Subtitle size problem on a Standalone!

[castellanos]

Hi there, I've made a few succesful back ups of many of my DVDs on MP4 (AVI+Mp3) with permanent subtitles. In the whole process I used Avisynth frameserving and Dr. DivX, I choosed for the subtitles, sometimes Arial 20 or 18 and other times Trebuchet MS also 20 or 18 size. All of them, yellow text with black outline.
The subs looks great on the computer, but when I look them on the standalone (Philips DVP630) are pritty much small.
Any suggestion?
Greetings! :)

[smiller667]

Not sure if I "got" your question ... try 28 or 36 next time? You have to reencode anyways ...

[castellanos]

If I try 28 or 36 is going to be too big in the computer, and I am gonna have three lines subs, intead of only two (maximal).
Do you know what I mean?
Greetings! ;)

[smiller667]

OK ... so you are essentially asking for good compromise fonts? You could try Arial Narrow (which is just that, narrow :) - a standard font included with M$ Office), so that even with a big font size you still only need 2 lines. Might be a bit "too thin", though - just give it a try.

Other than that, no recommendations from me - muxed subs are a no-no because of your standalone, I assume.

Or perhaps you switch to Bruckheimer-type movies ... less talking, more boom, thus no need for lengthy subs :D.

[castellanos]

Thanks! Good advice. I realize when I use normal arial bold, it looks perfect in a 4:3 film... but in a 16:9 letterboxed, the letters gets smaller and wider... an then the lines go too far, and you need an extra line. Did you have this experience before?
So probably your suggestion of Arial Narrow is good.
More ideas are welcome.
Greetings! ;)