Not a programming question - a... er... um... lockdown question.
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I am now retired, but when I was working I was strictly line-of-business/DB stuff for SMBs, or celestial navigation for a hobby, so I have no idea of system stuff. I just expected everything to work as it should. I am an opera buff, and have been both watching and listening to a lot of opera under lockdown, more so as I am 'a person at risk' and live on my own. However, I find it very distracting, particularly when watching but also when just listening, to have a paper copy of the libretto open during the performance, and be continually referring to it, so not to lose track. If the libretto were to be on-screen - any screen - and synched with the opera, then it would not require total concentration to keep track of it. If I were to build myself such a system, most of it would be very straightforward, as most CDs have time marks on the librettos, and in any event it would be pretty easy to skim through the CD and extract key points to keep time synched between CD and display system. However, when it comes to DVDs without on-screen librettos or streamed video, I would want the synched libretto to appear as a subtitle overlaid on the video. Synching for streaming would be harder, but can be done with a little time and effort. The issue is if the video is being streamed full screen or in a separate window, how easy/hard is it going to be to overlay the subtitles on the video image. I have no idea how to set about this, as it way outside anything I have done previously. Don't 'send-uz-da-codez-plz', but I would definitely enjoy some pointers, if only to a resource that can point me in the right direction.
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I am now retired, but when I was working I was strictly line-of-business/DB stuff for SMBs, or celestial navigation for a hobby, so I have no idea of system stuff. I just expected everything to work as it should. I am an opera buff, and have been both watching and listening to a lot of opera under lockdown, more so as I am 'a person at risk' and live on my own. However, I find it very distracting, particularly when watching but also when just listening, to have a paper copy of the libretto open during the performance, and be continually referring to it, so not to lose track. If the libretto were to be on-screen - any screen - and synched with the opera, then it would not require total concentration to keep track of it. If I were to build myself such a system, most of it would be very straightforward, as most CDs have time marks on the librettos, and in any event it would be pretty easy to skim through the CD and extract key points to keep time synched between CD and display system. However, when it comes to DVDs without on-screen librettos or streamed video, I would want the synched libretto to appear as a subtitle overlaid on the video. Synching for streaming would be harder, but can be done with a little time and effort. The issue is if the video is being streamed full screen or in a separate window, how easy/hard is it going to be to overlay the subtitles on the video image. I have no idea how to set about this, as it way outside anything I have done previously. Don't 'send-uz-da-codez-plz', but I would definitely enjoy some pointers, if only to a resource that can point me in the right direction.
If you play the DVD with a home-grown video player, you'd probably be able to (relatively) easily add synced subtitles. Once the video leaves the plastic, it's just a stream, right? But, since it's not going to be on-the-fly, why not deconstruct the DVD by converting the VOB to something reasonable, then use DVD Architect (or similar) to build your own DVD version of it with the libretto included?
We won't sit down. We won't shut up. We won't go quietly away. YouTube, and My Mu[sic], Films and Windows Programs, etc. and FB
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I am now retired, but when I was working I was strictly line-of-business/DB stuff for SMBs, or celestial navigation for a hobby, so I have no idea of system stuff. I just expected everything to work as it should. I am an opera buff, and have been both watching and listening to a lot of opera under lockdown, more so as I am 'a person at risk' and live on my own. However, I find it very distracting, particularly when watching but also when just listening, to have a paper copy of the libretto open during the performance, and be continually referring to it, so not to lose track. If the libretto were to be on-screen - any screen - and synched with the opera, then it would not require total concentration to keep track of it. If I were to build myself such a system, most of it would be very straightforward, as most CDs have time marks on the librettos, and in any event it would be pretty easy to skim through the CD and extract key points to keep time synched between CD and display system. However, when it comes to DVDs without on-screen librettos or streamed video, I would want the synched libretto to appear as a subtitle overlaid on the video. Synching for streaming would be harder, but can be done with a little time and effort. The issue is if the video is being streamed full screen or in a separate window, how easy/hard is it going to be to overlay the subtitles on the video image. I have no idea how to set about this, as it way outside anything I have done previously. Don't 'send-uz-da-codez-plz', but I would definitely enjoy some pointers, if only to a resource that can point me in the right direction.
There are programs that allow you to create subtitles (e.g. in a language not present on the DVD) in SRT format, IIRC. Many media player programs have an option to read these files, and display them as subtitles on the screen. The programs allow you to specify when and for how long a particular subtitle is displayed. I can't give you any recommendations, because I've never used them.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
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If you play the DVD with a home-grown video player, you'd probably be able to (relatively) easily add synced subtitles. Once the video leaves the plastic, it's just a stream, right? But, since it's not going to be on-the-fly, why not deconstruct the DVD by converting the VOB to something reasonable, then use DVD Architect (or similar) to build your own DVD version of it with the libretto included?
We won't sit down. We won't shut up. We won't go quietly away. YouTube, and My Mu[sic], Films and Windows Programs, etc. and FB
That's definitely a way to go - I never thought about doing it that way - thanks. Having just had a quick Bingle there are lots of tools out there to help with that. It won't fix my problem for online operas, but it certainly will for DVDs without subs, or more frequently, DVDs with subs in the original language if those can be turned off. I just need to figure out hw to do it! Probably breaking the copyright, though, so I still need to try to find some overlay method.
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There are programs that allow you to create subtitles (e.g. in a language not present on the DVD) in SRT format, IIRC. Many media player programs have an option to read these files, and display them as subtitles on the screen. The programs allow you to specify when and for how long a particular subtitle is displayed. I can't give you any recommendations, because I've never used them.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
Thanks - that seems like another good option that I hadn't thought about - mainly because I didn't know it could be done! It also sounds like it wouldn't break the copyright as the original is not edited. Now off to find out about SRT! I know nothing about video other than as a consumer!
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That's definitely a way to go - I never thought about doing it that way - thanks. Having just had a quick Bingle there are lots of tools out there to help with that. It won't fix my problem for online operas, but it certainly will for DVDs without subs, or more frequently, DVDs with subs in the original language if those can be turned off. I just need to figure out hw to do it! Probably breaking the copyright, though, so I still need to try to find some overlay method.
Look at Handbrake. Free, and seems to be the video software of choice for many of those who mess with video. (I've always found copying the .vob and renaming it .mpg works in many instances, if I want to use the video elsewhere.)
We won't sit down. We won't shut up. We won't go quietly away. YouTube, and My Mu[sic], Films and Windows Programs, etc. and FB
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Look at Handbrake. Free, and seems to be the video software of choice for many of those who mess with video. (I've always found copying the .vob and renaming it .mpg works in many instances, if I want to use the video elsewhere.)
We won't sit down. We won't shut up. We won't go quietly away. YouTube, and My Mu[sic], Films and Windows Programs, etc. and FB
-
I am now retired, but when I was working I was strictly line-of-business/DB stuff for SMBs, or celestial navigation for a hobby, so I have no idea of system stuff. I just expected everything to work as it should. I am an opera buff, and have been both watching and listening to a lot of opera under lockdown, more so as I am 'a person at risk' and live on my own. However, I find it very distracting, particularly when watching but also when just listening, to have a paper copy of the libretto open during the performance, and be continually referring to it, so not to lose track. If the libretto were to be on-screen - any screen - and synched with the opera, then it would not require total concentration to keep track of it. If I were to build myself such a system, most of it would be very straightforward, as most CDs have time marks on the librettos, and in any event it would be pretty easy to skim through the CD and extract key points to keep time synched between CD and display system. However, when it comes to DVDs without on-screen librettos or streamed video, I would want the synched libretto to appear as a subtitle overlaid on the video. Synching for streaming would be harder, but can be done with a little time and effort. The issue is if the video is being streamed full screen or in a separate window, how easy/hard is it going to be to overlay the subtitles on the video image. I have no idea how to set about this, as it way outside anything I have done previously. Don't 'send-uz-da-codez-plz', but I would definitely enjoy some pointers, if only to a resource that can point me in the right direction.
Maybe one of these: subtitle-creation-and-editing-software[^] Doing this with streams won't be that easy, read: Wiki - Streaming With SRT Protocol | OBS[^] Edit: confusingly SRT means Secure Reliable Transport here, which has nothing to do with subtitles, very wise of them to choose the same abbreviation :doh:
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Maybe one of these: subtitle-creation-and-editing-software[^] Doing this with streams won't be that easy, read: Wiki - Streaming With SRT Protocol | OBS[^] Edit: confusingly SRT means Secure Reliable Transport here, which has nothing to do with subtitles, very wise of them to choose the same abbreviation :doh:
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I am now retired, but when I was working I was strictly line-of-business/DB stuff for SMBs, or celestial navigation for a hobby, so I have no idea of system stuff. I just expected everything to work as it should. I am an opera buff, and have been both watching and listening to a lot of opera under lockdown, more so as I am 'a person at risk' and live on my own. However, I find it very distracting, particularly when watching but also when just listening, to have a paper copy of the libretto open during the performance, and be continually referring to it, so not to lose track. If the libretto were to be on-screen - any screen - and synched with the opera, then it would not require total concentration to keep track of it. If I were to build myself such a system, most of it would be very straightforward, as most CDs have time marks on the librettos, and in any event it would be pretty easy to skim through the CD and extract key points to keep time synched between CD and display system. However, when it comes to DVDs without on-screen librettos or streamed video, I would want the synched libretto to appear as a subtitle overlaid on the video. Synching for streaming would be harder, but can be done with a little time and effort. The issue is if the video is being streamed full screen or in a separate window, how easy/hard is it going to be to overlay the subtitles on the video image. I have no idea how to set about this, as it way outside anything I have done previously. Don't 'send-uz-da-codez-plz', but I would definitely enjoy some pointers, if only to a resource that can point me in the right direction.
There's probably something that can already do this with lyric cue points in MIDI files. I'll go hunting. Of course, you'd have to track the performance in MIDI format, but there are tools for that too, because it's MIDI. :) Edit: I'm shocked. I've found people asking the same question - how do i do this with MIDI, but no great responses. This is a karaoke feature - MIDI karaoke files contain embedded lyrics w/ cue points, so any decent video editor should support it out of the box or with a simple plugin, however. I just don't have one to confirm it.
Real programmers use butterflies
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That's definitely a way to go - I never thought about doing it that way - thanks. Having just had a quick Bingle there are lots of tools out there to help with that. It won't fix my problem for online operas, but it certainly will for DVDs without subs, or more frequently, DVDs with subs in the original language if those can be turned off. I just need to figure out hw to do it! Probably breaking the copyright, though, so I still need to try to find some overlay method.
VLC always feels like a treat. I don't know if this idea will work with discs, or would need some modification. I've written the text-based .SRT file with subtitles and their timestamps on more than 1 occasion for something snagged from the net for offline viewing. As for online stuff, HTML5 is pretty dandy when it comes to processing video. I can easily process every pixel in each frame of a video on this old laptop in real-time. But you wouldn't need to do that - you'd just need to overlay text onto the canvas at the correct timestamps - that'd be fast and low-power. Went searching for a link and lo-and-behold, the video element actually can handle subtitle files. Ripper! [Adding captions and subtitles to HTML5 video - Developer guides | MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/Audio\_and\_video\_delivery/Adding\_captions\_and\_subtitles\_to\_HTML5\_video)