DVDauthorGUI question regarding subtitles

[AlecWest]

I hope there's a trick to this because I could not discover it on my own. I'm authoring a film that will have no menu but needs subtitles in certain parts of it. However, while DVDauthorGUI recognizes and incorporates the subtitles into the files, they don't show up when I play back the DVD. Is there a way to "hardcode" subtitles using DVDauthorGUI ... so they always show up - without the need to "select" the subtitle from a menu?

If not, that might be a good suggestion for a future version ... like a checkbox named "hardcode" in the subtitle configuration window. Another suggestion would be to allow users to choose the subtitle color - and whether it's normal, bold, underlined, or italicised.

[jman98]

It certainly can be done, but I don't know how to do it in DVDauthorGUI. What you want is called "forced subtitles" and you can definitely do this after you create the DVD using a tool like IFOEdit. Do a search on forced subtitles or something similar to see how to do it. It's a little involved, but it's not incredibly difficult to do. There are several different ways to do it, but I use IFOEdit because I'm most familiar with that program.

[manono]

Here's a guide to doing it using PGCEdit. The guide is very thorough, and the process is easier than it looks just from the guide:

http://download.videohelp.com/r0lZ/pgcedit/third_party/2cool/subtitles/subtitles_on_de...lt_pgcedit.htm

PGCEdit can also very easily change the sub colors. Take note of the current colors, open the DVD in PGCEdit, double-click the video, and change your colors in the CLUT to whatever you like.

[AlecWest]

It certainly can be done, but I don't know how to do it in DVDauthorGUI. What you want is called "forced subtitles" and you can definitely do this after you create the DVD using a tool like IFOEdit. Do a search on forced subtitles or something similar to see how to do it. It's a little involved, but it's not incredibly difficult to do. There are several different ways to do it, but I use IFOEdit because I'm most familiar with that program.

Thanks. I've got IFOEdit ... but have never used it for that purpose (forcing subtitles). I'll see what I can find on the topic. Still (grin), it would be nice to have a "checkbox" on the DVDauthorGUI subtitle configuration window ... not to mention a choice of text colors and text formats (normal, bold, underlined, or italicised).

Hopefully, the IFOEdit instructions I find will also offer insight on changing text color and text format for subtitle text.

Again, thanks.

[liquid217]

You could make a menu that has a single button on it. In the menu editor, if you select 'advanced', click on the subtitle dropdown box, and select the sub. This will force the playback of the sub when the title begins.

[AlecWest]

You could make a menu that has a single button on it. In the menu editor, if you select 'advanced', click on the subtitle dropdown box, and select the sub. This will force the playback of the sub when the title begins.

Thanks ... but I wanted the program to start right away. I haven't tried the IFOEdit method yet. But, I did try the DVDshrink method shown here:

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic330866.html?highlight=forced%20subtitles%20ifoedit

Oddly, it worked fine except for one glitch. The first subtitle is on 2 lines. It omitted the first of the 2 lines ... but rendered all one and two-line subtitles afterward just fine. Strange. I'll try the IFOedit method next ... and then the PGCedit method to change subtitle text color.

Then again (blush), I could use the very first successful method I used. I converted the MPEG2 file into a high-def DivX Pro AVI (same framerate, same video bitrate as the MPEG2) using VirtualDubMPEG2 and Avery Lee's "subtitler" filter to hardcode subtitles to the AVI ... then reconvert the HD AVI back into MPEG2. It worked ... though it did take about 7 hours out of my life to complete the 2-way process (grin).

FWIW, I started out with an SRT file edited with Subtitle Workshop ... then used SRTtoSSA converter to convert the subtitle file to SSA (VDub's filter needs an SSA file). SRTtoSSA allows for choice of font, font size, font color, font outline color (or none), font shading color (or none), etc., etc., in a very simple GUI format. Incidentally, though, the DVDshrink method mentioned earlier "ignores" my choice of no outline and shading (and possibly color) to create white characters with a black outline.

[liquid217]

You could make a menu that has a single button on it. In the menu editor, if you select 'advanced', click on the subtitle dropdown box, and select the sub. This will force the playback of the sub when the title begins.

Thanks ... but I wanted the program to start right away. I haven't tried the IFOEdit method yet. But, I did try the DVDshrink method shown here:

If you don't want a menu, simply select the 'edit xml before authoring, and insert this PRE tag before the VOB, and after the PGC tag. Like so:

        <pgc>
          <pre> subtitle=65; </pre>
          <vob file="C:\test\title1.mpg" chapters="00:00:00.00" />