How to add subtitle to a video

[Chuba753]

Hi did anyone in here know how to add subtitles in color into a video without changing the quality of the video.

[Baldrick]

If you want permanent / burned in subtitles you must reconvert the video and you will lose a bit video quality, see https://forum.videohelp.com/topic272736.html

You can also have external subtitles but then it's up to the software player subtitle settings how it will look like.

[redwudz]

Depends on the subtitle format. You would get better answers in our Subtitle Forum. Start with the 'stickies' at the top of the forum. Moving you.

[jman98]

It would also help if we knew what format your video is because different formats have different requirements and with some you can have selectable subtitles that can be turned on and off. Selectable subtitles do not require any video re-encoding. However, Baldrick is always right and if you want permanent (burned in) subs, then you must always re-encode your video to have that.

[Chuba753]

Its an avi file Divx, but it's an special avi because it has a framerate of 120 fps. So heres what i'm trying to do.
My subtitles are for a 120 fps but i also want to change the frame rate to 25 fps in the video, so if i change the frame rate of the video to 25 fps while is enconding, will the subtitles change too to 25fps.

By the way i also want to make some lines in different colors to see who of the characters of the video is talking.
For example: The lines of the main character will be of color blue, the lines of the second character will be red, etc.

[Chuba753]

Still waiting for an answer , please someone answer my question....

[redwudz]

I'll give it a try, but I don't really know a lot about subtitles.

The common type I have used with Divx/Xvid are .srt format. Those are just text files and the font and color is a function of the playback device, a set top or software player. You may be able to change them with the player, but they would be different for the next player. So .srt format is probably not what you want. If you change the length of the video, .srt subs will no longer be in sync. They are a separate file in the same folder as the video. There are programs that can readjust the sub timing if you change the video lengths.

Another format is .idx or .sub, which I believe are graphics based and you can set the color when you create them. I think they will also go out of sync when the video length is changed. I think these are also separate from the video, but in the same folder. These can likely also be adjusted for video length changes.

Third type is burned permanently into the video. If the video length changes, the subs will change with it. You should be able to make them any color or font that will show up properly on your video. Disadvantage is you can have only one language on your video and they can't be turned off.

The other two types are selectable and can be turned off.

That's about the sum of my sub knowledge. And I'm not sure if it's all completely correct. But with a bit of reading, you should be able to fill in most of the rest.

[manono]

so if i change the frame rate of the video to 25 fps while is enconding, will the subtitles change too to 25fps.

If you change the framerate at the same time keeping the length the same, then the subs (and audio) will still be in synch.

By the way i also want to make some lines in different colors to see who of the characters of the video is talking.

My advice is walk before you run. You don't know the first thing about encoding and now you want to make colored subs? Convert the subtitle format to SSA (assuming you have SRT or maybe IDX/SUB subs now), learn how to use SubStation Alpha, and before long you'll have nice pretty subtitles using all the colors of the rainbow. Oh, did I mention that creating colorful subs requires hours and hours of tedious and boring drudge work.