Can I save subtitles using the VLC player?

[vampypiano]

First, let me explain what I'm trying to do here. I have a batch of mkv files and a batch of avi files of the same show. These mkv files are of a poorer quality and I'm looking to extract the vobsubs (.idx and .sub) out and burn them to the better quality .avi files that I have using AutoGk. For some reason, the subs don't show in MPC-HC. I tried running a preview with AutoGk and the subs don't show too. I tried running the subs by subtitledit and the OCR ran successfully and when the OCR finished, I was able to save the converted file as .srt and the .srt worked with MPC-HC and with AutoGk. The .srt is of no use to me because the sub is of a foreign language so I can't correct the OCR and I'm pretty sure it contained a lot of mistakes because I saw a lot of gibberish. I'm doing this favor for an old gran' and I don't want to frustrate her like that.

I tried using the subs with VLC player and they it worked. I reckon if I'm able to save the subs using VLC they would work, but I can't see a 'Save Subtitle' option anywhere, and that's where I need help. I'm sorry for writing this long story for such a simple question but I thought it would be easier to get help if I provided you guys with whole picture.

[videobruger]

Have you tried MKVExtractGui or MKVCleaver ?

[Hoser Rob]

I certainly doubt vlc or any player can extract/save subs.

Are the frame rates the same for the two different formats you have those videos stored in? If not the subs from one won't sync to the video in the other one. This can be fixed but it'd be even more work.

My first instinct would be to look for .srt files on a good subtitle site. opensubtitles.org or subscene are the best I know of. The former one especially.

smplayer will search for a sub file on opensubtitles and download it while playing. Very convenient.

[jman98]

I don't think AutoGK can do crap with subtitles any more. I downloaded it a few weeks ago and there was no option any where to do anything with subs. I ended up going with Xvid4PSP which I much prefer anyway. Xvid4PSP can hardcode subs. I used it recently to hardcode some subs into an AVI file. If your subs are in Unicode format (you can use Microsoft Word or a similar program to save into a Unicode format text file) then Xvid4PSP can hardcode them and produce Xvid output or some other format that you like. I had some issues trying to get it to encode to MPEG-2, but Xvid was good enough for my needs so I just went with that.

Your SRT "gibberish" issue is a code page issue. VLC has an intelligent way to deal with subs in other languages, but as Hoser Rob points out, you can't use VLC for that purpose. Save your subs to a Unicode text file and use Xvid4PSP and all will be well.

[manono]

I don't think AutoGK can do crap with subtitles any more. I downloaded it a few weeks ago and there was no option any where to do anything with subs.

Hehe, now it's my turn to be surprised at you. AutoGK can extract them in Vobsub format from DVDs, and you can take subs you acquired elsewhere and add them to an XviD or DivX AVI video with no problem at all. Baldrick even has a guide for that:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/256625-How-to-add-permanent-subtitles-with-AutoGK-a...I-DivX-or-XviD

That doesn't solve the OP's problem, though, and if he loaded them properly in AutoGK and they don't show in the preview (by properly, I mean he loaded the VobSubs and didn't try to load the sub file as a text-based sub), then I think there must be something wrong with those subs.

vampypiano, you can't use the default choice for subtitle format in AutoGK and load the SUB file. What you see first is the choice of text-based formats it accepts. You have to use the drop-down box to be able to choose VobSubs and the IDX.

[vampypiano]

I don't think AutoGK can do crap with subtitles any more. I downloaded it a few weeks ago and there was no option any where to do anything with subs.

Hehe, now it's my turn to be surprised at you. AutoGK can extract them in Vobsub format from DVDs, and you can take subs you acquired elsewhere and add them to an XviD or DivX AVI video with no problem at all. Baldrick even has a guide for that:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/256625-How-to-add-permanent-subtitles-with-AutoGK-a...I-DivX-or-XviD

That doesn't solve the OP's problem, though, and if he loaded them properly in AutoGK and they don't show in the preview (by properly, I mean he loaded the VobSubs and didn't try to load the sub file as a text-based sub), then I think there must be something wrong with those subs.

vampypiano, you can't use the default choice for subtitle format in AutoGK and load the SUB file. What you see first is the choice of text-based formats it accepts. You have to use the drop-down box to be able to choose VobSubs and the IDX.

And that's what I did. I extracted the subs properly using MKVExtractGui and loaded them properly using AutoGk, selecting vobsubs. I have done this before to other files of the same batch and they worked perfectly. I have no doubt that there's something wrong with the subs itself - like I said, the embedded subs doesn't even show when I played the original mkv files on MPC-HC (no extraction involved yet). I wouldn't be so bothered if they can't work completely (in that case, I'd just give it up) but the thing is, they work with VLC and when I extracted them and put them in SubtitleEdit, they worked too!
If this subs could work with VLC AND SubtitleEdit, then there must be something I could do to make them work with MPC-HC and AutoGk! VLC is such a powerful tool isn't it? There must be something I could do. It hurts me to see VLC displaying them so well (and perfectly in sync too) and not be able to use them. I tried 'Stream', I tried 'Convert/Save', I tried 'Record' and nothing works. The options and computer language used in VLC are impossible for a noob like me to understand.

[vampypiano]

I certainly doubt vlc or any player can extract/save subs.

Are the frame rates the same for the two different formats you have those videos stored in? If not the subs from one won't sync to the video in the other one. This can be fixed but it'd be even more work.

My first instinct would be to look for .srt files on a good subtitle site. opensubtitles.org or subscene are the best I know of. The former one especially.

smplayer will search for a sub file on opensubtitles and download it while playing. Very convenient.

The sub doesn't work in the original mkv format too. Not with MPC-HC but with VLC. After extracting them out using, the problem remains. This show that I'm working on is an ancient Japanese show and I've got a hard enough time finding english subs for it (no, they are not located in either of the 2 sites) before understanding that she doesn't recognize any English words. Damn.

[manono]

Zip up the IDX and the SUB together and upload them here and someone will take a look.

[handyguy]

AVIAddXSubs can save subs I believe. Takes about one min. to process a film.

[jman98]

I don't think AutoGK can do crap with subtitles any more. I downloaded it a few weeks ago and there was no option any where to do anything with subs.

Hehe, now it's my turn to be surprised at you. AutoGK can extract them in Vobsub format from DVDs, and you can take subs you acquired elsewhere and add them to an XviD or DivX AVI video with no problem at all.

I ripped a DVD I own and wanted to hard code subs into it from a DVD sold in another region but those subs were not present on my US copy. Therefore I cannot "extract them". I had them already, they just didn't come with the DVD I bought. The DVD subs I wanted to hard code were not in English.

I still stand by my statement. Xvid4PSP was able to do what I wanted.

[manono]

I still stand by my statement.

Did you see Baldrick's guide to which I linked which explains how to hard-code external subs? If for some reason they're not in a format AutoGK supports, it's a simple matter to convert them.

[jman98]

I still stand by my statement.

Did you see Baldrick's guide to which I linked which explains how to hard-code external subs? If for some reason they're not in a format AutoGK supports, it's a simple matter to convert them.

Nope. I appreciate the post though, but it's irrelevant to me now. However, it might help others.

By the way, that is bs that you have press a secret key sequence to bring up subtitle load. That would certainly explain why I couldn't get it done - there was no option to load subs anywhere and I didn't know about the secret key sequence. Really umimpressed with that.

[manono]

It wasn't part of the original release and the ability to add external subs came later on. The idea initially was to keep it simple for the uninitiated and that's why the 'Hidden Options' are hidden and accessible by hitting CTRL/F9, the external subs by hitting CTRL/F8. The original idea was DVD to AVI conversion and the vast majority of people would get the subs from the DVD which was possible from the first release. It speaks well for the program that many use it to this day. And on the AutoGK page here on this site it mentions how to bring up that external sub line. I'm also pretty sure it's mentioned in the updated tutorial, but I can't access the site at the moment, to double-check.

My intention here wasn't really to put you down for your incomplete knowledge of the program and its abilities (since there's no way to know about the external subs thing unless you read about it somewhere), but to point out to the OP and others that it really does have a good and easy way to add in external subs. The 'surprised at you' comment was just a response to you telling me the same thing the other day, as you well know.

[vampypiano]

Thanks for all the help, guys. I finally figured it out by myself after hours of experimenting. It's simple really. I just have to load the .idx into subresync, save it as a new file, then play the new .idx with the movie using MPH-HC and then hitting save again. In the end, only the MPC-saved .idx works with AutoGk. It's troublesome and I have no idea why I have to go through this silly procedure but well... at least it works.

And I can soon introduce a nice old lady to the world of piracy.