adding new subtitles over existing ones

[fishdog]

hello, this is my first post here

I have never done anything with subtitles before, but now I need to add subtitles to an existing film that is already on dvd for some festival screenings.

The movie already has burned in subtitles and I need to add new ones. I tried to use dvd shrink to remove them, but it shows no subtitle present so i guess that I cannot remove them from vob file.

My options are to either add new subs above the existing ones which will consume more than half of a screen, or over them by using some kind of black box behind new text that would cover the old ones.

So my question is:

How can I add that black box or black lines behind subtitles text?


I use dvd decripter to decript, then vob edit to demux vobs to m2v, then i import video and audio to encore cs4 and manualy add subtitles (type them in - since I don't have any time code in my dialog lists, just text) and finally burn new dvd.

I guess this is not the most efficient way to do this, so any suggestion would be greatly appreciated

thanks

[guns1inger]

It might be more efficient to create your subs in something like Subtitle Workshop, then use virtualdub to overlay the subs and frameserve to an encoder to get your new video. However if it means learning new software and this is a one-off exercise, you might still be better off with your current method. Either way it is a manual slog

[manono]

It's possible to create subs with a black box behind them. Follow this thread from the first post to which I'll link to discover how:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1369910#post1369910

[fishdog]

thanks a lot
I get it now, subtitles have transparent overlay frame sized background that i can resize and color. I'll give It a shot, with dvdsubedit.

So I suppose that the optimal way is to create subtitles with dvdsubedit (or similar sw) and then recompile them into new dvd without reencoding and loosing a generation?

[manono]

No, you create a DVD with subs however you normally do it, and then shrink the transparent background and make it whatever opacity you want afterwards in DVDSubEdit. DVDSubEdit doesn't create subs. As its name implies, it allows you to edit them in a variety of ways. No reencoding will be done.

[fishdog]

Oh I see, thanks.