MKV to DVD with .srt subtitles????

[legionar2010]

Hi,

i'm a newbie on Mac which a bought one year ago. I don't have problems handling with basic stuff but discovering the Mac OS X platform and video formats, codecs and featured app i'm losin' it. More a discover i get more questions, seems the Windows are more compact to the video environment.

ok, my problem is handling with MKV (1280x720, x264, AC3 5.1 DD) files with additional subtitle in .srt. Is any way to add subtitles (.srt) to video without encoding the audio and video chanells on MAC? How can i burn DVDR on Mac with subtitles and save the qulaity of Video and Audio chanells?

I've been trying with AddMovie, ffmpegx, Submerge, etc but no luck.

Pls any suggestion?

[terryj]

Is any way to add subtitles (.srt) to video without encoding the audio and video chanells on MAC?

no.

You can try to extract the video and audio from the .mkv using MKVToolsnix and then taking those assets,
along with the sub file and place them in either an .avi or .mov container within Quicktime Pro,
but all you doing at that point is switching form one container format (.mkv) to another (.avi or .mov),
which is fine for computer watching.

How can i burn DVDR on Mac with subtitles and save the qulaity of Video and Audio chanells?

Transcoding from x264 to Mpeg-2 will affect your quality. You want to retain the same quality as it is now in
x264, you will either have to (a) leave it as is, and simply watch it as a computer file rather than a DVD,
or (b) use a high end transcoder like Compressor ( part of FCS Studio) or Sorenson Squeeze to encode
in exactly the same bit rate as the x264 to insure you get a set of mpeg-2 assets that match in
quality. There is no guarantee that you will get exactly bit for bit quality, but you can come pretty close.

The tradeoff will be if such a high quality file will fit onto a standard DVD-5, which my guess is that it probably won't,
and you end up burning it to DVD-9 ( Dual Layer) to retain the quality.

[legionar2010]

Is any way to add subtitles (.srt) to video without encoding the audio and video chanells on MAC?

no.

You can try to extract the video and audio from the .mkv using MKVToolsnix and then taking those assets,
along with the sub file and place them in either an .avi or .mov container within Quicktime Pro,
but all you doing at that point is switching form one container format (.mkv) to another (.avi or .mov),
which is fine for computer watching.

Have a new Mac that has no option for QT Pro, only intergrated QT X (QTX works as enconder only on specific app, QTPro on all mac app for encoding)??? Is that the problem???

[legionar2010]

@jerryj: need simple advice - what's the simple way to add subs and convert into QT format retaining at least good quality as the original. I wonder how to enocode (save) audio chanel 5.1 digital dolby not using Sorenson Squeeze or any high end transcoder you suggested???

video info: --------------------------------------------- output:
format: matroska (.mkv) ---------------------------- any QT format that can be burned with Toast or iDvD
video: h264, yuv420p, 1280x720 ------------------- any QT format that can be burned with Toast or iDvD
audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1 Dolby Digital ------------ would like to retain the 5.1 Dolby Digital

tnx

[terryj]

Is any way to add subtitles (.srt) to video without encoding the audio and video chanells on MAC?

no.

You can try to extract the video and audio from the .mkv using MKVToolsnix and then taking those assets,
along with the sub file and place them in either an .avi or .mov container within Quicktime Pro,
but all you doing at that point is switching form one container format (.mkv) to another (.avi or .mov),
which is fine for computer watching.

Have a new Mac that has no option for QT Pro, only intergrated QT X (QTX works as enconder only on specific app, QTPro on all mac app for encoding)??? Is that the problem???

Quicktime Player ( the non PRO version of Quicktime) has to be installed via the OEM System Disc .
On new Macs by default, it is not installed.
Follow these steps here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3678

then go here to buy your Pro key from Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D3380Z/A

[terryj]

@jerryj: need simple advice - what's the simple way to add subs and convert into QT format retaining at least good quality as the original. I wonder how to enocode (save) audio chanel 5.1 digital dolby not using Sorenson Squeeze or any high end transcoder you suggested???

video info: --------------------------------------------- output:
format: matroska (.mkv) ---------------------------- any QT format that can be burned with Toast or iDvD
video: h264, yuv420p, 1280x720 ------------------- any QT format that can be burned with Toast or iDvD
audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1 Dolby Digital ------------ would like to retain the 5.1 Dolby Digital

tnx

no simple way, my original answer to this is your only best bet.

The problem you'll need to let go of is the following:

retaining at least good quality as the original, and [snip]audio chanel 5.1 digital dolby not using high end transcoder

if you can live with a little trade off ( to get it to DVD) ( which means no 5.1 and a little loss in quality)
then you can simply:
1. Make sure Perian is installed on the Mac.
2. Open the .mkv in Quicktime Pro
3. Save as out of Quicktime Pro as .mov ( simply wrapping the .mkv in a QT .mov wrapper)
4. Drag & Drop this into Toast Titanium.

Toast will re-encode to 2.0 channel ac3, and when converting the .h264 it will
also burn in the subs. But that is your best bet with the tools you have.

[Nuttawut]

Use MKVTools

I downloaded a movie with subtitles.

Just select the movie and subtitles when you open the programme and it does it all for you. Convert to MP4 or AVI, up to you.

When I went to burn it with "Burn" a free Mac programme it converted to mpg and burnt to disc.

Then watched it on my television. All in all took about an hour.

Flawless.

[terryj]

Use MKVTools

I downloaded a movie with subtitles.

Just select the movie and subtitles when you open the programme and it does it all for you. Convert to MP4 or AVI, up to you.

When I went to burn it with "Burn" a free Mac programme it converted to mpg and burnt to disc.

Then watched it on my television. All in all took about an hour.

Flawless.

The problem though Nuttawut, is that the OP said he has to maintain:
* As good as quality as the original, meaning he has to have complete control over the encoding bitrate
* maintain the 5.1 surround sound

Your method might insure the second option, but even if he tweaks the xvid encoding in a two pass option,
it won't be as good as the h.264 encoded original.

So at best, your option just provides him another way of doing what I said, if he, the OP, can live with the trade-offs
of just getting it to a DVD and not be so stuck on maintaining a bit for bit quality encode.

[Nuttawut]

Hmmm yes.

In my haste to enlighten I forgot that bit.

I'm a bit of a stickler for picture quality myself, although sound doesn't bother me that much. After my conversion the picture looked good. Must say you would be hard pushed to tell the difference in quality from the original.

[legionar2010]

Is any way to add subtitles (.srt) to video without encoding the audio and video chanells on MAC?

no.

You can try to extract the video and audio from the .mkv using MKVToolsnix and then taking those assets,
along with the sub file and place them in either an .avi or .mov container within Quicktime Pro,
but all you doing at that point is switching form one container format (.mkv) to another (.avi or .mov),
which is fine for computer watching.

Have a new Mac that has no option for QT Pro, only intergrated QT X (QTX works as enconder only on specific app, QTPro on all mac app for encoding)??? Is that the problem???

Quicktime Player ( the non PRO version of Quicktime) has to be installed via the OEM System Disc .
On new Macs by default, it is not installed.
Follow these steps here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3678

then go here to buy your Pro key from Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D3380Z/A

hi terryj,

been on vacation these days, i'm back now. When i bought my MacBook Pro i faced with this problem about QT Pro i think i cannot install the QT7 on my mac. In instructions from apple are some notice like: Note: QuickTime X does not use QuickTime Pro registration codes.. But these link was posted in may 2010 so that gives me litlle hope cause i bought QTPro registry codes in 2009. I still have it. Do you know about these problem.

[legionar2010]

@jerryj: need simple advice - what's the simple way to add subs and convert into QT format retaining at least good quality as the original. I wonder how to enocode (save) audio chanel 5.1 digital dolby not using Sorenson Squeeze or any high end transcoder you suggested???

video info: --------------------------------------------- output:
format: matroska (.mkv) ---------------------------- any QT format that can be burned with Toast or iDvD
video: h264, yuv420p, 1280x720 ------------------- any QT format that can be burned with Toast or iDvD
audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1 Dolby Digital ------------ would like to retain the 5.1 Dolby Digital

tnx

no simple way, my original answer to this is your only best bet.

The problem you'll need to let go of is the following:

retaining at least good quality as the original, and [snip]audio chanel 5.1 digital dolby not using high end transcoder

if you can live with a little trade off ( to get it to DVD) ( which means no 5.1 and a little loss in quality)
then you can simply:
1. Make sure Perian is installed on the Mac.
2. Open the .mkv in Quicktime Pro
3. Save as out of Quicktime Pro as .mov ( simply wrapping the .mkv in a QT .mov wrapper)
4. Drag & Drop this into Toast Titanium.

Toast will re-encode to 2.0 channel ac3, and when converting the .h264 it will
also burn in the subs. But that is your best bet with the tools you have.

hi

this is working great, need to upgrade my TT to version 10. Is any option in QT Pro to set up the encoding preferences for subtitles. I would like to set up an Central European (Latin 2) to get full slovenian font. Otherwise i get some of slovenian characteristics desytructed in subtitles, in Submerge there is an option but Submerge is for phone watching quality.

One more question: Do i burn these in 16:9 or 4:3 espect ratio, would like to get output in 4:3 without strecthing the video frame, or would be great 16:9 but without cropping or strecthing the video frame???

thanks guy for yours help especialy to you terry.
i'm loving this forum.

[legionar2010]

also i noticed that some movies opened in QT player were subtitled with more than one subtitles instead of the map on my computer wich includes only movie and one subtitle???

second problem is that when i dropped the saved file from QTPro to Toast Titanium 8 it did not inccluded subtitles in the final writing. In menu set up was everything ok, but after checking the dvd disc on my external player i noticed that there are no subtitles, but quality of sound and video retained at least as original????