Subtitle not showing w/Xvid in Virtualdub

[luketheduke]

Hi all,
I have a few Xvid files with srt subs that I want to hardsub and eventually burnt on a DVD. First, I converted the srt to ssa using subtitle workshop. Then, using virtualdub to hardsub I don't see the subtitle at all on the output screen. I am using the subtitler by Avery Lee.

I have to say in the beginning virtualdub didn't recognize the Xvid avi file but then I installed an Xvid codec and it works. I have been using virtualdub for all Divx avi files to hardsub with no problem. Does anyone have any clue.

Thanks in advance.

[celtic_druid]

Try TextSub (VSFilter). That way you can directly load the srt.

[luketheduke]

Thanks, celtic.

I'll give that a try.

If I use Vobsub to mux the subtitle and burn the file on a Dvd will I be able to see those subtitle?

[celtic_druid]

You mean the submux tool (or whatever it was called) from the old VobSub installer? Not aware of any SAP's that can handle such subtitles. Certainly not if they can't handle external srt's. Should still work fine on PC based players, but nothing is quite as compatible as hard encoded subs.

If you are talking about converting to DVD video, then I wouldn't recommend hardsubbing, especially not as an intermediatory step. You waste time (and quality if you don't encode losslessly). Better to author with a separate subtitle stream or if you really want to hardsub, then frameserve.

[luketheduke]

Can you recommend a good Dvd authoring program that can stream external subtitle. How do I work with Frameserve?

[45tripp]

The easiest way to do it all is use convertxtodvd.
Load xvid, load subs. Click and wait for dvd.

DVD-lab is a good dvd authoring program that can use srt streams as input.

You can frameserve with vdub.
Just open auxsetup and install handler before starting.
Open vdub, apply filters, add sub with textsub.
Then under file, find 'start frame serve' save a vdr file and import that into your encoder.
If it works or how easily, depends on the encoder.
https://www.videohelp.com/virtualdubframeserve.htm

Avisynth is the preferred frameserver.
Let us know if you'd like to try it.

gl

[luketheduke]

45tripp,
Thanks for the guide. I am gearing toward frameserve with vdub. Will I be able to turn the subtitle on/off after burning on DVD? I'm assuming the video quality is unaffected with frameserve as there is no re-encoding. Frameserve is something new to me. The only thing I'm not clear is where the Frameserve mode in vdub has finished encoding the video. Do I use something like convertxtodvd to encode the xxx.vdr.avi on a DVD?

Anyway, Celtic, I tried TextSub (VSFilter) on vdub and it works. There is some slight degradation on the quality after re-encoding the hardsub.

[celtic_druid]

Hard encoding the subs makes them part of the video. There is no on/off.
Frameserving with VDub means RGB. Other than that the quality is not effected. However you would still be using another encoder; MPEG-2 in the case of DVD, which is lossy. The idea however is to avoid the unnecessary step of encoding an avi first.

When framserving, VDub provides the frames requested of it. It doesn't do any encoding itself. The encoding is finished when the other encoder is done.

Convertxtodvd as I understand it is still libavcodec/format based, so it wouldn't support vdr files. It would support AVISynth, however the reason it (convertx) was suggested was because it can handle the conversion with subs itself. Frameserving is not necessary.

If you are using a lossy encoder, then there will always be a loss in quality when re-encoding. Also subtitles are hard to compress. That is one of the reasons why I brought up frameserving.

[luketheduke]

In another words, I will have to reencode either way. Do you recommend Divx or Xvid encoder?

[45tripp]

Hope I didn't confuse

In another words, I will have to reencode either way. Do you recommend Divx or Xvid encoder?

No.
Whatever you decide to do, you'll only need to encode once.

My opinion is that hardcoding subs on a dvd is sinful.
With a click of a button they can be on or off. Why destroy the image?
Also I usually want to add another subtitle in my native tongue.

Convertxtodvd is a good way to get a subtitled dvd.
Add video, add subs, click a button and get an authored dvd with subs the way they're meant to be, selectable.

I suggested DVD-lab because it'll take srt subs as input. No extra conversions of the subtitle stream. Encode (once) xvid to mpeg2 with your choice of encoder. Feed dvd lab with video, audio and subs. Author and get a dvd with selectable subs.

When framserving, VDub provides the frames requested of it. It doesn't do any encoding itself. The encoding is finished when the other encoder is done.

A frameserver does what it says. It serves frames to the encoder. You apply filtering using the frameserver, altering the original frames, and the encoder receives the new frames and does it's bit without ever being the wiser. To the encoder the original frame doesn't even exist.
So when you add subs to the picture with vdub and send those frames to the encoder it now has the subs as part of the picture and encodes them. Hardcoded subs. Note encoding has only occured once, this way.

Avisynth is the preferred frameserver.
It's faster and you can use it to feed most encoders.
You don't get the easy vdub graphical interface though.
You have to type.

I don't frameserve with vdub, so I'm not familiar with workarounds to use it when the .vdr isn't accepted by the encoder, or which encoder you just can't use in combination.
I can tell you though that CCE, TMPG and the Mainconcept standalone will take the .vdr file as is.

gl

[luketheduke]

Thanks for clearing that up, 45tripp.