Adding .srt to a DVD and keeping the original subs

[Levina]

I have bought a DVD with a movie that has only English subs. I would like to add Dutch subs without losing the English ones. I have ripped the DVD to a single VOB file with MtR (the English subs were still there) and then tried authoring a DVD in ffmpegX using the mpeg2encoder whereby I included the Dutch subs by way of an .srt file in the Filters tab. It didn't work. That's to say, the Dutch subs are there but the English ones have now vanished. Is it maybe impossible to do what I want? Or if it is possible, how should I go about it? Thanks in advance.

[Levina]

Nobody? Sniff...

[Case]

ffmpegX doesn't have the ability to author two subs.
Perhaps you need a full featured authoring app like DVD Studio Pro...

[tomlee59]

Your options on the Mac are indeed limited, if you don't want to spend (much) money. If you have access to a Windows machine, you have a bit more flexibility. Some "How to" guides from this site that might be of interest are:

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic245188.html

and

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic275603.html

These aren't simple "one-click" operations, as you can see, so they may not be appealing to you. But perhaps these examples give you some idea of what is involved.

[Levina]

I had a feeling it would be impossible on the Mac with the apps that I have, but buying DVD Studio Pro is hmm... a bit much right now. I have no Windows machine, but a good friend of mine has (poor soul). I have already printed out the guides and hopefully I can make it work. Thanks guys.

[manono]

(poor soul)

Poor soul? You're the one that can't do anything as basic as include 2 subtitle languages when authoring and he's the poor soul?

[Levina]

Oh my... hit a nerve there me thinks...
But anyway, it's very well possible to include 2 subtitles, just not with the freeware apps I use. Like the man said: for DVD Studio Pro it's a piece of cake.

[tomlee59]

As a workaround (albeit a somewhat cumbersome one), perhaps you might consider authoring two separate DVDs, one with Dutch subs, and the other with English subs.

I know it's inconvenient to have to make two separate DVDs just to accommodate two subtitles, but with the tools at hand, perhaps it's not a completely unreasonable compromise solution.

Just a thought.

[Levina]

That's actually not a bad idea and the deed is done. Thanks tomlee.

[tomlee59]

Graag gedaan, Levina.