Problem with Subbed DVD using Subtitle Creator

[davori]

I use subtitle creator to sub my home video dvds. All works fine until I play back the subbed DVD. On my computer, the video player (power DVD) freezes at one point and always at that point. I have to end the process to regain control of my comp. On a set top DVD player, the video freezes for a couple of seconds, then resumes. It does this over and over at what seems like random intervals. Anyone know what is causing this?

[setarip_old]

Hi!

It sounds more like a media quality problem...

[davori]

No, when I am playing the subbed DVDs back, they are on my hard disk. The ones I play on my set top are burned to dvd, but when I play those dvds on my computer, it does the exact same thing as the original ones on the hard disk.

[setarip_old]

Thanks for clarifying your initial post ;>}

Do the not-yet-subbed DVDs play properly from your hard drive, or do they exhibit the same behavior?

[davori]

the not-yet-subbed dvds play perfectly.

[davori]

oh yeah, one more point. I have subbed dvds this way in the past and they worked perfectly. The only thing I changed is the way the dvd's menus are. I use adobe premiere elements to make my dvds. Before, I used the built in dvd templates. Now, I modify the dvd templates in photoshop and use them in premiere. But the dvds still play fine, that is, until they are subbed. I don't know if this is causing the problem, but it seems unrelated.

[manusse]

Hi,

What method are you using to add your subs to your DVD (SC's DVD authoring wizard?).

Cheers
Manusse

[davori]

yeah, from the drop down menu.

[manusse]

What SubtitleCreator does is the following:

1 - Generate a .sup file using your .sub or .srt file.
2 - Demux your DVD using pgcdemux.
3 - Remux your DVD plus the .sup from step 1 using muxman.
4 - Restore the menus using vobblanker.

The versions of these tools I am using are:

SubtitleCreator 2.0.6
pgcdemux 1.2.0.5
muxman 0.15
vobblanker 2.1.1.0RC1

Could you check what versions of those tools you are using?

Manusse

[davori]

muxman 0.15p
pgcdemux 1.2.0.5
vob blanker 2.1.1.0
subtitle creator 2.0.6

[manusse]

Ok, it looks quite the same as mine.
So let's try to investigate. You mention that you changed the way to make your DVD compared to a working method.
Now, I modify the dvd templates in photoshop and use them in premiere
Could you try again with your old method to be sure that this is not the problem.
Another test you can do: go into the SC_TEMP directory created by SubtitleCreator. Look for a video file (big one, should end by m2v). This is the result of the demuxing of your original DVD. Try to play it with your DVD player. Does it hang at the same place as your DVD?

Cheers
Manusse

[davori]

i deleted the file in the sc_temp directory earlier. so i'll have to resub and see if it works. i'll try to encode the dvd using the standard templates tonight and next morning, i'll see if this fixes the problem. that should take a good 4-5 hours. thanks for the help! i'll post an update tomorrow.

[davori]

Ok, I remade the dvd using standard templates but the same thing happens, no change. The .m2v file in SC_TEMP plays perfectly.

[manusse]

If the .m2v file plays perfectly this means the problem is not in the demultiplexing.

Could you now try to remux your DVD using muxman. You can open the MuxManProject.mxp file in your SC_TEMP directory. After remuxing, check if the problem is here (you should have a DVD without menus).

If the problem is here: try the remux again but without the generated sup file.

If the problem is not here: this must be a problem with VobBlanker.

Cheers
Manusse ... going to bed now.

[davori]

ok, it appears there is a problem when i mux with the sup file. and is not vob blankers's fault. I remuxed with the MuxManProject.mxp project file and the problem is still there. I remuxed with muxman without the sup file and it plays fine. What could be wrong with the sup file?

[setarip_old]

@davori

Hi!

Considering the amount of difficulty you're encountering, perhaps it might be worthwhile to convert the .SUP file to a text format - and read through it to see if you can detect any anomalies that may be at the root of it all...

[davori]

you mean open it in notepad? i did that, looks normal. at least it does to me. what kind of anomalies should i be looking for?

[manusse]

So it seems there is a problem when remuwing. It may come from the SUP file, or from SC's muxman.mxp or from muxman.

Maybe what you could try, to see if it comes from your particular sup file, is to use another sup file. For example use one of the demuxed sup files that should be available in the SC_TEMP dir. Copy it and rename it with the same name as the incriminated SUP and try again. (Also make sure to use a file that is approximely the same length as you SUP file to be in quite the same conditions). Also the max number of SUPs is 32.

You can also check the timings of your SUP file around the instant when your DVD is stucked. Do you see something weird like very short subs or wrong timings. The timings of your subs must grow regularly and not be too short (One frame is 20 ms (PAL)).

Sorry for the long try and guess by there is no other means to debug programs than this way.

At least now, we know it doesn't come form pgcdemux neither from VobBlanker.

Cheers
Manusse

[davori]

what do you mean by the max number of sups is 32? when you say try to use another sup file, are you thinking that this particular sup file is corrupted? because i made another dvd with differnt video and different subs and there is still this problem. however, in the other dvd the dvd player freezes at about 6:13 while in the dvd i am working with now feezes at about 1:13. i choose to use the shorter one so i don't have to watch for 6 mins to see if the problem crops up.

[davori]

i just thought of this: the dvds with subs that had no problem were both less than 1 hour long (approx). the dvds that have the problem are 1:40 and 1:30 (approx). does this makes a difference?

[davori]

um, a problem with your suggestion. i can only find one sup file and that is the one in the SC_TEMP directory. that is the same sup file used to mux the dvd.

[manusse]

This means there are no subtitles in your original DVD?

[davori]

no, my original dvd is made from home videos. i use SC to add the subs to the dvd after the dvd is made.

[manusse]

Is your original DVD a PAL or a NTSC DVD?

[davori]

it is ntsc

[manusse]

I know the full process of adding a subtitle is working very well with PAL dvds. As Paddington and myself are using PAL DVDs, we didn't make many tests with NTSC DVDs.

Maybe there is a problem somewhere with NTSC DVDs. Did you look at your Private Messages.

Manusse