Posted by Bill's News on 11/15/86 11:39

Ken Maltby wrote:
> "Goro" <evilninjax@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1139406969.848818.285630@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>
>> I find Bob somewhat tiresome to listen to. He's the kind of newbie
>> that learns just a bit to be able to spout off bordeline correct
>> but
>> cumbersome statements that people can't quite understand. Since
>> he's
>> really unwilling to do anything more than a "1-step" process, it's
>> almost pointless to discuss anything with him.
>>
>> -goro-
>>
>
> This is a great subject for Bob's little games. He can play off
> the confusion in the meaning of the term "Subtitle". You are
> most likely correct that he hasn't discovered the facts of the
> situation, but he is certainly taking advantage of it.
>
> Most any video editor with graphic capabilities can "embed"
> text "over" the existing video. (Text or anything else, under the
> video would be unseen. ) You can build a video made up of
> many images, moving or static, one on top of the other. For
> the most part text, that is "embedded" or applied to a video during
> its construction/editing, are called "Titles". Editing programs
> often
> provide for a number of "Title Effects" that present the text in a
> number of interesting ways; from a simple static display, to the
> text bouncing all over the screen. One display method is the
> "Ticker" or a stream of text across the screen.
>
> To most people any text that appears in the movie and presents
> the dialog is a "Subtitle".
>
> But in the discussion of video encapsulation methods, "Subtitle"
> has a larger meaning. To say that a file type supports "Subtitles"
> doesn't refer to video where the image includes text, but to a
> separate selectable text image that can be made to appear over
> the video.
>
> So when Bob says that he can make an AVI file that will have
> "Subtitles" by "embedding" the text into the video, he is accurate
> in
> the first sense but totally wrong in the second sense. This is a
> situation he thrives on.
>
> Debunking Bob's slander of perfectly good software could be an
> unending endeavor, but it is at least occasionally necessary to
> provide some protection for those who might be swayed by his
> arguments.
>
> Luck;
> Ken

Putting Bob aside for a while it seems to me that AVI + separate
subtitles support far exceed DVD subtitle support. Even in the cheapo
Philips player subtitles are now very readable and presented on a
semi-transparent gray background, improving their readability in even
the most inane of studio cuts!

In PC software players of AVI content, independant file subtitles can
be moved about and font modified during playback - show me a DVD
player that will do that! I won't, of course, do anything if you
should;-)

It's sad that Bob can't abide the current workable methods of getting
subtitles from one format to another, if he needs them he's missing a
great deal.

I always capture the subtitles of British and Aussie films and their
episodic TV because they are really great entertainment, but I can't
understand the language. With American subtitles, I'm able to enjoy a
whole different world of entertainment ;-)

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