How To Correctly Display Subs...

[EpheMeroN]

I started another thread in the IFO Editors section about what to use to successfully author a basic dvd with subtitles. Since they were in .srt format, and MuxMan only takes .sup, they recommeded the new "SubtitleCreator" program from SourceForge. I need some help with that. How can I correctly do the .srt to .sup conversion? I want to ensure the subs are displayed properly. My original source was a PAL XviD @ a resolution of 640x272. Since I made an NTSC DVD from that I want to make sure the subs are still displayed properly. I resized to 720x360 and just did AddBorders(0,60,0,60) in an AviSynth Script to get correct AR during the conversion. So far with SubtitleCreator all I did was open the .srt file and click on Save SUP.

[CoNS]

Make sure you download the latest version of SubtitleCreator, as Paddington, the author, is releasing a new improved version every other day ATM... :p

And then the program is pretty much selfexplanatory. Take some time and play around with it - check out the settings available etc. You could also read the nice, short user guide that comes with the program (look in the Help menu of the program).

But basically, what you wanna do in your specific case is something like this:

1. Load your .srt file with text subtitles.
2. Select NTSC as the video format (in Settings menu)
3. Make sure the subs are synchronized with the movie. You can use the sync features in SC to do this.
4. You may want to change font face, size etc. (Settings menu).
5. you may want to reposition the subtitles.
6. When you're done, choose Save SUP in the File menu and you're ready to mux.

[EpheMeroN]

Here's a twist though. I'm using DGPulldown on my video so I can keep the fps at 25 (PAL) but use pulldown flags to make it 29.97. I'm doing this so I don't have to re-encode the original PAL AC3 audio. With that said, do I still choose NTSC as the video format?

[CoNS]

Hmmm, good question!! I'd say NTSC, as that what's the video output is...

But if I were you, I'd simply do some testing on a small video sequence (to cut down processing time), and add bitmap subtitles created in SC for both PAL and NTSC to see which it is.

[EpheMeroN]

Yea, I did that last night. NTSC was the correct choice! Is there any way at all in SC though to enhance the quality of the subtitle conversion? When they were in .srt format they looked really nice, smooth, and clear. When I output them to .sup format they become really jagged-edged and blocky.

[CoNS]

Hmmm, sounds strange. The bitmap subs (SUP) I create with SC look perfect...

Are you using some strange settings in SC? Did you remember to copy the correct subtitle colours used for the SUP creation into the final outputted DVD?

[EpheMeroN]

Are you using some strange settings in SC? Did you remember to copy the correct subtitle colours used for the SUP creation into the final outputted DVD?
No strange settings at all. But I cannot copy the correct subtitle colors into SC because I don't have the original dvd with me. I had to get the .srt subtitle file off the internet because the dvd had no English subtitles.

[CoNS]

Which program do you use for reauthoring? MuxMan, IfoEdit, ReJig?

You'd still have to make sure that the colours used for creating the bitmap subs in SC are present in the final outputted DVD. Unless the program you use for authoring allows you to import/define the subtitle colours used in SC, you have to copy the colours to the outputted/newly authored DVD afterwards. This can easily be done with PgcEdit.

Take a close look at the guides (the pdf files in the Documentation folder) that come with SC. It'll explain the steps for you, one by one, in detail.

Also, have in mind that the software player used for testing the final DVD may display the subtitles differently that they would look on a standalone player. Burn the DVD and try playing on your standalone to see how the subtitles look.

Bitmap subtitles for a DVD can only use four colours per subtitle from the palette of 16 colours available. However, in the preview box in SC, the program displays the subtitles with more colours in order to make a smooth antialiasing for your previewing pleasure. But still the outputted subs with only four colours should look just fine on your standalone player....

[EpheMeroN]

I used MuxMan for my reauthoring.

The subs actually do look better on my tv via the dvd player, but they're just not AS crisp and clear as they appear on my pc. Maybe that's just normal though. The subs are quite legible though on the tv. Are there a certain # of fonts that you can change your subs to in SC that are all compliant or compatible with the dvd players? Maybe changing the font would help.

[CoNS]

Well, as I said, the subtitles displayed in the preview in SC is not what you get in the outputted SUP file, as the SUP format (bitmap subtitles for DVD) only uses four colours per subtitle - SC uses a lot more greyscale colours in its preview to display the subtitles nicely with anti-alias on the screen in Windows.

The AA issue in SC is discussed in this post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=639141#post639141) and the many following posts, in the main SC thread here in the Doom9 Forum's Subtitles Section...

When that is said it's my experience that the subtitles created in SC look just as good, and sometimes even better than the original DVD subtitles on the disc. Also, the quality is much better than the subs created in Srt2Sup IMHO.

I recommend using these settings:

Font face: Arial (regular/normal, not bold)
Font size: 20-22
Outline: 5
Colours: The default subtitle colours in SC

[EpheMeroN]

Cool thanks.

Any chance SC will ever have support for opening vob, m2v, etc? Right now it can only let you preview your video via IFO files.