vobsub ripping problem: wrong timestamps

[magneez]

Im trying to rip subs from Criterion Collection's "Cries and Whispers" DVD.
the problem: All the subs are ripped ok, and appear in the correct order when I check with 'sub resync' ...but the timestamps are all with negative values and seem to have nothing to do with the film. (they dont appear at all during playback)
I have used vobsub to rip many times, and this is the first time i see something like this...
here is the .idx:
http://www.angelfire.com/ex/einam/cries.idx

thanx

[loni_blues]

Well, at least a post with the same problem I'm having (unfortunately no solution). In my case it's Kill Bill Vol.2 region 4. The timestamps are negative values referring to the end of the movie which has a timestamp of 0:00:00:00). Therefore the first subtitle has a timestamp of -02:16:41.967 and the last one is -00:00:02.743.
Does anybody know how to fix this?
Regards,
loni_blues

[niamh]

sure, add the total length of the movie to the timestamps in subresync i.e. 2:17:45.000 (or whatever). all the timestamps will be shifted and positive and in synch.
load the idx in subresync, slowly double click the 1st subtitle, until you get a renaming-type box, add the total length of the movie to the value, and you'll see all the timestamps shifting, save as.. and you're done.

[SoundScape]

niamh,

I have the same problem with VobSub. The timestamps in the .idx file are reversed and they have a negative value. For example, movie length is 43m:42s and the first timestamp starts at -00:43:12:920. The last timestamp is -00:00:03:000. I tried what you've suggested but I don't get any shifted timestamps, nothing happens when I click the 1st subtitle and enter the total movie length. Did I do something wrong? Maybe I didn't quite understand what you said. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks! :D

[loni_blues]

I followed niamh's advice and it worked. This is what I did. I loaded the avi file in VDub to get the total movie length. Then I calculated the difference between that value and the first subtitle timestamp. I replaced the first subtitle timestamp (by double clicking) by that value (the correct timestamp for the first subtitle) and all the preview values on the right changed to the right timestamps. And I just saved the modified subtitle file.
In case you have more than one subtitle stream you have to repeat this procedure for each stream. If you try to modify more than one stream before saving, the changes in the ones before the last are gone. So you have to save before changing from one stream to another.
Hope that helps,
loni_blues

[SoundScape]

loni_blues,

Thank you very much. That was a much more detailed reply than the others. Worked like a charm! I just wonder, why this happens with some subtitle rips? The inverted timestamps I mean. Anyone has a clue?

P.S. Thanks also to niamh who posted the original answer to that problem.

[SoundScape]

loni_blues,

I need your help again on a subtitles matter. Although your method worked for one movie on which I tried it, it does not work on another. Here's the deal. As you can see in the two images below, the first (top) subtitle is at -00:43:40:080 and the last (bottom) is at -00:00:28:600. The last one (00:00:00:200) is not a subtitle, I don't know why it exists.


http://www.picjar.com/pub/SoundScape/VobSub/Example1stSub.png (http://www.picjar.com/pub/SoundScape/VobSub/Example1stSub.png)http://www.picjar.com/pub/SoundScape/VobSub/ExampleLastSub.png (http://www.picjar.com/pub/SoundScape/VobSub/ExampleLastSub.png)




Anyway, as you can see, the subs are reversed. VirtualDub reports that total video length is 00:43:42:120. The difference between the total length and the 1st subtitle is 00:00:02:040, right? If I replace the 1st subtitle with that value, all other values are changed and I am done. But unfortunately when I preview the video, I find that the subtitles lag the voice, i.e. they show up after a person has spoken for
example. By applying the method of trial-and-error, I found that the correct value for the 1st subtitle is actually 00:00:01:080. So what went wrong here? Why what you suggested didn't work? Please do let me know if I misinterpreted your words. If not, tell me how I can fix this. Thank you very much in advance!

[loni_blues]

SoundScape,

I don't know. The procedure seems OK.
I wonder: are the subs in synch with the movie in the VOBs?
In any case, if trial and error worked...

Regards,
loni_blues

[SoundScape]

Hey guys,

I believe VobSub version 2.23 has some bugs, that's why sometimes we get reversed timestamps. I installed version 2.06 and subtitles came out fine. If Gabest is reading this, please fix it!!! :D

Thanks :cool:

[panache52]

Originally posted by SoundScape
loni_blues,

Thank you very much. That was a much more detailed reply than the others. Worked like a charm! I just wonder, why this happens with some subtitle rips? The inverted timestamps I mean. Anyone has a clue?

P.S. Thanks also to niamh who posted the original answer to that problem.

It all has to do with the way VOBID's and CELLID's are played back. Normally, a PGC will play them in sequence - Vob01/Cell01 before Vob01/Cell02 etc. However, sometimes they are NOT played in sorted order at all - VOB02/CELL01 may be played before VOB01/CELL01, for example. When this sort of thing happens, you get those messed up negative timestamps in VobSub.

One way you can check this is by using VStrip. Go to the IFO tab (2nd one), load in your IFO/PGC, and check the play order of the cells.

My experience is that the culprit cell (the one that causes all this grief) is usually a small 1-second blank video which is used to enable a viewer to jump to the end of a clip. This cell may in fact be used by several different PGCs within the same VTS in the same way.

The solution is simply to uncheck this blank cell in VobSub before ripping the subs. Since it's a blank video, there are no subs here anyway.

Regards

[jellysandwich]

The solution is simply to uncheck this blank cell in VobSub before ripping the subs. Since it's a blank video, there are no subs here anyway.

Regards

This worked for me, and is obviously much
easier than calculating the required offset
suggested by some of the other posts in
here.

Note: You have to find the correct VOB ID
and Cell ID by using subresync. In my case,
it was the last one on the list.

js

[rohangc]

Thanks a million!! It finally worked!! All I had to do was open the .idx file in SubReSync and edit the first timestamp!! Thanks again.