Second SRT File Not Recognized on Philips DVD Player

[gonwk]

Hi folks,

I was not sure what to title this Thread ... here is my situation ... any help would be appreciated ...

I have an AVI file that is 1.525 GB and has hard-subbed english sub on it. here lies 2 problems

Problem 1: my Philips 5980 can only play AVI files SMALLER than 1.5 GB.

Problem 2: The english hard-sub on this AVI are so tiny that I can't even read them with a pair of binoculars!

Solution to Problem 1: OK, so I solved my Problem 1 with splitting the file into 2 parts using VDub.

Solution to Problem 2: I found a Single English SRT that is an Exact match for my 1.5 GB file. So, I used Subtitle Workshop and split the SRT to two to match my already split 2 AVI parts.

On my laptop these 2 AVI And 2 SRTs play just fine using VLC ... and timing is A-OK.

BTW, I have put the 2 AVIs and the 2 SRTs allin one Folder when playing them on my Philips 5980 dvd player. So, I have ... where XXXX is the name of the file ...

XXXX_CD1.AVI
XXXX_CD1.SRT
XXXX_CD2.AVI
XXXX_CD2.SRT

Now to my Problem #3 ... CD1 plays just fine, but when I want to play CD2 ... the AVI Plays fine BUT the darn SRT file is NOT even recognized ... my Philips Player acts as there is NO CD2_SRT.

Q1: What is the problem and how can I fix it? Make this SRT visible?

Q2: Also, when I split the files with VDub ... is there a way to make the 2 AVI parts to play automatically? You know after part 1 is done playing, part 2 to start automatically!?!?

Thanks,

G!

[Ai Haibara]

Are you sure your 5980 can't play videos smaller than 1.5 GB? I don't recall reading that limit in regard to the player.

What happens if you press the Subtitle button on the remote, during the second video?

Your 5980 doesn't simply progress to the next video on the media, once the currently-playing video ends? That's what my 5990 does.

[gonwk]

Hi Ai,

Thanks for posting a reply. Ai here are my answers to the 3 points that you raised in your post ...

1) Ai, actually my Philips 5980 CAN play AVI's up to 1.5 GB. But it will NOT play files LARGER than 1.5 GB.

2) When I push "Subtitle" button during 2nd AVI play back ... nothing happens, as though there are NO SRT Subtitle file.

3) Ai, I am assuming that when I split the 1.52 GB file into 2 part AVI's ... may be I need to do something different in VDub to make it to recognize the playback routine!!!

BTW, I found a work-around for my problem (but it is NOT a real fix), solution just came to me, I put each AVI and corresponding SRT in their OWN Separate "Folder", so I ended up with "FOLDER CD1" and "FOLDER CD2" and viola ... I was able to watch Part 2 AVI with the subtitle.

But I am still hoping someone would have a BETTER Explanation to why the SRT was not Viewable on my Philips 5982.

Thanks,

G!

[jman98]

Check the 2nd SRT file and make sure that it's set up the same as the first one. What I mean is that let's say the 1st one starts with subtitle information on the very first line but the 2nd SRT file actually has a blank line for the 1st line. Stuff like that can be enough to freak out some DVD players. Also look in the 2nd file for strange characters. Finally, I had a problem with an old Philips DVD player where I edited a subtitle file under Linux and it refused to play it because Linux and Windows use different end of line characters. I opened the file under Word on Windows and saved it and it fixed the problem.

[gonwk]

Hi jman,

Thanks a bunch for the excellent tips, I will try them later on ... and will post my findings for the next person!

G!

[marioval]

Your 5980 is DivX Ultra Certified and therefore supports internal selectable subs. Try adding the subs to the files using aviaddxsubs. as a bonus you can add chaptes too.

[Ai Haibara]

1) Ai, actually my Philips 5980 CAN play AVI's up to 1.5 GB. But it will NOT play files LARGER than 1.5 GB.

As far as I know, there shouldn't be a 1.5 GB limit. Does your manual specifically state this, or have you merely been unable to play videos larger than 1.5 GB? If the latter, you might try a simple remux - load the video into VirtualDub, set both audio and video to Direct Stream Copy, and save the video, then see if the resulting video will play on your 5980.

I can't remember whether or not the 5980 has USB support - are you playing the videos from a disc?

2) When I push "Subtitle" button during 2nd AVI play back ... nothing happens, as though there are NO SRT Subtitle file.

3) Ai, I am assuming that when I split the 1.52 GB file into 2 part AVI's ... may be I need to do something different in VDub to make it to recognize the playback routine!!!

BTW, I found a work-around for my problem (but it is NOT a real fix), solution just came to me, I put each AVI and corresponding SRT in their OWN Separate "Folder", so I ended up with "FOLDER CD1" and "FOLDER CD2" and viola ... I was able to watch Part 2 AVI with the subtitle.

But I am still hoping someone would have a BETTER Explanation to why the SRT was not Viewable on my Philips 5982.

Well, since the player does recognize and play the subtitles properly when you moved it to a different folder, that probably rules out a problem with the subtitle file, itself. For some reason, the player isn't automatically loading the subtitles when you change videos. What are your subtitle-loading settings in the player's options?

Are you using custom firmware?

Hmm... can't remember if there was a setting in the options to tell the player to automatically proceed to the next video on the media when the current video ends. That's the way my 5990 behaves... but I doubt there's that much difference between my 5990 and your 5980, really.

[MilesAhead]

Your 5980 is DivX Ultra Certified and therefore supports internal selectable subs. Try adding the subs to the files using aviaddxsubs. as a bonus you can add chaptes too.

With Philips players you should be able to get around the large .avi file issue by loading the .avi into AviDemux. First make sure all the options in AviDemux Edit=>Preferences=>Automation Tab are checked(enabled.) Select AVI as file type and Copy for both Video and Audio. When you load in the video and it asks should it do this or should it do that, just click OK and let it unpack bitstream or rebuild index or whatever. That's the stuff in the Automation Tab. Save to another filename.

Then use AviAddXSubs as suggested to embed the subs. It should play fine. In fact the XSubs look much better than external .srt files display. So it's worth doing even if you don't have a problem.

edit: gonwk, I just noticed it was your post. How've you been?