Putting text over a video (making a compilation RATM DVD)

[Salva Veritate]

I'm planning to create a compilation DVD of snippets from several Rage Against the Machine live shows this weekend using TMPGEnc. Every 2-3 songs I'll switch up the show. When I do this, I want to put "Roseland Ballroom, New York, 8/17/96," etc, over the video for a few seconds while the band is just getting ready to play the song. How do I do this? Is there a way I can do this with TMPGEnc?

[manono]

The easiest way, which doesn't necessitate reencoding the whole video, is to just make subtitles for the text you want to show. You can set them up to be Forced Subs, so that they always play. Then you add them in when authoring the DVD.

Even if you have to reencode, there's not much point in using TMPGEnc to add in the text, as it'll make it look ugly around the hardcoded subs.

But if you insist on "burning" the subs into the video while reencoding, make the subtitles, and then feed TMPGEnc an AviSynth script with the subs included. Or frameserve into TMPGEnc out of VDub(Mod) with the subtitles added in VDub(Mod).

[guns1inger]

There is no simple or nice way to do this.

Method One : Strip out all the video you want to use, load into video editor with overlay capabilities, put text where required, re-encode and re-author.

Pros : Great level of control over text, big range of fonts, ability to fade in and out

Cons : Slow, quality loss from re-encoding, have to re-author


Method Two : Create subtitles for each clip and author them in as mandatory subs

Pros : Faster than method one, no re-encoding required

Cons : Can be complex to add to an existing disc, little control over text/fonts/effects

I don't believe you can do this nicely with tmpgenc.

[Salva Veritate]

Well I don't want subtitles per se, the text acts more like labels. Every time I change clips I want to label the date and location of the show.

Also did I mention I'm a noob? I've made one compilation DVD already with TMPGEnc but that was for personal use so I didn't need labels. This one I plan to release publicly.

[manono]

Well I don't want subtitles per se, the text acts more like labels.

Maybe you can explain the distinction?

A subtitle can say:

March 23, 2006
Staples Center, Los Angeles

just as easily as it can say:

Good morning.
How are you?