multiple English subtitle tracks

[pirotrav]

Hi,

Im just curious when ripping blu-rays why are there several english tracks on some movies? Does this have something to do with forced subtitles?

All i want is one set of regular English subtitles.

Any light on the topic would be great

(a few quick searches didn't come back positive; let me know if i missed something"

--Travis

[pirotrav]

Typically, DVDs include multiple subtitle streams that serve different purposes. Nearly every DVD has some English subtitles, even non-foreign-language movies. Most also include closed captions, which are distinct from straight subtitles. Subtitles are simply the dialogue from the movie written across the bottom of the screen. Closed captions include subtitles, but they also include audio cues that help people with impaired hearing enjoy the movie fully.Often, English-language movies use forced subtitles to show what a character speaking a foreign language is saying. On some discs, these subtitles will be hidden in a separate stream, while in others, they’ll be mixed in with the subtitles but marked so that the DVD player only shows the proper captions. Regardless, it’s crucial that you get the proper subtitles for all the films you rip. Otherwise, you’ll never know what Jabba or Greedo are saying in Star Wars, and watching a long expository scene in another language without the benefit of subtitles sucks.In practice, the first English subtitle track is typically the one that includes subtitles, forced or otherwise, while the second subtitle track is the one that includes closed captions.

--http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/rip_your_movie_dvds_and_watch_them_anywhere
--
This article answered that question pretty well. If anyone can tell me if ripping the first track is sufficient in most or all cases that would be beneficial.

Travis

[Ghitulescu]

1. short explanations (dialogues in a foreign language, "CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia") - they are mostly Forced
2. regular subtitles (all dialogues) - usually they don't include the text of the Forced subtitles, some do
3. HtH - besides dialogues they comprise also indications we perceive from sounds not visuals ("Door creaks", "Footsteps on stairs", "Man singing", "Woman crying", "Jabba speaks Huttese") and/or song lyrics (♫ Oh Happy Day) - these are the most complete

4 - CC - they are not subtitles. The subtitles are graphics, CC is text. Besides, CC are known for North America only, as only they have TV sets with CC-decoder (CC are decoded by the TV and not by the player).

[mcwups1]

1. short explanations (dialogues in a foreign language, "CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia") - they are mostly Forced
2. regular subtitles (all dialogues) - usually they don't include the text of the Forced subtitles, some do


So how do you know which is which? If I use MeGui to extract subtitles, how do I know which ones are forced, and which ones are dialogues?

MeGui does not differentiate between the two.

[Inspector.Gadget]

Generally, when watching Region A Blu-ray discs, Track 1 is normal English subs and Track 2 or the last subtitle track is English SDH subs. Forced subs are often a subset of the normal subtitle track (hence SupRead and BDSup2Sub have options for only pulling forced subs).

[laserfan]

So how do you know which is which? If I use MeGui to extract subtitles, how do I know which ones are forced, and which ones are dialogues?Some subtitle tracks have some (sometimes very important) forced subs within them. The only way to know for sure if any subtitle track includes some forced subs is to OCR them with SupRip, then check/uncheck "Only forced subs" to see if there are any forced subs shown. Maybe this works without OCR'ing them first, I'm not sure.

Another way might be to load into BDSup2Sub and then step thru all of them, looking for those marked "forced", but this would be extremely painful for sure.

If a disc has multiple tracks of the same language, you have to look at each one to see if any are "forced".

[0xdeadbeef]

Another way might be to load into BDSup2Sub and then step thru all of them, looking for those marked "forced", but this would be extremely painful for sure.
Or you simply look at the output window after loading a SUP. It prints something like "Detected x forced captions" each time you load a new file.

[laserfan]

Or you simply look at the output window after loading a SUP. It prints something like "Detected x forced captions" each time you load a new file.
Of course, I forgot that about BDSup2Sub, thanks.

I think also if one uses eac3to for demuxing, it too mentions if any subs are forced.

Then the only issue remaining is actually FINDING the individual forced subs, to decide what to do about them. If there's no easy way to "skip forward by forced flag" w/BDSup2Sub, the only other thing I know is to look at SupRip's OCR'ed output and the "only Forced" checkbox.

[0xdeadbeef]

Then the only issue remaining is actually FINDING the individual forced subs, to decide what to do about them. If there's no easy way to "skip forward by forced flag" w/BDSup2Sub, the only other thing I know is to look at SupRip's OCR'ed output and the "only Forced" checkbox.
What about exporting only the forced subs and then loading in that exported file again?

[TinTime]

Other possibilities for multiple English subs tracks are:

1. A commentary track will often have it's own set of subtitles.
2. Forced subs are sometimes put in their own track, rather than integrated into the main sub track.