mpeg file subtitle timing problem

[ecc]

I ripped a French film to my computer and then remuxed it so that I could sync downloaded subtitles to the film. The film is PAL and the framerate for the subtitles I downloaded was listed as 25fps. The problem is that the timing on the srt file does not line up even remotely with the video. In SubtitleWorkshop, the timing was off by four minutes. I set the delay for all the subs to match up to the first spoken line but then the subtitles were still not in sync with the video (the timing readout was also not in sync with the video when I tried to skip back during playback and stopping the video did not set things right). Then I opened it in Submagic and the timing of the mpeg and the subtitles was again different. SubtitleWorkshop said the first line was at 8:16 (the srt file said 4:14). Submagic also had the first line at 8:16 but as the film advanced with the subs in sync, the film itself and the audio skipped around. I thought something had gone wrong with the multiplexing but I scanned through the m2v file and the muxed mpeg in VideoLAN and the film is fine but it has the first lne of dialogue occuring at around 2:45). Is there a reason none of the players in these subtitle processors agree with each other?

[AlanHK]

M2V files often seem to have weird and impossible timing. A lot of software that can handle MPEGs don't handle them well.
If you mux it with the audio (ac3?) file you should get a more stable time display. Or better, for cueing the subtitles, an AVI file.

Read Subtitle Workshop's help file. It explains the various timing adjustments you can make. Usually just marking the first and last subs are enough and it makes the rest fit.

[ecc]

The file was muxed with the ac3. I wonder if opening the mpeg in VirtualDub and then going back and forth between that with the video and SubtitleWorkshop with the subtitle file would result in a more accurate timing.

[AlanHK]

The file was muxed with the ac3. I wonder if opening the mpeg in VirtualDub and then going back and forth between that with the video and SubtitleWorkshop with the subtitle file would result in a more accurate timing.

I usually use an AVI file for syncing the subtitle.

Maybe if you make a quick one from Vdub and use that as the "movie" in Subtitle Workshop you'd get more consistent results.

[ecc]

This might be a lost cause. I checked the timings for the first line of dialogue in PowerDVD, SubtitleWorkshop, Mediaplayer Classic, Windows Media Player, and VideoLAN and the timings are all different. I don't see how that's possible with the DVD itself.

[Jeremiah58]

I don't see how that's possible with the DVD itself.

You were going a wrong path.
Start with reading this:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic331030.html

Now, you would probably need to join all VOBs of your main movie to one mpg.
It can be done with Womble MPEG Video Wizard, VOB2MPG, TMPGENC...
Subtitle Workshop will open a single VOB and will open mpg. After that synching a subtitle to a video is not difficult.

Edit: Yes, I've almost forgotten...
The easiest way to join VOBs is to use VOBMerge.
There is a small bug in this program, though, if you try to save the resulting merged VOB to other HDD. Just use a directory on the same HDD (if you have multiple HDDs, of course).
In a case that Subtitle Workshop refuses to open VOB file, just change the extension VOB to mpg.
This procedure works for me when I use either VOBMerge or MPEG Video Wizard. I haven't tried it with VOB2MPG or TMPGENC.