DotSUB

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Welcome to the dotSUB Project's main page. Here, we will attempt to fully explain all of the concepts and approaches taken within (and for) the LTIOfficial dotSUB project.

The LTIOfficial Account

Account's Purpose

The LTI dotSUB account is specifically designed to serve three very distinct, important functions for the entire Linguistic Team International, including all transcribers, translators and proofreaders.

  • Its primary purpose is to serve as The Official LTI dotSUB Video Repository for all completed transcriptions and translations once they have been carefully proofread and unanimously accepted by each language team as the absolute best they can create. It finally brings together, into a single location, all of the completed 'official' video releases needed by the community for our activism tasks and will allow members and non-members to view these videos with fully proofread, correct subtitling, as well as allow downloading of the subtitle files for use in creating your own DVDs.
    • Inclusion within this Repository is the end goal for every transcription and translation of every relevant video that comes through the movement.
  • A second (almost equally important) purpose is to serve as a strongly needed protected area for all Proofreading Teams. While a video is under the care of any language's Proofreading Team, the transcription or translation they are cleaning up will no longer be open to transcribers or translators. This prevents any premature closing of transcriptions by translators eager to start their translation tasks, inadvertent changes to the (often already repaired) content by well-meaning volunteers, etc.. The use of these protected areas has repeatedly shown to help speed up the process of moving the video along to the next stage.
  • And finally, since it is a dotSUB account, it will also serve as the upload account for all new items as they are released. This will allow all four stages of the LingTeam tasks (transcription, proofreading, translation & translation proofreading) to be performed within a single account, making it very easy to see what needs to be done at any given time to move them ahead within the system.


Since the end goal of everything we do is a single, downloadable subtitle file that everyone can use to create their own DVDs (and other downloadable formats based on it), we are restricting uploads to single file videos only. This means that we will only upload originals (uncompressed videos preferred) in the same formats that they were originally made available to us. If the original video was initially released in parts, we make every possible attempt to contact the video's producer to request a single file version of the video and, when successful, upload that instead. If we are unable to get in touch with the producer, we will first download all individual parts and splice them together before uploading the full video to the LTI dotSUB account.

One way or another, we will do whatever it takes to make sure that you have a single, complete video to play with. All we ask is that you have patience while we go through the necessary steps outlined above, since some of this takes time to orchestrate and complete.

Note: The link behind the title of this section takes you to the front page of the LTI dotSUB account. Unfortunately, there is no way to customize the organization of the videos displayed there. Fortunately, the next section provides all dotSUB members with a much easier method for tracking and working with the videos that pass through the account.


LTI's "Linguistic Team Projects" Collections

Within the LTI dotSUB account, there are four distinct video Collections, each title starting with the label "ZM Linguistic Team Projects". In dotSUB terms, a collection is simply a container for links to various videos found within the dotSUB website. Within the LTI dotSUB account, each of these sections serves a specific purpose that makes it very easy for anyone to find exactly what they are seeking.


The Official LTI Video Repository

Simply put, the LTI dotSUB Repository (linked above) serves as The Complete Collection of All Official ZM Video Transcriptions & Translations for the entire movement. As more and more video titles pass through the Linguistic Team systems approach, this area of the account will continue to grow until it eventually contains everything we have ever done, fully proofread and guaranteed to be the best transcriptions & translations available for viewing &/or burning. Please note that the complete proofreading of the videos within our care has only recently been started, so this area is starting off with very few items while we await word from the various language teams that they have completed their careful proofreading of these individual items.


Working Locations

The collection linked above holds all of the newer videos that are currently being worked on by English transcribers, English proofreaders and various language translators within the Linguistic Team system. Specifically, it contains direct links to videos that are currently running through the Video Releases wiki page. Each one is tied to a forum thread that can be found in the Linguistic Team forum section. To help pinpoint the specific thread for any video in here, look for the video information provided within the Media Center Project sub-page linked within this paragraph.


Final Proofreading projects

The collection linked above holds all of the older videos that are currently being worked on by English transcribers, English proofreaders and various language translators within the Linguistic Team system. Specifically, it contains direct links to videos that are currently running through the Final Proofreading wiki page. Each one is tied to a forum thread that can be found in the Linguistic Team forum section. To help pinpoint the specific thread for any video in here, look for the video information provided within the Media Center Project sub-page linked within this paragraph.


The Community Collection

This collection provides direct links to as many of the relevant RBE videos that were uploaded by others as we can find, provided that the upload is not part of a broken up set (Part 1, Part 2, etc.) and that the original transcriptions were done completely in English. This collection also serves as a holding bin for videos that will eventually be brought into the Final Proofreading project.


Temporary Holding Tank

The number of videos that can comfortably move through the English part of the Linguistic Team systems approach at a decent speed is inextricably limited by the number of English transcription & proofreading volunteers. Currently, there are nowhere near enough native English members volunteering to help with the very important tasks of transcribing or proofreading the transcriptions. As a result, we are uploading future projects to this Temporary Holding Tank so that they will be already ready already when the time comes to release them into the LingTeam system. Hopefully, these future releases will be made possible primarily due to more people getting involved, rather than just because previous projects have reached their completion.


LTI dotSUB Groups

English Transcriptions and various language Translations are always 'open' to all dotSUB members. However, all Proofreading tasks will be placed in a protected mode in order to allow the proofreaders to perform their magic without worrying about the material changing while they are working on it or someone closing the transcription/translation before the proofreading is completed.

dotSUB provides separate controls for allowing ALL registered dotSUB members to transcribe &/or translate, as well as the ability to add individuals or groups to a project. In order to facilitate this protected mode, we are making use of dotSUB's Groups function to allow acknowledged proofreaders access to the text. Simply put, this allows a dotSUB video to have both Transcribe & Translate turned off to the public, while still allowing a specific group (or individuals) access to the subtitle. Below, you will find two case studies to illustrate the use of this.


English Proofreading

We already have the current members of the English Proofreading Team included within a group called (oddly enough) English Proofreaders. Although there are exceptions, English proofreaders tend to focus solely on proofreading tasks. Exceptions to that are never permitted to proofread anything they helped to transcribe, since that would create a serious conflict of interest.

When it's the English Proofreading Team's turn to work on a completed English transcription, the video is closed to everyone but the English Proofreaders and English Proofreading Coordinators groups (although everyone else is still able to view the original English transcript as text, the video without any subtitles, or the video with the original English transcript shown as subtitles). The moment the proofreaders declare the English transcription to be as good as they can get it, the transcription is marked as Finished, the English Proofreaders group is removed, the now-proofread English transcription is Imported into the Repository and the video is then set to wide open for all Translators.

Note: The moment an English transcription reaches this point, it is basically set in stone and any additional changes will rarely be allowed. This means the English Proofreading Team must make absolutely sure that it has produced the best transcript possible before finalizing it and passing it to the translators. This should also illustrate why it is important that members of all proofreading teams, English or otherwise, have an exceptionally strong command of the language(s) they are working with.


Translation Proofreading

As soon as possible, all Language Coordinators should submit a list of the dotSUB usernames of those members who have volunteered to be translation proofreaders for that team (even if there is only one member). These proofreaders will be added to a new group specifically named for them, such as "Spanish Proofreaders".

Once a translation for a specific language is completed, the Coordinator will be able to Import it directly into the Repository and add the group to those with permission to proofread it. [Note: The ability of a Coordinator to 'add the group' has not yet been fully tested. If it doesn't work, the Coordinator will just need to contact one of the LTI dotSUB admins to make it happen]

Note: Provided there is reasonable consensus among the Translation Proofreading Team members & their Language Coordinator, any language's proofreading effort is free to use other proven methods for cleaning up the hard work of their Translation Team. It is the word of the Language Coordinator and Team that the proofread version is 'as good as the team can make it' that declares a translation 'official' and allows it to be added to the Repository. So all we ask is that the team is certain that the finished proofread translation is truly is the best that it can be before finalizing it.


Video Sourcing

Videos found at YouTube, dotSUB, Google Videos and similar online video services have already been compressed upon upload to those sites. Therefore, all efforts will be made to locate original, single-file, uncompressed versions of the videos to be sent through the LT system. If none can be found online, we will attempt to contact the producer of the video in order to secure a copy directly from the true source. If all else fails, we will have little choice but to start with a previously compressed version (the best of these will be sought), but we will always go to the effort of splicing together the various parts if the only copy found is multi-part.

Benefits of uncompressed, single file originals:

  • It provides us with the ability to fully control the compression used for uploads to places like dotSUB, which has a 700MB file size limitation. Using the upper limit as a maximum target, we can provide the LT with the cleanest videos from which to work.
  • It gives us the perfect starting point for creating completed ISO files that contain pre-made DVDs, complete with menus. These ISO files make it extremely easy for non-technical members to burn their own DVDs on their own computers. Most ISOs will be made available as torrent downloads.
  • It also allows us to make these originals separately available to members who prefer to build their own DVDs from the completed subtitle files in the Repository.
  • Translations created from multi-part sources cannot be used to produce a single DVD of the video without much unnecessary manipulation.

The two sub-sections below provide the current method used to extract videos from various sites. I am including them here for those who prefer to build their own video libraries. Note that a download based on a lossless codec is ideal, since no data is missing. However, the downloader will need programs that are set up to use the codecs used within the file.


Original site provides direct link to video file

There is not much to explain here. If available, select the option that provides you with the least compressed version. For example, MP4 is typically a much better option than AVI or WMV.

Original site does not provide a direct link

When no download link is provided, a prospective downloader must make use of more advanced file extraction techniques. Two of these methods are provided below for your convenience.


Browser Extensions:


URLSnooper:

When all else fails, I turn to a great, free program called URLSnooper.

When running and told to 'Sniff Network', this little gem looks through the internet packets passing between your system and the server to extract the commands that point to multimedia files. If you start it just before clicking on a link that causes a video to appear, it will display all of the calls it finds for that item. In most cases, one of them will be a direct link to the video on that server. Just right click on that line, Copy the link to your clipboard, Paste it into your browser's address bar and press the Enter key on your keyboard to start the download. You may need to rename the file before saving, since many of these have internal names like 5092863.flv, which is not very intuitive for finding it later.


Handling of Video Uploads to the account

Please note that most of the activities described below need to be performed by one of the account's administrators. Current admins are listed in the table at the bottom of this page.

Video already exists at dotSUB

The assumption here is that the video was already uploaded and at least one translation is in progress. Simply put, we will not disturb any of the efforts going on at that location.

Instead, the exact same original source will be used to upload a second instance of the video within the Repository as part of the Final Proofreading project. To obtain the exact same video, I use the URLSnooper method described above to extract the dotSUB link to the previously uploaded dotSUB file, and then use that link for a 'site to site' transfer of the video from dotSUB's original upload to the new copy I am adding to the LTIOfficial dotSUB account. A wonderful benefit of this approach is that it eliminates any upload time, although it still takes just as long for dotSUB to 'process' as a standard upload.

These uploads are then used solely to allow all Proofreading Teams a dedicated, protected area in which to double check the accuracy of the transcription and eventual translations. As the proofreading of transcriptions and translations is completed, those items are automatically available to the community with the proofreading team's guarantee that the subtitles are 'as good as they can be'.


Video does not exist at dotSUB

In these situations, the LTIOfficial account will be used as the primary working location for all transcription, proofreading and translation efforts.

The video is uploaded and made available to all English transcribers. Once the transcription is completed, it is set into 'protected mode' so that the English proofreaders can double check its accuracy without concern about someone setting it as Finished, or someone erroneously reversing any corrections they have made. In other words, once it reaches this stage, no more transcribing is permitted and translations are still not yet enabled. In most cases, the item will separately undergo review by two different English proofreaders who were not involved with transcribing it (to avoid any conflicts of interest). The moment the Proofreading Team declares the item to be 'as good as we can make it', it is exported over to the Repository copy and made available to the entire ZM community.

At that point, it is also opened up to all Translation Team members. As each language completes their translations, their Coordinator needs to alert one of the TZMOfficial admins so that it can be transferred over to the Repository copy and made available only to that language's Proofreading Team for review. Once they declare it 'as good as we can make it' by clicking on the 'Set translation as finished' link, it is also immediately available to the entire ZM community.


LTI dotSUB Account Administrators

Member Username (links to homepages for PM use) Member of (Team) Usual work area Availability Contact Info
Ray Linguistic Team organizer/administrator I have clones everywhere I live here. But please knock before you come in.  :D Email Ray


LTI WikiLanguage Team Contacts | FirstTimers-General Guidelines | LTI Guidelines | Transcription Team | Proofreading Team | Translation Teams | Translation Proofreading Teams | Linguistic Tech Team | Media Center | Project Teams | LingTeam Development | Meetings (edit)