Applying subtitles without rendering?

[rfn]

This is what I want:

I have a downloaded SVCD movie which spans over 3 CD's. I want to join them and author the complete movie as a DVD _with_ subtitles that I have downloaded from the web.

I mostly uses a Mac, but I have had to give up with the tools available at the moment, so now I have turned to my PC.

I have tried to follow the guides on this site and it kinda works. TPMGEnc is the encoder I've choosen and I have managed to make a movie with permanent subtitles using VobSub. It's far from perfect since the movie is all stretched and doesn't fill out the screen, but that's probably just some settings that I have to figure out. I'll come back with that later

The process of applying subtitles is taking many hours because it has to reencode the whole movie. Isn't it possible to apply the subtitles in a faster way, by "overlaying" the text onto the movie and leave the movie itself as it is?

I think the best solution would be to apply the subtitle to the joined SVCD movie and then author the movie by using the header trick. Do you agree?

Thanks in advance,

rfn

[jsnkc]

Nope, subtitles are actually small still pciture files that need to be encoded with the video, there is no other way to do it than that.

[rfn]

In the meantime I have found SRT2SUP which can make true DVD subtitles. I will now try to author a DVD using IfoEdit and include subtitles.

I hope it works!

Regards,
rfn

[donpedro]

Nope, subtitles are actually small still pciture files that need to be encoded with the video, there is no other way to do it than that.

This is not true. DVD subtitles are not part of mpeg (video). Otherwise how would you turn them off on DVD player ?

[jsnkc]

IF you actually read what I posted, I didn't say that it is part of the MPEG stream I just said that it needs to be encoded AT THE SAME TIME. Then when you play the DVD the MPEG stream will look for the subtitles (if you have it turned on) and tell them where they need to be. Subtitles aren't encoded in the MPEG stream, but the MPEG stream needs to be encoded with the information regarding the subtitles.

[donpedro]

IF you actually read what I posted, I didn't say that it is part of the MPEG stream I just said that it needs to be encoded AT THE SAME TIME. Then when you play the DVD the MPEG stream will look for the subtitles (if you have it turned on) and tell them where they need to be. Subtitles aren't encoded in the MPEG stream, but the MPEG stream needs to be encoded with the information regarding the subtitles.

Still not true. Vide is encoded into MPEG stream independently from suntitles. If you take "profesional" DVD authoring sofware that is just for authoring, you will need to import encoded video and audio stream into it and text file (or another format) with subtitles. Then it will be authored to DVD format.

[jsnkc]

Exactly, when you are encoding your MPEG stream into the VIDEO_TS folders you need to have your subtitles present at the time you do that, you can't go back later and add a text file or something and have the subtitles work, it needs to be encoded with the MPEG stream during the encoding process.

[donpedro]

In our "amatuer" world we call that process authoring and not encoding. Encoding is when you use codec to transfer from one video or audio file format (in DVD process discusion) to another file with different (or same) properties.

[jsnkc]

Actualy Authoring is the process of bringing all your assets together, it has nothing to do with encoding untill you get everything "authored" Then you "encode" your Authored project into either a DVD Disc, A DVD Disc Image, or a VIDEO_TS Folder.

[donpedro]

You are wong like you were about Firewire capture.

[jsnkc]

I suggest you go out and pick up a copy of the book DVD Demystified, you obviously don't have a clue about Professional DVD Authoring and Production.

[donpedro]

Please.... Be so kind and quote from it so we all will be proven wrong...

[jsnkc]

From the book "DVD Demystified"


encode - To transform data for storage or transmission, usually in such a way that redundancies are eliminated or complexity is reduced. Most compression is based on one or more encoding methods. Data such as audio or video is encoded for efficient storage or transmission and is decoded for access or display.


To Transform Data for storage or transmission. You can't burn a MPEG 2 file on a DVD disc and expect it to play in a DVD player...you must first Transform the data for storage or transmission
Meaning when you put together all your assets for a disc in the Authoring process, you must then Encode it to the proper format so that it is playable in a DVD player.

[donpedro]

I guess you find new definition of word "encodig". Now whenever sombody will ask about encoding with TMPGEnc, Cinema Craft Encoder or Main Concept Encoder I would have to corect them that they are actualy making DVD. And whenever sombody is posting about authoring DVD I would have to correct them thet they are actualy encoding and not authoring. You should ask admin's of this website to correct glossary.

[jsnkc]

Well, you first have to Encode your video to get it to a MPEG 2 file, then you need to Author it, then your authoring program will Encode the video once again in order to get it in the proper DVD spec. Even though it's 2 diffrent processes, what it is doing is essentially the same. Changing the file from one thing to another to make it compatable with the final product.
I think the owners of this site should contact the writer of DVD Demystified to use their glossary on this forum so they stop giving people the wrong information.

[donpedro]

Can somebody else explain to this so ignorant guy how it realy works ? He is right about one think... I realy don't have a clue about Professional DVD Authoring and Production. But it seems that he is with me on this boat... As a profesional he should know some basic facts like the one about DV capture. And he should know that when somebody in video production is talking about encoding that it is something else and not what he is trying so blindly to make us believe.

[jsnkc]

You guys can believe whatever you want, I don't care. But if you really want to know everything there is to know about DVD Authoring, I highly suggest picking up the book DVD Demystified, it is the bible for the professional DVD world, and it will explain all this stuff to you in much greater detail than I care to explain.

[srt2sup]

Hi,

I am the author of Srt2Sup does my opinion count?

Subtitles are not part of the MPEG2 data, however they they are encoded at the same time as the video (and audio for that matter) is.

They are encoded into the VOB files in packets and are actualy bitmaps (I don't mean .BMP files) that are overlayed on the video by the DVD player when told to do so by the time stamps!

Very simply a VOB file look like:

VIDEO PACKET
AUDIO PACKET
SUBTITLE PACKET
VIDEO PACKET
AUDIO PACKET
SUBTITLE PACKET

For those in the know I know this is overly simplified!

For me encoding takes place when I am authoring although I may perform encoding steps seperateley.

So that is just my opinion!