Apple DVD Studio Pro 4 - Manual (Page 466)

Wrong Timecode
The most common problem is that the timecode in the subtitle file does not correspond
to the asset timecode of the video stream. In some cases, this is due to the original tape’s
timecode not being entered prior to the video being MPEG-encoded.
To see the timeline’s asset timecode, Control-click in the timeline, then choose Asset-Based
Timecode from the shortcut menu. You can force an STL format subtitle file to import
based on zero-based timecode (which sets the first frame as 00:00:00:00 regardless of the
asset’s timecode) by setting the $TapeOffset command to False (it is True by default). See
Timeline Command for more information.
You can also try importing the subtitle file into a track that has no video assets. This also
forces the subtitle clips to import based on zero-based timecode.
Font Not Available
If you are using the single subtitle file method and specify a font to use, a dialog appears
if the font is not found on the system, and DVD Studio Pro uses the default subtitle font
(as configured in the Text pane of DVD Studio Pro Preferences) as a substitute.
Note: The font must be installed as a Mac OS X font—Mac OS 9 fonts are not used.
Unable to Find the Graphics Files
In most cases, the master subtitle file and the graphics files it uses must be in the same
folder. In some cases, however, the master file may be configured to use a separate folder
for the graphics files. In this case, the path supplied by the master file must match the
actual location where the graphics files are.
How Subtitles Are Positioned
When you import subtitles, they are positioned in the subtitle stream based on the start
and end timecode values in the subtitle file and the video stream’s asset timecode. This
means that the timecode values in the subtitle file must be relative to the asset timecode
of the video stream’s clip, not to the timeline’s zero-based timecode. An exception is
when you use an STL format subtitle file, which can choose to use the timeline’s zero-based
timecode. See
Timeline Command for information on positioning subtitles when using
an STL format file. See Understanding Time Information in the Track Editor for more
information on asset-based versus zero-based timecode.
Editing Imported Subtitles
Once you have imported a subtitle file, you can work with the individual subtitle clips as
if you had manually created them. You can reposition them and change their color
mapping and any other subtitle attribute. If you imported the subtitles as text from a
single subtitle file, you can edit the text. If you imported a group of graphics files as your
subtitles, you cannot edit the actual text.
466 Chapter 19 Creating Subtitles