XML subtitles - validation error

[Leo Rossi]

Hello.
I'm new here and would like some help.
We are an accessibility producer located in Brazil, and in addition to other resources, we produce subtitles for the deaf and deaf.
We use EzTitles to create these captions and export them in XML.
This method has always worked. However, for a few weeks now, we've had a lot of negative feedback from our customers, citing subtitle issues.
One of them uses DCP-o-Matic to create DCP. It is able to import the subtitles but fails to create the package, indicating "validation failure".
Another customer (I don't know if he uses the DCP O Matic) warned us about the following events:

You submitted multiple caption files that failed different levels of validation. Here are the reasons the different files failed:
Multiple xmls have durations longer than the reel boundaries and all xmls call for font files that don't exist.
CCAP validation fail – “Unknown File Type”
CCAPs are failing validation for invalid characters and are longer than the feature reels; the errors seem to indicate the file has mixed encoding?

In EzTitles everything looks normal. The encoding is UTF-8. The files fit the movie lenght.
We follow the same steps as always, so we don't understand what might be happening.

My question is: where could I test the XML subtitles to see if they are OK to generate the DCP?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[carl]

Can you attach an example subtitle file that is causing problems, or email it to carl@dcpomatic.com ?

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

It's better to send a problematic file to Carl. Yet, what I would do, is also question the delivery method.
Meaning, the way the file(s) were sent or stored to sent. (Or stored before used, but that's less likely, if the problem is with many clients.)
Did you go from one delivery service to another, recently, or changed the storage where you keep it?
XML files are known to present issues when, for instance, you FTP them without selecting the transfer type to Binary. And that goes both for someone uploading and downloading. FTP transfer is not the only that is problematic, and the problem might occur on both "Alice" and "Bob". So, it might appear to you or not, when it appears to the receiver.

[Leo Rossi]

hi Carl and Ionnis.
Nice to meet you and thanks for the answers!

I will check with the client to see if I can send it to you, Carl, due to security concerns (as this is film material that has not been shown yet).
Regarding storage. What we do is compress the files in .zip or .rar. For some customers, we send via Aspera. For others via dropbox link.

Best,
Leo

[Leo Rossi]

Hi @Carl,

I just sent you an email with one reel of subtitles.

Thanks for your help.

Leo

[carl]

Thanks. I can't see much wrong with that subtitle file.

Do I understand right that these your customers are taking these XML files and importing them into DCP-o-matic to make DCPs? I think there must be something in the steps they are taking which is triggering a bug (or they are just doing it wrong). It doesn't look like your subtitle files are to blame.

Is there a way we can talk directly to the people making the DCPs?

[Leo Rossi]

Thanks Carl.

This project was made with DCP O_Matic.
Good to know that's not a XML issue... neither the software. Maybe something regarding the file transfer or compression.
In meantime we re-exported these files and know they work fine. But we did nothing different.
So as more than one client are reporting issues with our XML, I'd like to understand where we could test before deliver then?
I'm wondering the only way would be making the DCP. If it pass trought validations, It would be fine, right?
If so, could DCP O Matic generates smaller files? (like an low resolution export?) So it wouldn't take too long to be done.

Thanks a lot ,

Leo

[carl]

You can test somewhat by just making a new DCP-o-matic project, adding your subtitles and then making a DCP. This will have a blank (black) image but should work fairly quickly. Then you could verify the DCP.

Of course, this doesn't stop your customers doing something wrong, or doing something "special" which triggers a DCP-o-matic bug.

[Leo Rossi]

Thanks a lot Carl. I'll try that.

Clients... Who needs them?