Is MPEG-4 Timed Text dead or just on ice?

[Elias]

With the PlayStation 3 supporting more and more of the MPEG-4 standard(s) lately, things are looking better and better for MPEG-4 hardcore fanatics like myself. However, so far I haven't seen any noticeable support for MPEG-4 Timed Text since Gabest added support for it in MPC shortly after the VLC crew supported it (that was back in late 2005). Sure, MP4Box does a great job with converting srt files to MPEG-4 Timed Text streams, but QuickTime—being a worthless piece of shit—isn't very compatible with MP4Box's Timed Text streams ("Error -2010: the movie contains some invalid data"). I'm wondering, what's the situation for MPEG-4 Timed Text as of this moment and the near future? Is it worth investing on, in terms of home made back ups and widespread compatibility in other hardware and software players than MPC/VLC? Or is it safer to use Matroska+AAS and perhaps Ogg+writ? Have Nero added support for MPEG-4 Timed Text lately? When will we see some breakthrough progress for MPEG-4 Timed Text as a subtitle codec in mp4?

Sorry for all the n00b-like questions; I've been away from the codec world for a while and haven't keep myself very much up to date.

[mahsah]

The main problem is that in most cases, studios prefer to use bitmap subtitles, and unofficial subtitlers prefer to use srt or .ass.

Basicially nobody wants to support it because nobody uses it, and nobody uses it because nobody supports it.

[Elias]

The main problem is that in most cases, studios prefer to use bitmap subtitles, and unofficial subtitlers prefer to use srt or .ass.

Basicially nobody wants to support it because nobody uses it, and nobody uses it because nobody supports it.I realise that much. But when are we going to see a change? Why aren't MPEG-4 freaks like myself on this forum, using it? There are many here who like and support the MPEG-4 standards, so I don't really see the problem. MPC and VLC have excellent support for MPEG-4 Timed Text, so there's no excuse to disregard it.

Sure, ASS has some nifty features in comparison, but I don't see why that should be a reason to ignore standardized codecs.

[refulgentis]

quicktime supports it well throughout the itunes ecosystem now, some people over at handbrake (notably entropic) have done an excellent job researching this.

his mac os tool for doing so: http://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5853
his original thread: http://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5520

I was incredibly pumped to just fire up mp4box and do all the necessary work, and then throw it in iTunes, synch it to my iphone, and have it work throughout everything I could throw it at (VLC, quicktime, itunes, iphone).

[awx]

I'm curious about the future of TTXT too.

I think at least for the PS3, Sony will eventually have to add some kind of subtitle support for AVC files. DivX already have softsub support so why not AVC? And if they create a movie store for the PS3, it will surely have to support some kind of subtitles. It would be kind of weird if Sony's store sold videos in DivX format rather than AVC.

Personally, I keep all my subtitles in SRT format then let YAMB convert them to TTXT while muxing.

[numaios]

Why aren't MPEG-4 freaks like myself on this forum, using it? There are many here who like and support the MPEG-4 standards, so I don't really see the problem. MPC and VLC have excellent support for MPEG-4 Timed Text, so there's no excuse to disregard it.
Hello!

I agree with you, it's a pity that MPEG-4 Timed Text is not supported by Nero Digital (however it supports VobSub format muxed into a MP4 file, in standalone players).

In my situation, the reason why I don't use MPEG-4 TTXT is that I need standalone support for my files, so I must stick to SubRip or SubViewer (for text) or XSUB (for bitmap subtitles).