Negative Timings in VobSub idx file

[jrpeacey]

After creating subtitles for one particular movie using VobSub, they weren't working. I noticed the timings in the idx file were negative (starting with timestamp: -02:50:08:369 and advancing toward 0: the end of the movie). Is there any way to convert them to positive numbers (counting up from 0 at the beginning) or change some other setting so they will play correctly?

I have an idx file from an earlier version of the same DVD with positive timings. Those subtitles load, but they are all about 30 seconds late. Is there a way to modify all the timings on the earlier version (remove about 30 seconds), so that I can just use that idx file?

Thanks

[BigCondor]

After visiting this site for many years I joined the forum recently in order to get advice from others.

I had many experiences of wrong timing of idx+sub files in the past, some with negative values like this one, others are shifted. What I do is adjust the file with SubResync with the help of the soundtrack. I use BeSweet to change AC3 to mp3 and loads it into Cool Edit Pro. From there, I can get the exact timing as reference.

Of course, there should be a better way to get the offset, so I do hope others can offer a better solution. I notice when I rip the DVD with Smart Ripper at times there is sometimes delay value shown on the ripping information. Perhaps this is a clue to that.

[ai4spam]

The .idx file syntax allows specifying a delay. Not all players support it properly, so your mileage may vary, but try it out. The syntax is something like:
delay: hh:mm:ss:uuu
Use a minus sign in front for negative delays.

# To repair desyncronization, you can insert gaps this way:
# (it usually happens after vob id changes)
#
# delay: [sign]hh:mm:ss:ms
#
# Where:
# [sign]: +, - (optional)
# hh: hours (0 <= hh)
# mm/ss: minutes/seconds (0 <= mm/ss <= 59)
# ms: milliseconds (0 <= ms <= 999)
#
# Note: You can't position a sub before the previous with a negative value.

[BigCondor]

Thanks for the reply.
Actually I can correct the delay with SubResync, but the question is how can I find out the delay? At present I can only judge it from the sound file which is not very accurate.

[jrpeacey]

I couldn't quite figure out how to correct it with SubResync, but I did come up with some other solutions.

For the negative timings, I reprocessed the VOB files with IfoEdit. The default settings under "VOB Extras" seems to reset the sub timings to more conventional positive values.

I still had some sync problems. I saw the option to set a delay in the idx file, but I wasn't sure of the syntax or how many "#"s I needed to delete to activate it. Instead, I was able to use VobSub Cutter (included in the VobSub package). It is pretty straightforward: open either the idx or the sub file, then enter the amount of time you want all the subtitles to be advanced in the "start" spaces. "Save As" will create new idx and sub files with corrected timings. I haven't had to add delay - I'm not quite sure how you would do that.

[emmel]

Media Player Classic has also the subresync functionality.

[BigCondor]

Changing the time in SubResync is quite straight forward and easy. You enter the correct value of the first line by left click once under the time column. A green circle will indicate that the time has been modified and the new time will be shown on the preview column. If there is no second time reference all the time of other subtitles will shift likely. Usually I will change the time near the start and end of the movie. If the time near the middle is correct then I would assume the time is correct. Otherwise set more reference points to get a better result.

[Talayero]

Changing the time in SubResync is quite straight forward and easy. You enter the correct value of the first line by left click once under the time column.

Hi,

I have a problem. I don't find the way to apply that to all the streams that the idx/sub contains.
I mean If I change the time for the english subtitles and save, the rest of the languages (spanish french etc) are unchanged, and if I don't save the changes for the english before going to change the rest, I lose these changes.

I don't know how to change the time for all of them and save.

Thanks in advance

[BigCondor]

What I usually do is to save the subtitle with a new name after changing one stream. Then load the new subtitle and adjust another stream. With that, after several saves eventually I will have all the streams changed.