MacCaption + Manzanita
Deliver Tapeless DTV Captions

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Press Release: broadcastengineering.com/RF/cpc-manzanita-partner-0618 

EIA-708 HD Broadcast Closed Captioning Made Easier & Less Expensive
MPEG-2 HD closed captioning for broadcast is now easier and less expensive due to the teamwork of CPC (Computer Prompting & Captioning Co.) and Manzanita Systems, Inc. CPC’s MacCaption-HD closed captioning software now interfaces seamlessly with all three Manzanita software multiplexers (MP2TSMS, MP2TSMM and MP2TSME) in order to generate a transport stream file that contains EIA-708 closed captioning. This is extremely important because an increasing number of TV broadcasters demand that post production houses deliver MPEG-2 transport stream files instead of traditional high-definition tape masters.

Strict FCC broadcast regulations require these HD transport stream files to have both EIA-608 and EIA-708 closed captions for the hearing impaired (EIA-708 is the HD/DTV captioning protocol; EIA-608 was the closed captioning protocol prior to HD).

Up until now, the only way to add 708 closed captions to HD video elementary streams was to use expensive HD tape decks with hardware HD caption encoders, each costing around $10,000. CPC partnered with Manzanita and has developed an easy, cost-effective software solution to reliably add 708 closed captions to HD transport stream files. With MacCaption-HD, high-definition transport stream files may be created with software only, or with traditional hardware encoders, for those organizations that already own hardware encoders.

Monitoring for HD Captions

MacCaption-HD also allows TV stations to check MPEG-2 transport streams for both 708 and 608 captions before they air a show. This is extremely important because the FCC has received numerous reports of captions not appearing on HD broadcasts.

How Tapeless Work-Flow Saves Money

The end user must have both MacCaption-HD and one of Manzanita’s multiplexer applications (MP2TSMS, MP2TSMM or MP2TSME) installed on their computer in order to add 708 captions to HD MPEG-2 transport stream files. With MacCaption-HD, the user adds the 708 caption data to the MPEG-2 video ES file. MacCaption-HD then passes the processed video file to Manzanita’s multiplexer and the user has the option of creating a CableLabs®-compliant transport stream file, or creating a TS file that is based on a user-defined configuration.

Once the captioned MPEG-2 transport stream is created, it is delivered via FTP or hard drive to the TV broadcast facility server. This e-Captioning solution paves the way for completely tapeless video delivery, and saves production facilities thousands of dollars in HD tape stock, equipment, and shipping costs.

Caption Creation Process

MacCaption-HD is a full-featured authoring suite that creates closed captions from scratch using a transcript and video file. The captioning software also imports and edits many industry-standard file formats such as SCC, CAP, ULT, STL, CIN, etc. MacCaption-HD can retrieve caption information directly from videotape, DVD video, QuickTime® files as well as decode captioned MPEG-2 HD video. The software also can manipulate caption timecode to ensure proper sync and support for multiple video frame rates including 29.97 NTSC, 25 PAL, 23.976 HD, etc.

About CPC – The Closed Captioning Software Leader

Integrating Manzanita’s multiplexing software into the MacCaption-HD 708 captioning process is the latest addition to CPC’s industry-leading line of closed captioning and subtitling software for Mac OS® X and Microsoft® Windows® operating systems. Since releasing the first simultaneous closed captioning/teleprompting software in 1986, CPC has been the captioning and subtitling industry leader. CPC also operates an award-winning captioning and subtitling service. For more information, please visit www.cpcweb.com/hdtv.

About Manzanita Systems, Inc.

Manzanita Systems is a leading provider of MPEG solutions for digital television systems, including transport stream multiplexer and analyzer software, software developer kits (SDKs), and custom hardware/software products.