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Jerry Mann
Jerry Mann
Known Participant
January 18, 2023
Answered

Exporting Closed Captions for Quicktime

  • January 18, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 7547 views

Hello, I have not found an answer on this forum or with a search of the internet.

 

I am trying to output a 1080 HD video with closed captions for Quicktime playback on a Mac, using Export in Premier 2022. To be clear, I want to be able to turn the captioning on and off within Quicktime. I read that they need to be formatted in CEA-608 format. However, in the Export tab, down in the Captions dropdown, I only see .SRT as an option. Is that the end of story? Is there something I am missing? Is there a way to do it in Media Encoder (have not tried yet). I see in previous versions there were all sorts of options for doing this. 

 

I tried to choose a Quicktime preset, thinking that would give me the options I need, but I am not seeing it.

 

My captions were created within PP using auto-transcribe, and then tweaked. I did not make any settings. I have heard about importing captions and then changing their format before putting in the timeline.

 

Any direction or workarounds would be appreciated.

 

Jerry

Editing on a 2019 Macbook Pro, with Ventura OS.

 

SOURCE FOR QUICKTIME CAPTION REQUIREMENTS:

https://support.apple.com/guide/quicktime-player/show-subtitles-or-captions-qtped9fbc349/10.5/mac/13.0

Correct answer Stan Jones

No problem, Jerry. Thanks for responding with the screenshots.

 

Your caption track is "Subtitle." To be embedded as closed caption, it needs to be 608.

 

Just right-click the caption track header, pick track settings, and change to 608. Then you should see "embed" as an option in export.

 

Stan

 

3 replies

M
Motormind_Ali
Participant
October 4, 2024

I figured out a way to embed captions into a Quicktime file export! Don't ask me why, but when I create TWO seperate caption tracks, one with 608 and one with 708 captions, THEN at export I will see that blessed third option in the captions dialog box to "embed in output file." Not sure why it needs both, but it does.

    M
    Michael Grenadier
    Legend
    October 4, 2024

    Great discovery and thanks for posting it.   Hopefully I'll never have to embed captions in a quicktime, but if I do....

    Stan Jones
    Community Expert
    Stan JonesCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 19, 2023

    Jerry,

     

    Yes, this should work.

     

    From PR, in the Export mode window, under Format, pick Quicktime. Then look at Captions. Do you see an option for Embed? The option that comes up for me is Quicktime, Prores. That should show embed as an option.

     

    If not, post a screenshot of what you are seeing, the timeline showing the captions header and the export window.

     

    Stan

     

      Jerry Mann
      Jerry MannAuthor
      Known Participant
      January 19, 2023

      Stan, thanks for your reply.

      I could not find embed. Please see screenshots. I have looked at each of the Quicktime preset options. Sorry for the brevity, I need to run to work and may not be able to respond until after 5pm EST.

      Jerry

      Stan Jones
      Community Expert
      Stan JonesCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 21, 2023

      Stan, again, thanks for the input and direction. I think I am up for this, except I just cannot figure out why the text is clipping off on the right side of some captions (see screenshot). I thought I might find an option to expand the area for the caption, or increase the number of characters allowed per line, or even decrease the font size. I think I am realizing (as I compose this message!) that there is no control over these things for 608 closed captions, as there are for Subtitles. I think the only solution to getting words to not truncate is to shorten each line and create more lines if necessary (screenshot). Are my thoughts correct?

       

      One more issue is how do I copy settings (such as Appearance) from one caption to the next? I obviously have many captions that I'd like to add the semi-transparent background to. I cannot right click on the caption in the timeline, and I also see no option to copy or create a preset in the Essential Graphics panel.

       

      I thank you, and Michael, for your contributions here and elsewhere in the forums. I am oddly calmed knowing that someone is listening and likely to give me a "custom" answer. It is like stepping inside from the eye of the Google Search Storm. 

       

      Jerry


      Jerry,

       

      > It is like stepping inside from the eye of the Google Search Storm. 

      OMG, I loved that! I was just searching for how to copy a file from a USB drive to the internal memory of my TV. And I got sucked in to picking the suggested "transferring..." option. All the search results were wrong! (The actual answer was I needed to install a file explorer type app on the TV.)

       

      Yes, 608 is limited to 32 characters. And more lines makes sense.

       

      The "preset" is called a Track Style; it is just above the "Text" section in the EGP. In your subtitle screenshot it shows "None" - correctly since you have not defined a style. To keep your current style (e.g. for the subtitle stream or whatever), do an immediate "Create style" to save that one, before changing to what you want and then creating a style for that.

       

      Stan

       

       

       

        Jerry Mann
        Jerry MannAuthor
        Known Participant
        January 19, 2023

        NOTE: I have seen many answers for earlier versions of PP. I am on PP 2022 and there is nothing explaining this that I can find.

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