Convert .Ts files with subtitles hardcoded in the output file

[vjerioni]

Hello there,

Firstly sorry if this is a repeated thread. I did google around in this forum and others as well but could not find the answer of my question.

I have a PVR Satellite box (Vu+ Duo) from which I can easily get the recorded programs into my PC.

All I want to do is convert the .Ts into a more 'popular' format/container (ie mpg/avi/mkv) with the subtitles 'burned in' or hardcoded into the video file.

I did try several tools (TSremux, TSdoctor, projectX, womble DVD wizard etc) but I could not figure out how to make the subtitles show in the output file.
I understand that these type of teletext-like subtitles, also known as DVB-DVI subtitles are somehow hard to demux/convert, and maybe I will need several steps/tools to have my desired result.

Hopefully someone will show me the way how to do it.

many thanks
erion

p.s. Below I am pasting the media info of recorded program generated by Xvid4PSP:


Format : MPEG-TS
File size : 118 MiB
Duration : 4mn 25s
Overall bit rate : 3 735 Kbps

Video
ID : 166 (0xA6)
Menu ID : 9407 (0x24BF)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, Matrix : Default
Duration : 4mn 25s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 3 283 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 15.0 Mbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : PAL
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.317
Stream size : 104 MiB (88%)

Audio
ID : 104 (0x68)
Menu ID : 9407 (0x24BF)
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 2
Format_Settings_Mode : Joint stereo
Format_Settings_ModeExtension : Intensity Stereo + MS Stereo
Duration : 4mn 25s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : -428ms
Stream size : 6.08 MiB (5%)
Language : French

Text
ID : 50 (0x32)
Menu ID : 9407 (0x24BF)
Format : Teletext
Language : French

[vjerioni]

update: the TTX subtitles do not show even when played with VLC player. It does recognize though the subtitle track as "Teletext subtitle: hearing impaired [francais]

Please someone help!

[dylz]

TT Subripper @ http://www.extrabuttons.net/ It's the only app I can find and I think you need graphedit, TTsubripper and a few others.

[vjerioni]

Hi dylz,

I did install the tools you pointed me out, read the manual that the TTsubripper guy created, but in order to get a music clip of 4 mins, I would need to spend nearly 1 hour in order to have the final file with subs hardcoded.

Thanks for the tip but it looks very time consuming indeed.
Considering my tens of music videos that I want to cut/reencode it will be a full time job to do this with these tools.

Looks like this is Mission (almost) Impossible... :S

UPDATE: I finally figured out how to extract the TTX subtitles with ProjectX. Now I have separate Video, Audio and Subtitles streams. Now the next step for me is to remux everything back together and have the subtitles show as hardcoded. So they can be shown in any hardware/software I play the video.


Any ideas?

[dylz]

Was gonna suggest projectx... What format is the teletxt subs, can you post them? I cannot get a teletxt broadcast as it's been cut off in australia but if it's subrip (srt) format open in ripbot264 and can export to mp4/mkv and hardcode in preferences.

[vjerioni]

Hi dylz, I was out for the weekend, hence my late reply.

I 'solved' my problem in three steps:

1. Trim/cut the video with VideoRedo, to keep the pieces you want (for instance I used only two pieces 4 minutes each out of a recording of 2 hours). I choose VideoRedo because it does not touch the Teletext stream (Womble DVD wizard discards the subtitle streams, Handbrake idem).

2. Extract the teletext subs from the TS file with ProjectX (you have to select the respective TTX page that the TV channel uses. For ie French channels use teletext page 888 for english subs). You can extract the subtitles in the format you like (.srt, .sub, .sup, etc)

3. Remux and encode to AVI (my format of choice) with XviD4PSP (it takes 15-20 minutes of encoding for 4 min clip). The subs are perfectly synced and they are hardcoded in the video file. Hence you can play the subs in all the hardware/software you like.

Interestingly enough VLC plays the subs ONLY after I remuxed the TS file with ProjectX. You have to select the respective Teletext page in VLC GUI in order to show the Teletex subs of the video. I tried to use VLC to convert/stream the video with Subs overlayed, but with no success. Probably VLC can do the remuxing/encoding of the TS file with hardcoded subs, but I will have to play with VLC some more time, to find the right ticking boxes.

ProjextX on the other hand does offer the trim/cut option (probably without touching the subtitle streams, but I was 'tired' of ProjectX somehow not very friendly GUI), therefore you can do the first two steps in just one step with ProjectX. I will try this 'shortcut' as well.

cheers

[barleysinger]

Was gonna suggest projectx... What format is the teletxt subs, can you post them? I cannot get a teletxt broadcast as it's been cut off in australia but if it's subrip (srt) format open in ripbot264 and can export to mp4/mkv and hardcode in preferences.

I know yours is an old post. I also know the teletext thing was strange for a while in Australia (early DTV broadcasts) and all captioning (and special teletext channels for the deaf) popped in and out of existence.

That said...

It should not be this hard to convert from ".ts" to mp4 H.264 and *KEEP* your teletext subtitles

Given that you can include the subtitles properly in an mp4 file in a CONVERSION in VLC - if they come from a file...
Why doesn't VLC have a pre-processor plugin that grabs the teletext and puts it AUTOMATICALLY into a file for the conversion?

All this effort with PROJECT X (which I could never get to run on my PC) seems like too much...too tedious

This should have been supported in VLC ages ago, because teletext is amazingly common in ".ts" files, and ".ts" files are in use in a huge number of homes now.

We have several years of .ts files on hard drives, we live near Adelaide, and all of our files (if they are subtitled) have teletext subtitles. Here is the stream metadata for one of ours (an episode of Arrow):

File Name : GO!_20130720_2106.ts
------- metadata copy ---------
Text
ID : 578 (0x242)-801
Menu ID : 1106 (0x452)
Format : Teletext Subtitle
Language : English
----------------------------------------
I am assuming that in the USA they have DVB subtitles. They also use "Closed Captioning" a lot, with most broadcasts sending 4 CC's instead of ONE, and with only one not blank. Some of the Aussie shows are also using CC too, which is FINE for watching the thing live, and probably even via our ASTONE .... I have no idea how well VLC deals with closed captions. I saw one thread where a fellow with USA style four channel CC subtitles, had to resort to using the command line for everything and wound up with ALL of the CC subtitles on the screen at the same time (4 languages).

It is just a bit odd that :

* given how a huge part of the world uses teletext subtitles
* and that you can now WATCH the teletext subtitles on ".ts" files in VLC 2.1.3 (Rincewind)
* and you can include a file for your subtitles
* and there are demuxers that will give you that teletext as a subtitle file


*** WHY is there no way to do all of this with one program, given how many millions of media recorders there are out there?

[barleysinger]

I have never used this program, but I have been searching for a tool that does this (.ts, keep the teletext subtitles, and give me an H.264 mp4)

I found this while searching : http://www.fame-ring.com/faq/all.in.one.program.ts.file.with.subtitle.dvb.html

I will need to borrow my daughter's laptop to test the demo (some day)

[netmask56]

To edit DVB TS files (in Australia) I load the file into ProjectX, edit out the bits I don't want and then demux. The resulting video and audio are remuxed using either Womble or MPEGStreamclip. This results in a standard mpg file plus the separate srt file. You can convert these to whatever. Simple and very quick especially editing out commercials and top and tailing with ProjectX. Check my sig for a ProjectX basic guide

[barleysinger]

** FIRST **

Do you have a link for PROJECTX documentation that is NOT in German? Most of their main web site (and every set of documentation I have seen) are in German. I took German over 30 years ago. I can get by on online shops, but documentation is well beyond my comprehension.


** NETX **

I can't get project X to let me edit a .ts file. I have a brand new download and install.

I can get at the file.
ProjectX accepts it
I can use PROJECTX->PreSettings to change thins (like changing it to use teletext 801)
I can demux a file.

* BUT I cannot edit anything, or preview anything. The image of the video in the main window has a message on the screen (to the right of the video and at the bottom of the image) :

Preview not available

I have no idea why. I get the same message with other types of video files as well (FLV.


NOTE - in general a lot of the programs that are SUPPOSED to do OK with displaying and re-encoding AV files with the subtitles, can DISPLAY ".sub" subititle files while they play a video file, CANNOT 'remux' the file using that same '.sub' file (and none of them have the decency to just SAY this in their documentation).

I can use .SRT subtitle files instead in some cases. I just have to go into PROJECTX->PreSettings- and use the "subtitle" tab. Then set one of the "teletext pages to decode" equal to 801, and the set :

1. subtitle export formats = SRT

Then I can recombine the files using Yamb, but not VLC (or course...although it might be possible at the HIGHLY UNDOCUMENTED command line).

[barleysinger]

- two things ** FIRST A WARNING **

I found out why PROJECTX was not letting me edit. It was a program - a terrible one

At all coasts, stay away from "jahshaka". It is all hype and no function, aside from screwing up the ability of all my other AV software to access my codecs.

You have been warned.

That said, I am still having to puzzle my way through how the "chapter" and "cut" markers work in ProjectX because the only documentation I can find is in German. Using "help" in the program, provides a page of links to the project pages, pages which are - in German.

** GOOD DOCS WANTED **

I would also very much like to find a properly made set of docs for the VLC command line. (projectX as well) so I can deal with a lot of my end-goal using scripts that can handle large patches of files at a time for everything that does not require 'human eyeballing' of the video. <ayne even using a local web page to run things.

As far as I can tell, at least half of the questions asked on the VLC forums are there because of the lack of good documentation, and that includes things like the lack of teletext support, and how some functionality is only available at the command line.

I suppose a big part of my annoyance here was that a part of my specialty in I.T. (before I became disabled lost a big hunk of brain function) wasn't just my speed of programming and quality of code (mine was bonded to never fail) but because ... lets face it ... writing documentation can be seriously annoying. Most programmers don't want to do it, and if they do it at all - the effort is at best 'half-hearted'. You wind up with documentation that looks far more like "reminders to those who wrote the application"instead of "instructions to those who know nothing about it".

It is rare to even find anything up to the sketchy quality of the better unix "man" pages.

Writing highly readable docs that are easy to understand for people who are not experts in the field, and who did not write the project (people who already know all there is to know) are almost unheard of ... even today. If they were more common there would be far fewer exasperated people begging for help on forums, and there would not be dozens of forums dedicated to fielding questions that should have been covered in the documentation.

Most documentation isn't really accessible to people who do not already KNOW almost everything, and just need a reminder., and that is in part due to the hassle involved .. and in my opinion, the fact that most I.T. people really are bad at it (especially those who came from a hardware background - hardware engineers tend to be terrible at both user interfaces and documentation).

Anyone who even had to work their way through the old VMS documentation (shudder), or the IBM360 series stuff, knows what I am talking about.