Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

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David32441
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Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by David32441 »   2 likes

VLC will auto-read a SRT file if the filename is shared with the video file it's opening, eg.
filmname_(year).mp4
filmname_(year).srt
I assume your subtitle file is timed to the video file. If not fix it in Subtitle Workshop.

So it's nice to encode the subtitle into the film so the 2 are tied together. This is the method I use (note - the video will not be re-encoded and lose quality). The process is known as muxing (re mixing video, audio, subtitle and any other tracks into a new "container"):
1. open the video file and note the frame rate. VLC - Tools - Codec Information - Frame rate = xx.xxx In MPC-HC just go to "File" -> "Properties"
2. download "MKVMerge GUI" - I like the older versions of this. The menus are simpler and I've found no issues with using it eg. v7
3. Drop the video and subtitle file into the "inputs". Highlight the video file from the list of tracks (usually the top one). Click "Format specific options". Change the FPS to match what you found in "1".
4. Click on the subtitle file. Choose the langauge if you know it. Not compulsory. Set default track flag = Yes (so it's auto-on). Forced can be left as No.
5. In the "tracks" section any "tags" can often be removed. Any extra audio tracks can also be removed. But leave in "chapter" tracks if they're present.
6. Click "Start muxing" to generate the new file (should take <1 minute if you have a newish PC). Now, even if there is no ".SRT" file in the folder your video will play with the embedded subtitles.
7. Sometimes the file can be 0.5% smaller than the original (especially if AVI). This is just because the Matroska muxing is better than AVI (Audio Video Interleave) standard.
Test it before you delete your original files!!! I've had audio / video sync issues about 2% of the time. The most obvious issue is the frame rate not matching. If it's a framerate >30fps then sometimes the problem is unsolvable.
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Night457
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by Night457 »   0 likes

Indeed MKVMerge GUI is a lifesaver! I added it to my toolkit based on someone's recommendation in some post on here somewhere, although I use it mainly for muxing in (or removing) alternate audio tracks. Good job making a How-To guide! :thumbsup
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yoko
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by yoko »   2 likes

Nice thing about separate files is that when subs are corrected, you don't have to download the full movie again. And the ed2k hash of the movie stays the same, so there will be one well-shared copy instead of zillion poorly shared copies with different subs.
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Night457
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by Night457 »   0 likes

David32441 wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 10:34 am 2. download "MKVMerge GUI" - I like the older versions of this. The menus are simpler and I've found no issues with using it
I can find and use MKVToolnix GUI but I can no longer find the GUI version of MKVMerge. I like its simplicity. Can someone help me with a link? (Preferably to a safe sharing site.)
David32441
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by David32441 »   1 likes

Night457 wrote: Fri Jan 26, 2024 11:42 am
David32441 wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 10:34 am 2. download "MKVMerge GUI" - I like the older versions of this. The menus are simpler and I've found no issues with using it
I can find and use MKVToolnix GUI but I can no longer find the GUI version of MKVMerge. I like its simplicity. Can someone help me with a link? (Preferably to a safe sharing site.)
I still use version 6.7 - always works for me - and the GUI is nice and simple.
Let's me add subtitles to Ghost's files and anyone else's
https://mkvtoolnix.download/windows/releases/6.7.0/
other versions here:
https://mkvtoolnix.download/windows/releases/
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ghost
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by ghost »   0 likes

I still use version 6.7
Why do you use such an old version? It's from 2014! :o

The current one is v82.0.
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Night457
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by Night457 »   0 likes

David32441 wrote: Fri Jan 26, 2024 2:58 pm I still use version 6.7 - always works for me - and the GUI is nice and simple.
Thank you David, you found what I needed!
ghost wrote: Fri Jan 26, 2024 5:29 pm Why do you use such an old version? It's from 2014! :o
Above, I quoted the part of David's post that answers your question!

Here is Version 82:
Screenshot 2024-01-26 145123.png
Here is 6.7, with files loaded:
Screenshot 2024-01-26 151640.png
The later ToolNix has an overloaded and cluttered GUI with stuff I rarely use that is distracting and in the way. The old GUI was lean and simple. Of course I had and now have BOTH installed, because ToolNix has made improvements in capabilities and function while it ruined the GUI. In the rare instances when I need the extra stuff, I use the new version. Most of the time I use the simpler older version. Because I am simple and old.

I did some scrounging of my drives and figured out what version I *had* been using for years. It is also at David's site:

Code: Select all

https://mkvtoolnix.download/windows/releases/5.3.0/
2012 all the way BAYBEE!!!!!
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ghost
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by ghost »   0 likes

What's overloaded?

[Image]
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Night457
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by Night457 »   0 likes

All those damn Language Properties flags, right on the main page! Maybe I am just so obsessively linear that I hate all the left-right options and prefer straight top-to-bottom, clicking on the Options only when I NEED to.

And yes, I admit it - I hate the left-right SubtitleEdit GUI also. But tough shit I have to live with it because of what it DOES. If I use it to simply edit the subtitles for an extensive period of time and am not resyncing or viewing the subtitles with the video, then I shut OFF the Video and Waveform windows so that they are not distracting me.
David32441
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Re: Embedding subtitles vs seperate files

Post by David32441 »   0 likes

Night457 wrote: Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:32 pm
David32441 wrote: Fri Jan 26, 2024 2:58 pm I still use version 6.7 - always works for me - and the GUI is nice and simple.
Thank you David, you found what I needed!
ghost wrote: Fri Jan 26, 2024 5:29 pm Why do you use such an old version? It's from 2014! :o
Above, I quoted the part of David's post that answers your question!

Here is Version 82:
Screenshot 2024-01-26 145123.png

Here is 6.7, with files loaded:
Screenshot 2024-01-26 151640.png

The later ToolNix has an overloaded and cluttered GUI with stuff I rarely use that is distracting and in the way. The old GUI was lean and simple. Of course I had and now have BOTH installed, because ToolNix has made improvements in capabilities and function while it ruined the GUI. In the rare instances when I need the extra stuff, I use the new version. Most of the time I use the simpler older version. Because I am simple and old.

I did some scrounging of my drives and figured out what version I *had* been using for years. It is also at David's site:

Code: Select all

https://mkvtoolnix.download/windows/releases/5.3.0/
2012 all the way BAYBEE!!!!!
Exactly - 6.7 does everything I've needed:
multiple DD5.1 / DTS /aac audios. Switching audio, defaulting one particular one on/off
Subtitles - 1,2,30. Switching subtitles, defaulting one particular one on/off
Dropping unnecessary audio/subtitle channels
Chapter creating, renaming, editing
Audio delays

Sometimes they just add things to an interface. Maybe there's bug fixes too. But 6.7 has not failed me on 1000+ re-encodes - except on a few when the original Torrent wasn't 100% on a few files. And that wasn't it's fault.
Anamorphic widescreen
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