Converting MKV subtitles to SRT

[Xpenguin17]

The app I use is very old, so it doesn't recognize the subs. It would help if I knew the actual format of the subs so I could search for the right converter.

What are some modern subtitle tools?

[jman98]

Well, if you use something like MKVToolNix it will let you demux the subs and it should identify the type prior to demuxing. I think that some other tools can also do this with MKV files.

If the subs are text based (that means you can look at them with a text editor like Word and they are readable), they might be Sub Station Alpha format. I've seen that used a lot in MKV files.

[Xpenguin17]

I already have it extracted, that's not the problem. I want it in SRT. MKVtoolnix reports "S_TEXT/UTF8 (ID 3)"

SSA was my first guess too.

[El Heggunte]

I already have it extracted, that's not the problem. I want it in SRT. MKVtoolnix reports "S_TEXT/UTF8 (ID 3)"

SSA was my first guess too.

Please open the extracted subtitle in Notepad,
copy some lines, and post them to this forum,
so we can identify its file type.

[Xpenguin17]

(text deleted, because it looks like Baghdad)

[El Heggunte]

That's weird. The higher ANSI characters don't translate into anything
intelligible, neither as UTF-8, nor under several other codepages I've tried.
More importantly, no timing information available

[jman98]

@Xpenguin17 - Thanks for the example and the additional info (S_TEXT/UTF8 (ID 3). Both were helpful.

I did some research and it seems that ASS (yes, that is what Sub Station Alpha calls its subtitles - ha ha ha - pee pee - doodie - poo - oh so funny) subtitles show up as UTF8, so I'd guess that's what you've got. Unfortunately, the non-printable characters seem to indicate severe corruption of the subtitles file. I could be wrong as I think I have had exactly 2 files with SSA subtitles ever (and I converted them both to SRT), but I doubt that any media player can play these subs correctly if they look like this.

The following thread might be useful to you. Please read all of it and pay particular attention to entry from demkd at the bottom.
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic330506.html

[Xpenguin17]

Sweet, DSRT did it. It looks like MKVtoolnix fucked up extracting it.

I don't think the garbage-appearing symbols are a result of corruption though. I think they are the timecodes themselves, because they all look similar. Either MKVextract offsetted it in a non-standard fashion or... hell if I know.

Thanks for the help, people.