How do I rip DVD subtitles to PNG, JPG, or BMP files?

[Videogamer555]

I am looking for a way to take already existing DVD subtitles (which I am aware are stored as pictures, not text, on the disk) and save them as ordinary picture files that can be viewed in any picture viewer on a PC. Can FFMPEG do this? If not, what software can? If such software exists, is it only commercial software, or is there some freeware that can do it?

[Baldrick]

I haven't seen any such dvd subtitler software. And I have tried all dvd subtitle tools...

[videobruger]

In Subtitle Edit use: File -> Import/OCR subtitles from VOB/ISO.

When the OCR window appears mark all (CTRL+a), rigth-click and select "Export -> BDN xml/png".

[Baldrick]

Okey...subtitle edit supports everything.

[manono]

SubRip can also extract the BMPs. It's free.

[Baldrick]

Oops.

[Videogamer555]

SubRip can also extract the BMPs. It's free.

That program forces me to choose a color palette, rather than using the DVD's color palette. The available palettes are:
I-Author
Philips SVCD Designer
Sonic DVD Creator
Sonic Scenarist
Spruce DVDMaestro
Pinnacle Impression

and a custom one that lets you manually select the colors to use.

There is no option to use the DVD's built-in color palette at all. This will not suit me. I want to rip the images in the exact color they were stored in. So as much as I am greatfull for your suggestion, I will still be looking for a different one. It must be able to extract everything needed to display a subtitle on a PC monitor as an image, including the color palette. Hopefully you can aid me in my further quest to find software that also rips the color palette, to create a correct BMP file, without depending on me defining a palette for it.

[manono]

I want to rip the images in the exact color they were stored in.

The colors they were stored in, or the colors that you see when watching the DVD? There's a difference.

[Cornucopia]

Since DVD subtitles & menu buttons are stores as "sub-pictures" with a 4bit palette, you would normally need to translate that into something that most standard picture formats with 24bit palettes store. You HAVE to define a palette conversion/translation.

Ever worked with GIFs? They need palettizing and dithering also, and they're at least 8bit - 4bit is ridiculously constrained! But that's all that was expected to be available to settop microprocessors at the time that DVD was created. We've come a LONG way.

Scott

[Videogamer555]

Since DVD subtitles & menu buttons are stores as "sub-pictures" with a 4bit palette, you would normally need to translate that into something that most standard picture formats with 24bit palettes store. You HAVE to define a palette conversion/translation.

Ever worked with GIFs? They need palettizing and dithering also, and they're at least 8bit - 4bit is ridiculously constrained! But that's all that was expected to be available to settop microprocessors at the time that DVD was created. We've come a LONG way.

Scott

You can rip a palette and stick it in the BMP file and then rip the 4bit-per-pixel image data and then stick it in the BMP file, and then set the BMP header's bits-per-pixel field to 4. And POOF, you have a perfect rip of one of the DVD's subtitle pictures. There's ABSOLUTELY ZERO need to change the bit depth. Why SubRip FORCES you to convert it according to different pre-defined palettes, completely confounds me. I could probably write my own ripper program in about 1 hour, that would rip the DVD subtitles as-is and save them to 4bit-per-pixel BMP files, if I could figure out how to read VOB files. I don't even know what format VOB files they are in. It's so simple, that I'm surprised and shocked that the many people out there with knowledge of VOB files have not yet created software of the nature that I'm proposing now.

[manono]

Okay, try this then. File->Open Full Domain in DVDSubEdit and feed it the first VOB. The subs in it and the subsequent ones will be loaded. Make sure to 'Use IFO CLUT' (over on the right side, not 'Use Automatic CLUT'). Follow that with File->Save Subpics of all Selected SPUs as BMPs. Give it a destination and let-'er-rip.

[Videogamer555]

Okay, try this then. File->Open Full Domain in DVDSubEdit and feed it the first VOB. The subs in it and the subsequent ones will be loaded. Make sure to 'Use IFO CLUT' (over on the right side, not 'Use Automatic CLUT'). Follow that with File->Save Subpics of all Selected SPUs as BMPs. Give it a destination and let-'er-rip.

But it never gave me the chance to select the IFO file, only a VOB file. There is a menu option in the file menu that says "Load IFO" but it is grayed out. And all 4 colors in the palette are the same color when I load the VOB file like you suggested. The color is pure blue (red=0 Green=0 blue=255). There's no difference in color, so I think the palette must be stored in the IFO file, but it isn't loading the IFO file, so it is loading a default palette (all entries are pure blue). Without the palette in the IFO file, there's no way to display the subtitles.

[manono]

Follow the directions I gave you. Did I say for you to 'Load IFO'? No, I said to 'Open full domain'. And I said to 'Use IFO CLUT'. I'll show you what I see in one of the subpics. I'm converting it to JPG for the smaller size. I make mine with light grey main color, dark grey anti-alias color, and black outline.