Subtitler:Export section

To use the subtitles in your editing system, you have to export two kind of files: The picture files and the titlelist that describes the spotting of the titles.

For the picture files, you define the settings in the Export section of the document: The video format, the file format, the export folder and an optional prefix for the file names.

The filenames of the exported files are defined either by default (sequential number) or with the /file comment. They can have a common prefix, and the extension (.tif or .tiff, eg. .pct or .pict) is defined in the preferences.

Note: We recommend strongly to use /file comments. You can add them for an entire file with the Spotting Tool.

Video format


The following formats are supported:
Format Dimensions Antialiasing Flicker filter
PAL 720*576 non square 4:3 yes yes
PAL 16:9 720*576 non square 16:9 yes yes
PAL DVD 720*576 native if Textsoft > 0 no
NTSC 720*486 non square 4:3 yes yes
NTSC 16:9 720*486 non square 16:9 yes yes
NTSC DV 720*480 non square 4:3 yes yes
NTSC DV 16:9 720*480 non square 16:9 yes yes
NTSC DVD 720*480 native if Textsoft > 0 no
VGA 640*480 square yes no
HD 720p 1280*720 square yes no
HD 720i 1280*720 square yes yes
HD 1080p 1920*1080 square yes no
HD 1080i 1920*1080 square yes yes
HDV 1080i 1440*1080 non square 16:9 yes yes
iPod 320*240 square yes no
iPod 16:9 320*180 square yes no

The widescreen 16:9 option scales the fonts so that they show properly on 16:9 projects.
You change the format of the document at any time, but changing may affect text wrapping.
You may also have multiple documents open with different video formats at the same time.
The PAL-DVD and NTSC-DVD formats give the best quality results for title rendering for DVDs, because they render to square pixels. Antialiasing is on if Textsoft is bigger than 0.

The HDV 1080i video format is meant for projects that are mastered natively in FCP. The subtitles are non-square pixels 1440 * 1080 for a real width of 1920 pixel. You do not need a special format for HDV 720p. Just use HD 720p.

Export format


BMP-DVD: saves an RGB file (run-length-encoded) with key colors white, red, blue and black for DVD-authoring on PC systems. The meaning of the keys is defined in the STL and SST files you export. You may need to adapt the color palette manually in the DVD authoring program.

PICT: saves the title as RGB file and as a separate alpha-file. The export is fast and the files are small, you can batch-import them on newer systems, but the matte key is not realtime and renders slowly. Use this format for DVD Studio Pro.

PICT-alpha: saves the title as RGB with embedded alpha. Though not officially supported, this format is recognized by most graphic applications and it is the only possibility to import titles as slides to older versions of Avid Mediacomposer (6.x) or MCXpress (1.x).

TIFF: saves the title als RGB with embedded alpha. The exporting is not very fast and the files are big (1.6 MB). Alpha is normal (white = background).

TIFF-RLE: saves the title as RBG with embedded alpha. The file is run-length-encoded, which is for titles a very effective lossless compression (40 -60 KB) without loosing quality. Alpha is inverted (white = foreground) to enhance compression. You have to choose invert alpha in the Avid import settings.

TIFF-DVD: saves an RGB file (run-length-encoded) with key colors white, red, blue and black for DVD-authoring. The meaning of the keys is defined in the STL and SST files you export. You may need to adapt the color palette manually in the DVD authoring program.

The recommended setting is TIFF-RLE if you use MediaComposer 7.x or later, Xpress 2.x or later or Final Cut Pro.

Important note on TIFF files: It looks like Preview 5.5.2 in Mac OS 10.7.4 (Lion) does not like our TIFF files though they open perfectly on Preview 10.6 and also in Graphic Converter, Avid Symphony and Final Cut Pro 7. It works also in Preview 5.5.1 and MacOS 10.7.3
We will follow on that. If that is a problem for you, use PNG files.

Export folder


Select the folder where you export your files. The files will have names like 0001.tif.
Caution: Exporting will overwrite any existing file with the same name.
You may override the naming scheme using the comment function explained below. Any title with a beginning line of /file myfilename will be saved under this name, with the extension .tif or .pct.
Note: You define in the preferences if the file extensios are .tiff or .tif, respectively .pct or .pict.

Prefix


Adds an optional prefix to the file names.