Symbols subs in output

[swiftninja]

This is my first time using DVD2DVD (with roba and facar). I backed up van helsing and the video looks great except for a few parts of the subtitles.

In the subtitle options i chose: Rip subtitles, dvd subtitles. Sub lang 1 english forced subs. Subtitle lang 2 english. Everything else left default. Now in the finished output the text flows fine and proper except for some frames there is a weird sun like symbol at the very top(not sure how many but browsing the .pngs i counted 3). Here is one of the png: http://home.comcast.net/~swiftninja/en201061.png

What is the preferred method of ripping and muxing subs, is it DVD2DVD's built in or another program (SubtitleCreater, srt2sup + other progs?) I like to have the original font/size/color of the dvd subs but more importantly clean subs.

[swiftninja]

if no one knows what the problem with that subtitle stream (the sun symbols), can anyone tell me if i have the subtitle options correct with my intentions? That is i would like to have any forced subs (subs that come up for translatios and whatnot) in the default stream, and regular english subs availbe in a second stream (for those who are hearing impared as i watch my movies with one).

[bobwillis]

Does this video have forced subs?

Forced subs can be of two types,

1. They can be in a separate stream of their own (e.g. kill bill)
2. They can be embedded in a normal stream. (e.g. the missing)

Ticking the forced box is for 'type 2' subtitles, and DVD2DVD will go through all the subs in that stream, extracting JUST the forced ones. All the other subtitles in that stream will be dropped. If there are no forced subs in that stream, you will get the extracted number of subs displayed as 0 appearing in the log.

Type 1 forced subs are just like any other subtitle stream, they do not require DVD2DVD to go specifically looking for them, so leave the forced box unchecked.

If I suspect that a disc may have forced subs, then I run DVD2DVD, and check 'forced' for all english streams. If after extracting the subs, I get a 'number of subs=0' for all streams, then I know that there are no 'type 2' forced subtitles on the disc. If I get a non-zero answer, then I know that there are forced subs in that stream. I then cancel DVD2DVD; and re-run it, selecting 'forced' for any streams that were non-zero and unchecking forced for all other english streams.

This method is foolproof, in other words, you will not make a backup which has the forced subs missing. The downside is, you have to run DVD2DVD twice. What you are effectively doing is looking for type 2 'forced subs' the first time round, and using the information gained to make the correct decision for all streams the second time round.

Also, the final backup will not have the forced subs automatically enabled, you have to select them with your dvd player remote. This can be a pain in the backside, so you can use a tool such as ifoedit (search for 2cool's guide), which will enable them by default.

As for those daft symbols that appear, unfortunately, they are in the subtitle stream, and it would appear that D2D cannot differentiate between a 'wanted' sub and these 'unwanted' symbols. That is a shame, but it does not occur very often.

Regards,
Bob

[swiftninja]

thanks for taking the time to explain it all in detail, your help is much appreciated.

[JFerguson]

This title (Van Helsing R1) contained a BoV (Button over Video) feature that allowed you to go behind the scenes of certain segments of the movie (4 in total, I believe). What you see in your snapshot above is the icon that you click on to make that jump from the movie to the small featurette (which, at end, takes you back to the movie.

It is a forced subtitle, but for your purposes here (to build an SVCD), they were of no use. The only English subtitle of interest here was subtitle 01 (count starting from 00).