How to include lyrics into mpeg files?

[Paco M.]

Hi,

Many software and hardware mp3 players support to display the lyrics synchronized with the songs. The lyrics are available in Internet.

I would like to do this but with mpeg files (for audio compilations on DVD or VCD). What I need is to generate a mpeg video stream from the lyrics and then to multiplex it with the PCM (or MP2 or AC3) audio.

Does anyone knows any (easy ) way to get it? Thanks.

Paco

[guns1inger]

What format are the lyrics in ?
The simplest way to do this for DVD is subtitles. For VCD you may have to burn them into the video.

[Paco M.]

Thanks for your answer.

Using subtitles for the lyrics or burning them into the video are both valid options for me. What I do not know is how to convert these lyrics into a valid input for mpeg files. I mean, it is not only the text, but the time synchronization (mp3 players know how to do it, but I don't).

I do not know either how many different lyrics formats can be found in Internet but anyway, my target is the same.

Paco

[guns1inger]

Even for the mp3 players to do this, there must be a time code in the file for each line. At the most basic level, that is all subtitles are - time and text. Some have tags for font styles etc, but that is just dressing.

Start by looking at the structure of the lyrics files - do you have any, or a link to some ?

[Paco M.]

Any information is welcome. I have not compiled yet any specification about lyric files structure.

[AlanHK]

There are some good freeware subtitling apps, like Subtitle Workshop.

You can open the MPG, start a new subtitle file, then import your lyrics from a text file.

It'll be somewhat tedious to sync them, but I think you have to do that manually.

Check what subtitle formats your authoring app supports, and export in that format.
You can usually set a subtitle to default on if you want.

[Paco M.]

I know Subtitle Workshop and in my opinion is an excellent subtitling application.
I also agree with you that your proposed method to convert lyrics into subtitles can be very tedious.
I suppose it will be better to look for informatiom about lyric file formats and trying to automatize the process of converting them into subtitles (or directly into mpeg files).

[Paco M.]

Any new suggestion?

[Safesurfer]

Have a look at karaoke software that can save as MPG, for example PowerKaraoke.

[Paco M.]

Thanks a lot for your suggestion!! I will look into PowerKaraoke

[Cornucopia]

This may take you off on a tangent, but ...

the old CD+G karaoke CD discs had subtitles in the R-W subcode, and certain programs will rip CD's audio to mp3 files and also rip the subcode to a quasi-ISO/BIN file, and combined the 2 into a new "mp3+G" file. This may be what you have experienced previously. You could do a google search on mp3+G and find references the application.

If this is the type of source files you'd like to work from, you could conceivably extract the "G" part back to a BIN file which you might then be able to convert via "CDG2MPG" or "CDG2AVI" and finally get an MPEG video file. If that is good enough, you could just mux it with the mp3 audio file, or convert the audio to mp2 and mux, etc.
Or you could go the OCR-to-TextSub route...

Scott

[Paco M.]

An link related to your proposal: http://www.karaoke-tutor.com/mp3g.html