page will
            be shown. The next time you press 'Space' the next page
            will appear and so on.

VTR control    You can control the VTR like in Editor mode with F6, F7,
            F8 and F9 keys.

Escape        Returns you to the Editor screen. If 'VTR Mode' is used
            then before returning to the Editor a 'Stop' command is
            sent to the VTR.

Keypad keys    Keypad arrow keys (numbers 4,8,6 and 2) change the position
            of the subtitles. Note that you must also hold down the
            'Space' key in order to change position. If you hold down
            'Space' and press the arrow keys then X and Y coordinate
            of the output tiles are changed. If also the 'Ctrl' key
            is held down then 'Up-Arrow' and 'Down-Arrow' keys change
            the line spacing, 'Left-Arrow' and 'Right-Arrow' keys
            change Center position. To align centering be sure to
            use 'Center' command in some of the lines otherwise you
            won't see changes. To change the upper line Y coordinate
            you should alter LINEUPY Tool Type (more about Tool Types
            in Chapter 2.3.5). If you want to store the subtitle
            position settings you made then just exit to Editor mode
            and select Save Setup menu at upper left corner of the
            screen. Do not try to change subtitle's position if you
            use background with effect [5]! To speed up the moving
            of the subtitles while setting coordinates, the movement
            updating is very jerky and leaves trails behind. So don't
            mind, just set the position and the next page is updated
            correctly with the new coordinates.

[U]/[H] key    If you, during recording, notice that you want current page
            to be displayed upper area of the screen or you need to have
            mask underneath the text (original material, for example,
            has already some sort of titles at the same place you need
            your subtitles to be displayed) then with [U] and [H] key it
            is possible to add in-text commands in real time without
            exiting to the Editor mode. [U] is for effect [1] - line up
            and [H] is for effect [6] - Mask. NB! Although you won't see
            the actual changes, they still take place in background so
            during the Recording only 'Ok!' text is displayed for you to
            know the command has been acknowledged. [U] and [H] keys
            should be pressed same time you hold down the [Space] key.

2.3.2. Player

In player mode SubTitler runs in slave mode. In other words; playback
of the subtitles takes place according to the current Time Code (read
either from VTR or generated by computer). If the current page's 'In
Time Code' matches the Actual Time Code then the page is shown. If
VTR mode is not used, the showing starts with an empty page and is
held until you click the left mouse button. After that first page
is shown and internal Time Code generation starts from current page's
'In Time Code'. In 'VTR Mode' Player waits for the VTR to be in Play
mode and after that, checks the Time Code from VTR. If needed, scans
through pages in memory to mach current Time Code. So if you, for
example, rewind the tape or search for certain part in the middle of
the Player mode then the Player is always in sync with current Time
Code. Until VTR is not in Play mode an empty page is shown. Normally
between pages an empty page is shown but in case the pause between
pages is less than 3 frames (0.12 seconds) the empty page will be
skipped and going over to the next page is instant. This is useful if
you display pictures on every page (slide show like) as change from
one page to the next takes place in one frame without any flickering.