Converting mkv to dvd (or whatever) but it MUST have subtitles...

[pwhyles]

All I want to do is convert a .mkv file to something useable... by which I mean DVD
with subtitles.

Sorry, mkv may be the best thing since sliced bread but as far as I'm concerned it's
the spawn of the devil at the moment.

I've done heaps of searching: I've installed CCCP; AVS Video Tools; MKVtoolnix;
DVDSanta (that has quite a few errors and eventually crashes here);
SubtitleWorkshop and several other items that either did not work or called-home way
too much for my liking; and some other things I've forgotten in the depths of despair
;-))).

Now I have no trouble what-so-ever extracting decent video and sound out of mkv
files; what I can't seem to get is subtitles. BTW the subtitle files in my mkv wrapper
are ASS, which, of course, are, apparently an odd, incompatible format.

Loading this into SubtitleWorkshop and then saving it as SRT appears to work: but is
it that easy?

AVS Video Tools seems to be the best video converter but it appears that it does not
do subtitles in any way or form.

DVDSanta appears to do what I want but I get 3 errors detailed at the end of this post
(not sure if they are exactly the same, but this is the first); it then works for a bit and
then crashes. Yeah right, thank heavens it's trialware.

I've followed Matroska's help pages to the letter but since DVDSanta does not work
here that's not much use.

I've got these 2 mkv files that I want to convert to DVD WITH SUBTITLES; surely it
can't be that much of a problem... surely. Can it done? if so, how?

TBF I never, ever want to see another mkv file in my lifetime (or the next).



DVDSanta example errror:
===============

OS: Windows XP Home Edition, SP2
CPU: AuthenticAMD, AMD AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+, MMX @ 2220 MHz

Application data:
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[guns1inger]

Frankly, I wouldn't touch DVD Santa with a barge pole.

I would try the following.

Install MKVExtract and put MKVToolNix in the same folder.
Demux all the content of the mkv file to a new folder.
Use mkvmerge to create a new mkv file with just the video and audio tracks.
Convert the subs to srt if they aren't already.
Use FAVC to convert the mkv file to DVD, selecting the srt file for your subs

[jman98]

MKV is fine for people who want to play files on PCs. A very few media streamers support it now. But you are right, it's pretty useless for those of us who prefer to watch stuff on TVs and not on PCs. It's still a little ahead of the time in my opinion. In a few years, it will probably be no big deal, but that time is not now.

None of the experienced users here have anything good to say about DVDSanta. ConvertXToDVD isn't freeware, but it gets a lot of good comments about being good for less experienced people and providing consistently good results.

If you're using DVDSanta, I suspect guns1inger's method may be a bit advanced for you. You might check out ConvertXToDVD. I think you can try before you buy.

[pwhyles]

Frankly, I wouldn't touch DVD Santa with a barge pole.

After my experiences I'd have to agree.

I have all the MKVTools; although the links from their pages to the gui for the extract tool do not appear to be getting any response from wherever it's supposed to be hosted: no matter, it works fine from a cli.

I'll pursue the rest of your suggestions latter.

Thanks for your input.

[pwhyles]

MKV is fine for people who want to play files on PCs.

I'd agree; but, IMO, I don't need/want yet another system when what I've already got works just fine.

If you're using DVDSanta, I suspect guns1inger's method may be a bit advanced for you

Messing about with files is no problem for me; I'm only trying to use DVDSanta because it's what the mkv people recommend I use. I RTFM first... and am now trying other things since that did not work.

[Delta2]

FFMPEG can convert MKVs fairly well to DVD, and it's free

[guns1inger]

The issue with most (all ?) of the converters - free or not - is that they don't read the embedded subs. Of the subs are in the wrong format. I have also found that the way the mkv was muxed, and the amount of extraneous crap in them (jpgs etc) can cause some converters to choke. I get the best success rate by demuxing, re-emuxing a simple, clean video/audio only mkv, and converting from that.

[Delta2]

The issue with most (all ?) of the converters - free or not - is that they don't read the embedded subs. Of the subs are in the wrong format. I have also found that the way the mkv was muxed, and the amount of extraneous crap in them (jpgs etc) can cause some converters to choke. I get the best success rate by demuxing, re-emuxing a simple, clean video/audio only mkv, and converting from that.

I don't care about that, and you shouldn't also. I can't see how a newbie can manage to make all that extra work you do. Remuxing ? mkvtoolnix ? what the hell is that ?

If it plays in WMP...that's enough, it's fairly simple to ignore all the extra crap that some MKVs have.

that's just my opinion

[pwhyles]

I don't care about that,

Ah, but it's the crux of my problem: subtitles.

I too, as I've said, have no difficulty converting mkv video/sound, none at all, into anything I want.

Subtitles, however, have proven a /big/ problem: and I simply MUST have subtitles.

mkvtoolnix ? what the hell is that ?

It's the developer's tools for use on mkv containers; and they seem to work well up to now.

Tonight I'll pull the whole mkv packet apart using these tools and see what I can do with the resulting files.

[Delta2]

========
Ah, but it's the crux of my problem: subtitles.
========

Don't see any difficulties in that, I use subtitles all the time.
The only problem is to get/find subtitles already in sync with the source

====
It's the developer's tools for use on mkv containers; and they seem to work well up to now.

Tonight I'll pull the whole mkv packet apart using these tools and see what I can do with the resulting files.
=====

I was being a little ironic, you know what it is and how to use, a newbie can't. Hand work can be a hell of challenge for some people

[pwhyles]

> I use subtitles all the time.

Me too! The problem is I've never encountered mkv before and I've been unable to convert mkv with subtitles to this point.

No doubt it's me and I'm being blindingly stupid. After all, most things I find easy these days were difficult to learn/grasp for the first time.

> I was being a little ironic,

I guessed; but can't really be sure.

> you know what it is

Only since yesterday

> and how to use

Sort of. Fortunately I can use a cli having had a 'computer' since 1982. However, processing video media is fairly new to me and I don't really understand it to any great depth, yet.

[guns1inger]

@Delta2 : Nobody is questioning the playability of mkvs. The problem is that unless you use a HTPC, they are not playable on your TV. Conversion to Xvid or DVD is also relatively simple for video and audio. However getting the embedded subtitles concerted to play with them outside the mkv container is the challenge. I don't have my PC next to my TV, nor do I want to. So they files have to be converted somehow.

My method isn't the simplest solution, however it also isn't that difficult. I worked it out on my lonesome, and I have only being playing with mkvs for a few weeks. Until a simplified, integrated solution comes along, I use what works for me.

[pwhyles]

I would try the following.

To conclude: your solution works perfectly; thanks for your help.