Putting Subtitles and Changing Languages

[openminded2001]

I've been using Window Media Player for quite some time now to play VCD's....I just got two VCD's today...and I think they are SVCD's....they play fine on the computer it's just that the Mandarin and Cantonese dubbing is going at the same time and it's really annoying...and there is no Chinese and English subtitles....I downloaded Sasami2k to play the SVCD, and it still does the same thing...I can't add subtitles and I can't change the language to just one going at a time...can anyone help me...

[adam]

No I doubt they are svcds, if they were then the audio would be done as two separate tracks and you would only be able to hear the 2nd track if you played it in a dvd player.

Regardless of what format it is though the fact that you hear both languages at once means that it is just a single audio track with each channel, right and left, being each language. So if you want to hear just one language you will have to unplug or turn off one speaker. You will only get mono sound unless you re-author the (s)vcd yourself and remaster the audio.

As far as the subs, if you dont see any subs on your computer that means that there either arent any at all or they are softencoded, meaning that the disk is definitely a svcd and that the subs are only available when watching the movie on a dvd player.

I am fairly certain that this is a vcd but to be sure look at its file structure. If you see an mpeg2 dir with an .mpg file in it then it is a svcd, if you see an mpegav folder with a .dat file in it then it is a vcd.

[Trenton_Net]

If you took the time to search the forum you'd find your answer so quickly. Im tired of people who don't do their homework.

I'm also kinda sick of all these "I wanna watch Chinese movies" wannabes now. Not specificy this tread, but in general. And its Not just the fact that half of them don't even know how to use Chinese VCDs properly, nor the fact they arn't even Chinese, but the fact that they come back to these forums barking at people about why things seemingly don't work like "Why do I get 2 types of languages coming out of my speakers?"

Yeesh! Ones Cantonese ones Mandarin. Since these people obviously don't know ether, why don't you just go watch some American movies instead? I think they are the same ones who think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon" was so great while most Chinese people thought it was average at best. I supposed people are just impressed since they never seen Chinese movies before. But everything about that movie was average.

To be honest, I think most of these wannabees think their so cool and really into Chinese movies now, but when you ask them how informed they are, their list consists of some crappy English dubbed movies, and CTHD. Pretty lame.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Trenton_Net on 2001-08-29 08:39:39 ]</font>

[openminded2001]

WTF Trenton_Net!?! "I wanna watch Chinese movies" wannabes? What's wrong with other people of different culture watching Chinese/HK movies?

And I just wanna say I am Chinese but I'm born and raised in Canada. I speak a little bit of Cantonese but not Mandarin (my native dialect I speak at home in Cheu Chow, but my parents can speak at least 3 different chinese dialects each, plus Vietnamese and English). And I've been watching Chinese/HK movies since I was born.

And might I add, I didn't like CTHD that much. It was a big disappointment, especially after all the hipe in the news and media.

and...to adam, it is a dat file so I guess it just a regular VCD, but I have two other VCD's right now, and they have multilanguage language support, but it just plays the one (I have 2000 A.D. and it's has Cantonese and Mandarin, but it only just plays the Mandarin, not both at the same time). So I don't know whats with the ones I have. It's suppose to have subtitles but it doesn't.

I thought that SVCD's were almost like DVD's you could just pick what language you want and subtitles in the menu. So since VCD's were doing what they do, I thought I just needed the right software to play it (I'm just using Windows Media, and I also got Sasami2K, but it does the same thing). I'm gonna get a copy of WinDVD, so maybe that will help my problem.

[adam]

The subtitles and additional audio tracks in a svcd are ONLY available on a standalone dvd player and are ONLY selectable by scrolling through the sub and audio tracks using the dvd player remote. You cant select them via a menu like on a dvd. So if you are viewing these movies on your computer you will only get the 1st audio track and you will get no subs at all unless they are hard encoded (encoded into the video.)

If those other two "vcds" have subs or other languages which you arent getting on your pc then the place you got them from is lying and they in fact dont exist, or you have a svcd and just arent getting the additional subs and language because you are viewing it on a pc.

Basically when talking about vcds and svcds, if you are playing it on a pc, what you see is what you get. Any additional functions will require a hardware player.