Basics

Apple Logo Windows Logo

MacCaption + AJA + FCP 7
Deliver HD Closed Captions

Complete closed captioning and subtitling solution.

No additional CC hardware required. No generation loss!!!

Overview

MacCaption DTV and HD Enterprise software now works with the AJA KONA (3, LHi, LHe, and LSe) and IO HD cards along with Final Cut Pro 7 to create HD and SD closed captions. This means AJA users that edit with Final Cut Pro 7 can utilize MacCaption to caption HD and SD videos in-house. This eliminates the need for a dedicated HD caption encoder, which costs $7,600 or more, plus saves time and money, preserves quality, and simplifies work-flow.

CPC and AJA worked as a team over the past several months to develop new closed captioning workflows for the latest Final Cut Pro version 7.0. MacCaption adds caption preparation and encoding capabilities to Final Cut Pro 7, by generating caption files which Final Cut Pro can then use to add closed captioning to HD and SD videos.

How it Works

MacCaption lets users enter, position, and time stamp captions, then creates an encoded caption file. This file is loaded into Final Cut Pro 7 via the "Edit to Tape" or "Print to Video" menus. The AJA cards then channel the encoded caption data to the proper location in the HD video data. More

Simplifies Work-Flow

MacCaption saves users time and money by authoring captions in-house, avoiding the costs and delays of shipping master tapes back and forth. MacCaption eliminates the generation loss of legacy tape-to-tape hardware encoders, because the captions are printed to tape directly from Final Cut Pro. MacCaption can re-purpose captions for multiple tape formats, the web, VOD, and optical disc delivery. MacCaption does not require the complicated cable runs to tape machines, a closed caption encoder, a time code reader, etc. that are required by all other captioning software.

Note: Final Cut Pro 7 does not have any caption preparation or encoding capabilities, that is, the ability to create closed captions from scratch or raw script. Our MacCaption software has caption preparation capabilities and also generates caption files which Final Cut Pro can then use to add closed captioning to your HD and SD videos.

Popular caption file formats such as .SCC and .CAP files only contain CEA-608 caption data, therefore they do not satisfy FCC requirements for DTV broadcasts.  The FCC requires both CEA-708 and CEA-608 captions on all DTV broadcasts, whether they are SD or HD.  MacCaption can import your existing caption files (or create new captions from scratch), and exports a true 708 caption track to ensure your video is compliant with all FCC regulations.

We are currently testing various workflows with the new Final Cut Pro, and will be posting new tutorials and information as soon as it is ready.

Excepts from FCP 7 manual (Chapter >> Mastering)
http://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutstudio/workflows/index.html

"There are third-party applications, such as MacCaption from CPC, that provide the means to import transcripts, edit them with timing information, encode closed captioning data in the necessary format, and insert the closed captioning data into a QuickTime file in preparation for tape output or DVD encoding."

"However, you can use a third-party utility (such as CPC MacCaption) to reformat CEA-608 closed captioning as true CEA-708-encoded closed captioning, saving the result as a QuickTime closed captioning track that you can use for output instead."

AJA KONA/IO HD Captioning Workflow

Video Tutorials:

Preparation, Export HD, Export SD
Troubleshooting

Sample CC Files:

SD (NTSC), 1080i 29.97, 720p59.94

Before You Begin:
Top 5 common issues

Please double check that:
A) If you are working with HD video, make sure your HD deck is configured to record VANC Line 9 closed captions.  Sony HD decks by default are set to not record Line 9.  Click here for more info.

B) You have a way to monitor HD closed captions.  You cannot use a consumer monitor connected by HDMI or component, unless you have additional hardware.  Click here for more info.

C) You are not trying to up/down-convert while outputting captions. The AJA cards presently do not support this.  Your View setting in FCP should match the resolution of your sequence, and must be either 29.97 or 59.94 frame rate.

D) The AJA cards only support HD closed captions when using full raster (1920x1080 or 1280x720). If you are working with thin raster codecs like DVCPRO-HD or HDV (1440x1080 or 960x720), you must create a full raster sequence and render your footage to a full raster codec like ProRes before outputting to tape.

E) The AJA card must be outputting video in YUV 422 mode. AJA does not support HD captioning when in RGBA 444 color space (dual link/3G SDI) mode.

F) The 00:00:00:00 mark in your captions project should align with the first frame of your FCP timeline (usually 01:00:00:00 or 00:59:00:00).  QuickTime captions should always start at 00:00:00:00, not the FCP sequence starting time.  See this illustration comparing the FCP sequence time to the closed captions track time.

G) If your closed captions track is shorter than your timeline duration, FCP will loop your caption track (the captions will start to play again from the beginning).  To avoid this, make sure your captions track is at least as long as the timeline by putting a blank caption at the end of your project.

To work with AJA KONA (3, LHi, LHe, and LSe) or IO HD, you need MacCaption DTV, DTV Lite (DTV-A), or HD Enterprise, Final Cut Pro 7, as well as the most recent Kona drivers. Please check the following pages: KONA 3, LHi, LHe, LSe, IO HD.

See details of HD caption workflow on pages 2-4 on KONA Release notes.


Current Status: MacCaption + FCP 7 + KONA Workflow
The Kona cards can output captions in one of 2 ways:

  • Output via the AJA TV or VTR Xchange programs
  • Output via Final Cut Pro 7's "Print to Video" or "Edit to Tape" dialog
Both AJA TV and FCP output methods support either HD or SD, but not HD + SD simultaneously.

To export HD closed captions via HD-SDI  choose
"QuickTime DTV 608/708 Closed Captions Track."

To export SD closed captions choose
"QuickTime 608 Closed Captions (FCP/Podcast/Web)."
All KONA workflows support MacCaption's Assemble Captions feature, which allows you to edit videos that were already captioned, then conform the captions to match your edited sequence, without having to re-do all your captions from scratch.

Initial Steps for All Workflows
  1. If you are starting with a FCP project, export your timeline as a QuickTime movie (this can be a reference movie, i.e. not self contained; or self contained if you prefer).

  2. Import this QuickTime movie into MacCaption and set the movie start time (Time Code > Movie Time) to 00:00:00:00, then transcribe & time-stamp your captions as normal.  This will help you to avoid a potential hurdle in the next step.
  3. Your caption project in MacCaption must start at 00:00:00:00, regardless of what time code your FCP7 sequence starts at.  FCP7 always assumes that the first frame of the sequence should align with 00:00:00:00 in the caption track.  For example, if your sequence starts at 00:59:50:00 and the first caption is supposed to appear at 01:00:01:00, that caption should have a time code of 00:00:11:00 in MacCaption (because the caption should appear 11:00 after the first frame of the FCP sequence).

  4. You also need to check the VANC check box in the KONA Control Panel, and make sure the Primary Format is set to the format you will be outputting (the Kona cards currently can not preserve captions when converting the format).
    5. Kona Control Panel

  5. If you will be outputting for HD, make sure you have at least one 708 target specified in MacCaption Caption > Encode Preferences (usually, Program A to Service 1).

    708 Encode Targets


HD workflow
  1. Follow the initial steps 1-5 above.
  2. MacCaption Export > HD > QuickTime DTV 608/708 Closed Captions Track.  Your settings should match this picture.

    3. Export DTV 708 Track
  3. To output via AJA TV: simply open this movie file in AJA TV and play it out through your Kona card. (Make sure your Display setting is set to the same format as your video file.)
  4. To output via FCP: select your original time line and make sure your View > Video Playback is set to the same format as your video file, then go to the "Print to Video" or "Edit to Tape" menu.
  5. In the Closed Captioning setting of the Print to Video/Edit to Tape dialog box, select the QuickTime movie with the DTV 608/708 track that you exported in Step 8 above.
Print to Video 



SD workflow
  1. Follow the initial steps 1-5 above.
  2. MacCaption Export > Podcast/Web/QuickTime 608 > QuickTime 608 Closed Captions (FCP/Podcast/Web).
  3. To output via AJA TV: simply open this movie file in AJA TV and play it out through your Kona card. (Make sure your Display setting is set to AJA Kona 525i29.97)
  4. To output via FCP: select your original time line and make sure your View > Video Playback is set to AJA Kona 525i29.97, then go to the Print to Video or Edit to Tape menu.
  5. In the Closed Captioning setting of the Print to Video/Edit to Tape dialog box, select the QuickTime movie with the 608 track that you exported in Step 8 above.

 

Monitoring your HD 708 captions

Please read our Monitoring HD closed captions white paper which describes some of the issues of monitoring HD closed captions.

Note that HDMI and component connections do NOT carry closed captioning data.  (DTV compatible TVs can only receive caption data as metadata in the DTV MPEG-2 transport stream, or as line 21 on the analog SD inputs.)  The only high definition baseband interface which carries closed captioning data is HD-SDI.

To proof HD 708 captions on an external monitor, you need an HD-SDI device with a 708 closed captions decoder. For example, HD-SDI 708 closed captions can be displayed on a Sony Luma monitor with the optional BKM-244CC closed caption decoder (note: not compatible with 708 roll-up or paint-on captions), or converted into open captions using an Evertz 7760CCM-HD decoder card, or verified using the Tektronix Video Test waveform monitors.  There are other devices capable of decoding 708 captions as well. However, we have yet to find an HD-SDI 708 captions decoder which properly supports Asian languages and other Unicode characters.

You can proof your HD 708 captions in MacCaption or in QuickTime Player after exporting a movie file with a QuickTime 608 track or QuickTime DTV 608/708 track.

 

Troubleshooting

Deck Setup:
By default, most Sony HD decks are factory set to not record VANC Line 9 where the HD closed captions are stored.  You must go into the deck setup or maintenance menu and look for the "VANC Packet RX" setting.  This should be set to: VANC Line 9, DID 61, SDID 01.  The exact menu depends on your deck.  See our Sony HD deck settings for closed captioning for some of the settings we know, or please contact Sony for more information.

Also, please be aware that most Sony decks do not output HD VANC data to the monitor outputs during live monitoring or recording, only during tape playback.  If you are trying to monitor your captions, please connect your HD-SDI monitor w/708 caption decoder directly to your AJA card instead of the deck, otherwise you must first record to tape and then play the tape back to see captions on a monitor connected directly to the deck.

Finally, please be aware that some kinds of HD decks do not support HD closed captioning at all.  These include:
- Panasonic AJ-HD1200 (the AJ-HD1400 deck is ok)
- All XDCAM EX decks (XDCAM HD decks are ok)
- All HDV decks

Working with 23.976 (24p) Video:
Currently, FCP7 supports Print to Video with HD captions for 720p59.94 and 1080i59.94 (sometimes called 1080i29.97) only.  All DTV broadcasts are aired in one of these two formats.  24p sequences can be printed to video using either of these settings.  Make sure you set your View > Video Playback preset to one of these formats.

If you need to output a native 23.976p (24p) or psf video signal with closed captions, you can use AJA's VTR Xchange (version 4.1.1 or newer) software.

Looping captions
Final Cut Pro will loop your caption track if it is shorter than the duration of your sequence.  This will cause the first captions to repeat in the middle or end of your sequence.  To avoid this, put a blank caption at the end of your caption project, and set the time of this blank caption to be at or past the end of your sequence.  This will ensure that the caption track is at least as long as your sequence is.

Can't see captions on external device:
- Make sure you follow the above procedures exactly and do not get any error messages during the export or print to video processes.
- Make sure your deck is correctly configured to record VANC Line 9 captions, and keep in mind that Sony decks do not loop through VANC data to the monitor outputs except when playing back from tape.
- Make sure that you are using an HD-SDI device which is capable of decoding HD CEA-708 closed captions.  Consumer monitors connected by HDMI or component CANNOT receive captions this way.  You can use an external HD-SDI closed captions decoder connected to a HD-SDI to HDMI converter to preview captions on a HDMI monitor.  The best option is to use a HD-SDI professional monitor or waveform monitor with a built-in or add-on CEA-708 decoder.  See "Monitoring your 708 captions" above for more information.

Additional Info



Quick Links

Solutions & Workflows

Support

About