Subtitle formats and sync

[Raztax]

I am trying to add subtitles to an avi to play in my Koss KS5121 DivX player. After browsing these forums for a couple of hours now I have a couple of questions.

First, I read that this DivX player supports .srt and .sub but not .sub/idx (I thought that sub was the bitmap and idx was the timing file?). I then read that .sub files are really .srt files?
Just looking for a little clarification regarding the formats.

Also when using .srt subs I find that they are way out of sync. Which software would be the best for correcting this? I currently have Time Adjuster and Subtitle Workshop downloaded.

I'm pretty new to subtitles so please be gentle. I find these forums are a fantastic resource, though it seems like there is almost too much information

Edit: Is there any way to convert .sub/.idx to .sub? (instead of .srt as that sounds rather painful)

I also have been working with Time Adjuster and think that it is just what I need
Thanks to this site or I would be completely lost!

[Jeremiah58]

First, I read that this DivX player supports .srt and .sub but not .sub/idx (I thought that sub was the bitmap and idx was the timing file?). I then read that .sub files are really .srt files?
Just looking for a little clarification regarding the formats.

SUB extension is used for several different subtitle formats. Some of them are textual, like MicroDVD, SonicDVD and some other formats. But, unfortunately, SUB extension is also used for .sub/idx which is graphical subtitle (bitmaps).

Also when using .srt subs I find that they are way out of sync. Which software would be the best for correcting this?

It is easily done with Subtitle Workshop. Read the manual to learn how to do it.

Is there any way to convert .sub/.idx to .sub? (instead of .srt as that sounds rather painful)

Yes. You have to use Subrip. Again, read the manual - it is simple.

If you encounter problems, ask again and describe what went wrong.

[Raztax]

Thanks for the reply. I finally managed to get it working properly though I did run into a rather strange problem. The .srt file I was trying to use seems to have been broken or damaged maybe? It was out of sync by exactly 30 seconds, so I adjusted it to play 30 seconds later and everything seemed fine. The subs were in sync, but gradually, as the avi played, the sub got further and further out of sync again.

I fixed it by using a different .srt file and it is working now, but what would cause this? At first I thought maybe different framerates in the original source avi that the srt was taken from, but arent srt's based on time and not frames? Therefore I would think that the same dialogue would happen at the same time regardless of framerate. Or am I wrong in this assumption?

I am reading the manuals to learn more about the subtitle tools. There really are some fantastic freeware video tools out there!

[manono]

Or am I wrong in this assumption?

You're wrong. And that's probably what happened. You had NTSC subs for a PAL movie or vice-versa. A PAL movie usually has the same number of frames as an NTSC movie, but they're played faster (25fps .vs 23.976fps). As a result, the PAL version of the same movie is usually shorter than the NTSC version, and the subtitle timings are different.

[Raztax]

That would certainly explaiin what was happening then because the subtitles were coming further and further ahead of the speech as the video went on. They must have been PAL subs.

Thanks very much