Do most divx/xvid/mpeg4 DVD players recognize SRT subtitles??

[deadmeow]

I want to recommend a DVD player to a friend who is not tech savvy, as I know a regular media player is the best option. But to play xvid encodes with SRT subs, would most any divx DVD player recognize SRT subs?? I know all of my Philips DVD players in the past, which played divx, recognized subs, but I do not know about other brands.

Thanks for your input.

[jman98]

Most DVD players capable of playing Divx/Xvid files will recognize SRT subtitles. Please note that generally speaking the subtitles and the movie need to have exactly the same name before the file extension. For example, if your movie is named MYMOVIE.AVI, then your subtitle file needs to be named MYMOVIE.SRT.

If the subtitles are SRT but they are not in English (or more specifically not using the Latin alphabet) or the SRT file was created or last edited on a Mac or Linux system, the DVD player may have problems with them. In the latter case, just open the SRT file under Windows and save it to fix that issue (Mac and Linux use a different end of line character than Windows and some DVD players have problems with non-Windows end of line characters).

[MilesAhead]

If your friend is very into avi/divx I would recommend a Philips player. There are several freeware programs, such as AviAddXSubs that will embed the .srt as selectable subtitles. Usually the player handling of srt is very limited. I remember my early Philips had like a mesh background that looked like reading subs off a screen door. Very distracting. Converting to a graphics sub you have more control. You can set font, border thickness, etc..

If the subs look florescent on the player, but normal played on the PC, you may have to toggle the YUV setting on config 2 page. It's been awhile since I've done xsubs. My set top box does best with idx/sub. Those look muddy pink on the PC but look fine on the player. You just have to try that YUV setting if the color doesn't look like what you set.

If the friend is close by you should only need to set AviAddXSubs up once. It outputs a file with .divx extension from .avi file. the .divx has the xsubs embedded. Here's a guide

There are also a couple other free tools on this site you can use if you prefer.

[deadmeow]

Thanks for the answers guys. I had a couple of Philips DVP642 players in early to mid part of last decade, and they were good divx players. My last one from 2007 or so (a newer model Philips, was shoddy and didn't last). However I have a Philips DVD recorder/divx player that is still working good from 2005, and a Philips LCD tv which is very nice.

So I will tell her to look for a Philips most likely then. Thanks for your help!

[MilesAhead]

The last model I bought was a pair of 5990s. I don't use them as much now that I have a WD set top box. But they seem dependable. They can select from multiple languages in an xsub. No need to split off just the one track anymore. There are newer models out but for around $50 I'm happy with the purchase. They have HDMI, component and composite outputs. So should work with most any TV. Note that they only upconvert to HD if you connect via HDMI.