Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Audio description quick question

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Posted by Steve R Pike (Member # 6238) on 02-15-2015, 01:11 PM:

Hello

We are having a few complaints by audience members as films we've advertised as 'audio described' are not working.

Could someone just clarify what the 'EN' bit of the '51-EN' section means from the file below:

Unbroken_FTR_S_EN-XX_UK_51-EN_4K_UP_20141205_MPS_IOP_OV

My understanding is that for audio description it should have:

51-VI for visual impairment.

On the digital cinema naming convention site I couldn't see reference to this '51-EN' code,

Thanks:)

Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 02-15-2015, 01:26 PM:

The digital cinema naming convention is a moving target. Appendix 4 mentions that the audio field no longer indicates the language of an HI or VI track since it is normally the same as the main audio. So, in the example you gave, it looks like they gave us the language but don't tell what the track is (HI or VI). SMPTE has recently adopted a standard for CPL metadata data (I THINK it was recently adopted, or may be in final draft or at least close). This is SUPPOSED to be a machine readable version of what's currently in the naming convention. In my view, you'd be able to mouseover the DCP name and get a pop up with everything you want to know about the DCP. This could happen before ingest so you don't ingest stuff you can't use.

Meanwhile, I don't think you can tell from the name of this particular package whether it has a VI track.

Good luck!

Harold

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-16-2015, 04:27 AM:

You would need the "HI_VI" in the naming string to do descriptive audio.

-Monte

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-16-2015, 06:34 AM:

And see, that is how stupid this industry can be at times. What the server should be able of doing is being configured to KNOW what it can play. And then ingest what it is capable of playing rather than having to guess or figure out the changing code. If you have 7.1 sound...then that version will show up (in addition to the 5.1 version). If you don't have 7.1...don't even show them or grey them out to signify that they are there but not capable on your system. Sure, give an override capability but start with guiding the user to the right version.

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 02-16-2015, 09:50 AM:

. . . and as long as we're sort of discussing HI-VI tracks:

Early Friday afternoon I got a call from a theater owner that there was
'strange audio' coming from "someplace" during their 1st matinee show
of "50 Shades Of Grey". The preview screening the night before was "OK"

As I wasn't too far away, the theater owner actually came & picked me
up from where I was at & rushed me over to the theater.

It took me a few seconds to figure out what was going on- - the V-I
descriptive audio track was somehow winding up in the subwoofers!

The set up was GDC server & CP650 with a Cat790 card.

Not wanting to interrupt the current show, I simply killed the sub amp.

I needed to get back to another screening, so they ran the next several
shows with the subwoofer amp turned off until they could get someone
to re-boot the whole system, which solved the problem.

(The theater is staffed by a bunch of minimum wage i-drones who are
incapable of understanding a concept as complex as 're-booting' a system.)

< Warning: Rant Ahead ! >
As I've said many times before about who you have working in a booth:
"There's a big difference between people who know how to work things,
and people who know how things work". - You get what you pay for.
(I'm thinking of having that phrase tattooed on my body) <end of rant>

I've also recommended that the CP-650 get replaced with a 750, which is
what he has in all the other auditoriums. I can't even remotely access
the 650, as I can do with all his other auditoriums.

Heck, I've seen NIB 750's for around $2.5K, andthatsnotalotta money.
At that price I'm seriously thinking of buying one as an emergency
spare for my 'bag-of-tricks'.

>we now return you to your original topic. . .

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-16-2015, 09:25 PM:

There was a firmware update and hotfix to address mapping irregularities in the HI VI tracksw

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 02-16-2015, 11:25 PM:

I read this cpl as 5.1 English audio with English subtitles. I don't see anything that designates Visually Impaired Narration (VI). The normal accessibility notation has been HI-VI for Hearing Impaired-Visually Impaired (or just VI, presumably with the HI being implied).