SubtitleCreator (alternative to srt2sup)

[vlada]

sleby> What do you want to with your SUP subtitles? Maybe DVDSubEdit can hel you.

I also noticed another problem with SubtitleCreator. If I extract DV timecodes to SUB subtitle file using DV DateCode (http://www.skydiver.de/stef/datecode_en.htm), Subtitle Creator won't open these files. Although it is easy to edit them, I believe it is still a bug and should be fixed. The subtitle file looks like this:

; Script for DVD Subtitle Tools
; Produced by DV_DateCode 1.2 (C) 2003-2005 stef@skydiver.de
;
; Video=D:\video\dv.avi
;
FrameW=720
FrameH=576
FrameRate=25
Delay=0
FontName=Arial
FontCharSet=238
FontSize=23
FontStyle=REGULAR
Contour=1
Palette=3210
Alpha=FFF0
OnTop=0
ShowBitmap=0
;
{0}{8}22.04.2005|18:01


I believe SC should at least open this file correctly ignore every line, which doesen't start with "{". An it would be useful, if it read the FrameRate information.

[sleby]

vlada i was using subtitle creator for synchronizing text subtitles with original .sup files.

[vlada]

sleby> I'm not sure if it will work for you, but you can give DVDSubEdit a try.

[Mtz]

Vlada, regarding your DV subtitle: open the subtitle in notepad. Delete all the lines until {0}{8}22.04.2005|18:01, save the file with extension sub.
Open subtitles workshop, set the input fps to 25.000 fps, load the edited file and save it as SubRip. Load the .srt file in SubtitleCreator.

enjoy,
Mtz

[vlada]

Mtz> As I already said, I know how to fix the file. I don't even have to convert the file SRT. Just deleting the first 19 lines helps. I just wanted to metion it, because SC should be able to open this file without any modifications.

[indieke]

I am a neird.

With this program I loaded subtitles (srt) and the movie. Although these are dvd-files, it is only the movie.

I have managed to let the player working. I see the movie and the subtitles, in the text under the player match exactely, without I had to do anything.

Now what is next? I don't understand. Although the subtitles are perfectly synchronised, I cannot see the effect in the player.

Then what do I have to do next, to get so far, to either create a dvd with these subtitles, or watching the movie with TT on my hardrive with ffshow?

Thanks for some help!

[seskookses]

can somebody tell me what this red subtitles means(why they are red)

http://www2.shrani.si/pics/untitledgye23_thumb.jpg (http://www2.shrani.si/pics/untitledgye23.jpg)

[CoNS]

In the Settings menu there are some options to turn various warnings on/off. These are warning for too long subtitles or overlapping time codes etc. It looks like one of these warnings, can't remember which one, though (I'm at work ATM!), but look in the Settings menu.

[seskookses]

tnx CoNS

but all i can find here are blue and green warninigs

http://www2.shrani.si/pics/untitledsfd69_thumb.jpg (http://www2.shrani.si/pics/untitledsfd69.jpg)

[Mtz]

All that red subtitles are because them are on 2 lines. I don't know why them are red, but that is not a problem.

enjoy,
Mtz

[j-fish]

I have a srt file which has 1549 lines,in version 1.8.7 its loaded fine but in version 1.9.2 i get "error reading subtitle number 397"

[CoNS]

I have a srt file which has 1549 lines,in version 1.8.7 its loaded fine but in version 1.9.2 i get "error reading subtitle number 397"Could you post the specific subtitle line along with the surrounding subtitle lines?

[j-fish]

Its in hebrew

[CoNS]

You should probably send the .srt file in a pm to Paddington (the author of SubtitleCreator) so that he can fix any possible bug in the app.

However, it could be that there's something wrong with the .srt file. Try loading it into Notepad and take a close look at the specific subtitle and the surrounding subtitles and see if you can find anything unusual. An extra line or space somewhere it shouldn't be, or a messy time code or some weird characters used in the subtitle text etc.

Are Srt2Sup and DVDLab Pro able to read the file without errors?

You could try loading it into SubtitleWorkshop or similar text subtitle editing programs and save it again to see if the new file is accepted by SubtitleCreator...

Good luck :)

[CapBoy]

Hi everyone, I discovered this application a few weeks ago and have been exploring it since then, and I think it's brilliant!!! It's easy to use, and has many useful options...
Although, I do get a better AA using DvdLabPro... I've tried a few font types and with none of them I was able to minimize this problem. Could you tell me which font type, size, style, outline width... do you use?

Thank you very much... and congratulations to the developer of SubtitleCreator

[spud_2011]

can somebody tell me what this red subtitles means(why they are red)

http://www2.shrani.si/pics/untitledgye23_thumb.jpg (http://www2.shrani.si/pics/untitledgye23.jpg)

red subtitles are subs a little too long (in reference to rendering square)... if you uncheck the "warn me of error subtitles" option (or something like that) SC is able to render them back without sending an error message.. otherwise u get an error while saving the sup file.

[Mtz]

Although, I do get a better AA using DvdLabPro...
Also I don't like the AA output by SubtitleCreator. This is the only major thing that I don't like at it. I don't need a SUP conversion in few seconds. For me it can take several minutes, but with a better AA and a nice resulting subpictures.

enjoy,
Mtz

[CoNS]

The look of subtitles is of course a very subjective thing. IMO SubtitleCreator does a very good job at AA.

(When talking about good and bad AA, you should compare the subtitles on a TV set, not in a software player on your PC, of course.)

I haven't tested the latest versions of DVDLab Pro, so I don't know if the AA code has been improved lately, but previously DVDLab Pro was notorious for having very poor AA. Even worse than Srt2Sup.

SC has two different built-in AA routines. You can change the default AA filter in the Formatting menu -> "Use anti-flicker filter". The secondary AA filter is made for settops with high risk of flickering subtitles.

When Paddington, the author of SC, was working on the anti-flicker filter, I did a lot of tests where I burned test DVDs with subtitles made with various programs and with various settings to see which ones looked the best. And IMO SC was a clear winner.

I agree that the result often depends on the font, font size etc. When I make subtitles (with SC!) I use the standard IFO palette in the app. I change the font to Arial, size 20 (regular formatting), and keep outline width of 5. With these settings, SC creates subtitles that often look even better than "official" subtitles from the studio that released the retail DVD.

[Heathcliff!]

When Paddington, the author of SC, was working on the anti-flicker filter, I did a lot of tests where I burned test DVDs with subtitles made with various programs and with various settings to see which ones looked the best. And IMO SC was a clear winner.

Paddington did a REAL GOOD job on Subtitle Creator.

But I have to take credit on this one. I was the one who created the 'anti-flicker-filter', which improves AA a lot when displayed on television (or any interlaced screen for that matter). I merged my algorithm with Paddington's Subtitle Creator. I spent many hours on testing this. And it resulted in an almost-flicker-free subtitle in most circumstances. I got best result when using larger, bold fonts. For example 'Arial Narrow' at size 24 in bold.

When turning 'anti-flicker-filter' on, it might look like it degrades the quality of the subtitle a bit. But this is because it is 'optimized' for interlaced screens, like television. Just burn it and try it.

Heathcliff

[CoNS]

Heathcliff, sorry for not mentioning you as the author of the anti-flicker filter inside SC. It was just to keep the description simple... :) (IIRC, you're credited correctly in the About window in SC for your work, though)

BTW, do you have any experience with AA in the latest versions of DVDLab Pro?

[Heathcliff!]

BTW, do you have any experience with AA in the latest versions of DVDLab Pro?

Nope, I haven't used DVDLab for a long time. I do know, that the quality of subtitles from SubtitleCreator with Anti-Flicker-Filter should theoretically be the best you can get. There is only one way to make them even better: If you don't use the black outline you could use 2 grayscales for AA, instead of 1 gray color. But this will only work if the subtitles are positioned in a black background (for example in the black border at bottom of the screen if you display a 16:9 movie on a 4:3 screen). If you put subtitles without outline in the movie they become unreadable. 2 grayscales would give better AA and even less flickering. Maybe this could be an optional feature. But I am reeealy busy with my work. I almost don't have time for programming at home anymore. We are outsourcing a lot of work to India and I have to travel a lot now. Also I'm getting married very soon. Weddingplanning is also a very hard job :cool: .

Cya!
Heathcliff

[CapBoy]

I'm now giving another chance to SubtitleCreator, I'm going to test it on my TVset later.

I have a question, though:

I was the one who created the 'anti-flicker-filter', which improves AA a lot when displayed on television (or any interlaced screen for that matter).

But what about progressive displays? Like a 720p HDTV set?
I use an upscaling dvd player, should I use the anti-flicker filter? or just leave it disabled? Thanks :)

[krypton22]

Just tried it yesterday on a progressive display without noticing any significant difference.

[bloodem]

i seem to have a problem with the quality of the subtitles made with Subtitle Creator whenever i change the standard DVD video resolution (for example when I change a PAL from 720 x 576 to 704 x 480). Is there something I could do to fix this?

[manusse]

Hi,

Where do you change the standard DVD resolution? I think in SubtitleCreator you can only choose PAL or NTSC.

To check if the problem comes from SC, you can save your subs as SUP and then open them with the Tools->Manipulate SUP menu and have a look at them.

Do you also see the problem there?

Manusse

[CoNS]

Hi Atomzk, and welcome to the forum. :)

It seems like you posted in the wrong thread?

[manusse]

Hi all,

As some of you already know, Paddington and myself are preparing the next version of SubtitleCreator that will also allow to preview the subtitles on top of the DVD (subtitle overlay).

We have made good progress.

Paddington has also fixed many bugs, added new functions and enhanced the UI.

To finish the tests of the overlay, I would like to test it with some vertical subs. I would also be interested in non-european subs.

So if you can post here some examples of srt file + SubtitleCreator profile (1.92) that you are currently using together with the language name (for information), I would be very interested. I mean Japanese subs, indian subs, arabic, chinese, korean, ... vertical, horizontal.

Thanks in advance
Manusse
:o

[Atomzk]

Hi Atomzk, and welcome to the forum. :)

It seems like you posted in the wrong thread?

I did.. Aarch... :eek: :p
I'll correct it right away, thanks for telling.

[levisp]

I`m using WinAVIVideoConverter for AVI to DVD convertion, When I tried to convert *.srt or *.sub files to *.sup subtitles streams using SubtitleCreator I can´t change the font and the outline color (Just appear green), If I open a VTS_01_0.IFO file from a DVD that I rented the SubtitleCreator I can change the the font and outline color, Any idea?

[Mtz]

If you like simple programs and want to convert from avi to DVD try to use ConvertXtoDVD. It can add selectable subtitles from srt files. Also, read the rules and pay attention with your "rented DVD" even if you want only to use the subtitles from it.

enjoy,
Mtz

[THXTEX]

Hi,

I just started using this program and like it very well. But I have som fonts, that make the program crash. I can select them in the font-window, but after saying OK I get an error.

The font called "FagoNoLf-Bold" is an exampkle.

[kumi]

I have that font in Type 1 format, and SubtitleCreator doesn't even show it on it's dropdown. A pity, but it doesn't recognize Type 1 or OpenType fonts... is your Fago a TrueType font?

[THXTEX]

... is your Fago a TrueType font?

Yes, it is.

It is shown in the dropdownlist and i can set the size. But when I press OK, SubtitleCreator shows an exception.

[Paddington]

@Paddington: 2questions:
-where can i find the source of this tool, it's GPL if i see correct?
-could you point me to your source of information on the sup format, please?

Sorry for my late reply, but sources can be downloaded from SourceForge via CVS (http://subtitlecreator.cvs.sourceforge.net/subtitlecreator/SC/). Current version uses .NET2 and is developed using SharpDevelop. It also contains localization support, currently for English (default), French and Dutch.

Information about the SUP file can be obtained from SUP.cs class, mpucoder (http://www.mpucoder.com), or SourceForge (http://dvd.sourceforge.net/dvdinfo/) again (more specifically, here (http://dvd.sourceforge.net/dvdinfo/spu.html))

[mpucoder]

Actually all my site has is a description of the spu (SubPicture Unit) (and Sourceforge has an unauthorized copy of my old website)
If you want to see the sup file format go here (http://www.ifoedit.com/subpform.html). Sup is basically a collection of spu's, each with a 10 byte header that serves as a signature and contains the relative pts for timing.
The advantage of sup over any other file format (other than Scenarist's .sp) is that it is an exact copy of the graphics and commands of the original. Any animation, wipes, scrolls, and fades are preserved. Scenarist's .sp file is a raw dump of one spu, it contains all the graphics and commands, but is missing the timing information.

[ericf]

Okay, sorry if I make a fool of myself, but I have several scripts in SSA format that are impossible to convert to srt because of numerous overlapping subs and various positioning tags in the scripts.

Can I use an SSA file in Subtitle Creator and keep positioning as well as overlapping subtitles or is there a different program that can make subs for DVDs that takes SSA files with these traits?

Thank you.
Ericf

[Erynnis]

I tried to make some subtitles for a movie from a DVD I have decrypted and copied to disk. When I open the IFO in SutitleCreator and try to play it, it says:

Could not start DVD
Exception from HRESULT: 0x80040276

But in the backgroud I see the the DVD movie started playing. As soon as I click the OK button to confirm the error message, the movie is not displayed any further.

What's wrong?

[manusse]

Hi Erynnis,

This is a known bug that will be fixed in version 2.0.0.

Cheers
Manusse

[Paddington]

I just wanted to let you know that Manusse and I have been working hard on a new release, which uses some of the best freeware programs on this forum, such as PgcDemux, Muxman and VobBlanker, for helping you add new subtitles to your DVDs. To find out more, go to the new thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=112539), download it (make sure you have .NETv2 (http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fdownloads%2Fdetails.aspx%3FFamilyID%3D0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5%26displaylang%3Den&ei=OimVRJTRKa2EYa-dxHk&sig2=ZKbMXwsgybwDwGRlWV6abw) installed), and enjoy.

@ukendt
Do you mind making the other thread sticky for some time: in the near future, I would like to replace this thread with the other one, since much has changes, and I am no longer updating the previous version.

[BoJangles]

@every1,

Hello there people, I'm from the Netherlands and I trying to use SubtitleCreator v.2.0.6. Everything is set up nicely but everytime when I try to replace a subtitle I get an error during the vobblanker part in the proces.

ERROR: ifo has more than one PGC: Unsupported

It drives me nuts. Does (or did) anybody have the same problem and knows where it is comming from. And, more important, know's how to fix it?

All the right program's are set and installed correctly. I even redid everything to make sure I did it right. I've had this problem now with the 4 dvd's that I tried to make and I have no idea what it is. I can't even find anything about it in the forums or with google.

Help me, please :thanks:

[Maxiuca]

I've got one request: Unicode subtitles (srt) support. Is it possible?

[manusse]

I think it is already available. Open your srt and Go to Format -> Select Character Encoding.

Cheers
Manusse

[lovelegend]

I'm using win2k and I sometimes got "Unhandled exception has occurred", the message is
"SplitterDistance must be between Panel1MinSize and Width - Panel2MinSize"

and the Detailed information is
See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.InvalidOperationException: SplitterDistance must be between Panel1MinSize and Width - Panel2MinSize.
at System.Windows.Forms.SplitContainer.set_SplitterDistance(Int32 value)
at SubtitleCreator.PreviewForm.ResizePreviewForm()
at SubtitleCreator.PreviewForm.PreviewForm_Resize(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnResize(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnResize(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnSizeChanged(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.UpdateBounds(Int32 x, Int32 y, Int32 width, Int32 height, Int32 clientWidth, Int32 clientHeight)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.UpdateBounds()
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
at SubtitleCreator.PreviewForm.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

Also, is it possible to have a button to auto center the subtitles area?

and there are two more problems:
1) I found for some long line of Chinese subtitles, in the bottom window it shows ok (not highlighted for errors), but the first word is actually cut.

2) After switching from PAL to NTSC, the subtitles area is always almost off the main screen (probably the height of PAL is 576 while NTSC is 480)

[lovelegend]

Also, is it possible to have a button to auto center the subtitles area?

and there are two more problems:
1) I found for some long line of Chinese subtitles, in the bottom window it shows ok (not highlighted for errors), but the first word is actually cut.
This is actually solved as I changed the width to 720 (full width)...

btw, I found another problem, for the lines with one Chinese character (2 bytes), they will be discarded when saving SRT... :(

another problem is it is very hard to edit the start/end time directly, sometimes backspace doesn't work, and sometimes the numbers I keyed in are ignored (e.g., start time 00:00:01,123, I deleted 123 and keyed in 345, but it still appears 00:00:01,, I couldn't change the numbers successfully. I needed to type the time in notepad, copy it and then highlight the whole thing and paste the time)...

[Paddington]

I'm using win2k and I sometimes got "Unhandled exception has occurred", the message is
"SplitterDistance must be between Panel1MinSize and Width - Panel2MinSize"

Also, is it possible to have a button to auto center the subtitles area?

and there are two more problems:
1) I found for some long line of Chinese subtitles, in the bottom window it shows ok (not highlighted for errors), but the first word is actually cut.

2) After switching from PAL to NTSC, the subtitles area is always almost off the main screen (probably the height of PAL is 576 while NTSC is 480)
Hi lovelegend,

Just for my information, are you using the most recent version of SC, i.e. v2.0.6 (BTW, probably this week, a new beta version will be released).

About auto-center, do you mean after adjusting the width - that's a useful suggestion. For now, you can save your preferred settings as a profile, so you will only have to do it once.

About the splitter distance: did you know you can set it to some appropriate value and after saving the settings, that information will be saved too.

About 1) What do you mean with cut - does it mean that it is slightly outside the subtitle window (which is fixed in the new version)?

About 2)
Yes, I know - for the reason you mention: since the height is smaller, I need to move the subtitles up, until the bottom touches the NTSC height. Alternatively, I could have used the same relative distance to the top of the screen, but the problem is that this may still mean that the subtitles would be cut off at the bottom.

About the problem with editing start and end time - I cannot reproduce it: in principle, you should not be allowed to delete numbers (at least in XP that works OK). You can easily edit them using ALT-UP and ALT-DOWN (or CTRL-F2 or SHIFT-F2), and after moving the cursor left and right, you can type in new values.

Finally, about the Chinese characters that SC cuts of, can you send me an example srt file to test it (via PM). I have a couple of Chinese colleagues, and I should be able to test it on their system I hope.

[clickit]

good morning to all,

@Paddington
i've downloaded the very latest version of SubtitleCreator v2_1b1 from given link at home site but it doesn't run on my pc
although the previous, v2.06, works like charm

it just loaded and unloaded (i noticed that with process explorer)

thanks in advance

[manono]

Same here. Doesn't open.

[Paddington]

Sorry about that - do you have Office 2003 installed? I'm using the OCR library that comes with it, and maybe if you haven't got it, it crashes...

[manusse]

There is a bug in some srt files parsing.
I can propose you a small fix until we correct the bug:

1°) Open the old version (SC 2.0.6). In the Settings menu, make sure the "Automatically load..." option is NOT checked. Then choose Settings -> Save Settings. Quit SC.

2°) Open with NotePad (or any text editor) the file named SubtitleHowTo.srt (or the French or Dutch version depending on SC settings for the language). Delete all its lines except for the first sub (ie the first 3 lines of the file). Save it.

Restart SC 2.1b1 and it should work. You may have the same problem when you open your some of your srt files. This comes from one of our last fixes that actually generates an exception upon finding some chars in the srt file. (Which chars, I don't know yet.)

Hope this will work. Please confirm here if it's OK or not.
Cheers
Manusse

[EDIT] You will find the file named SubtitleHowTo.srt in the "C:\Program Files\SubtitleCreator\Examples" directory.
[EDIT] The new beta 2 fixes the bug so don't use this fix.

[emmel]

Same here, the program terminates immediately. I do not have Office installed.