Using AVIAddXSubs to add subs to divx for PS3, subs cutting out

[ProfN]

Hi everyone, first time poster.

I'm attempting to add subtitles to video files for viewing on my PS3. The files are .avi and VLC (the media player I use on my PC) reports they are 624x352 resolution. So the first problem I have is, trying to figure out if these videos are PAL or NTSC, and what resolution I should set AVIAddXSubs to.

According to this discussion I found (http://forum.doom9.org/archive/index.php/t-151794.html), this means that the file was likely resized from its original resolution. However, this link also says that a PAL DVD is 720x576 while an NTSC DVD is 720x480; I used VLC to check the framerate of the videos and it reports the FR is 23.976. According to info I found on Wikipedia, this framerate is 24p, which is commonly used for NTSC broadcast footage shot in North America. (Which is where the show in question was filmed.) So firstly, is it safe for me to assume my videos are NTSC?

Secondly, I'm worried that I may have an incorrect version of AVIAddXSubs. I am running v9.15, which according to the developer's blogspot is the most recent edition, but I have seen screenshots on some forums of other users who had editions that included options to set PAL or NTSC on the Subtitle Bitmap option (example here: http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/PS3_AVIAddXSubs_AVI_Subtitles_Guide_page2.html). My version of AVIAddXSubs has no such option, and its only Subtitle Bitmap options are 720x576, 1280x720, and 1920x1080. Since (according to the info in my first link) 720x576 is a PAL format resolution, does this mean that my version of AVIAddXSubs is not correct for working with NTSC input files?

Finally, with those out of the way, the meat of my issue is that I'm having fluky, random results from my subtitling. I've got .avi and .srt input files and have been using AVIAddXSubs to produce .divx files for playing on my PS3. I've converted the first 8 episodes of a season of this show (naturally I've kept my original files in case of error). Five out of the eight episodes display the subs correctly on my PS3, but three of them don't. For the three failures, what happens is that I can get the subs to begin playing at the beginning of playback by pausing and turning on subs, but they cut out shortly afterwards (usually within a minute or two). They don't return for the remainder of playback. On the other five, subs cut out if I attempt to fast forward or rewind, but I can make them return by disabling subs, allowing a few seconds of playback, and then reenabling subs. This seems to "reset" the subs somehow after the fast forward or rewind messes them up. However, this trick doesn't work on the three episodes that cut out shortly after the beginning.

To clarify, I can't find any other differences between these three episodes and the other episodes in terms of file type, resolution, etc., etc. The .srt files seem fine and not particularly different (aside from different text). And I used the same settings in AVIAddXSubs to create all eight .divx files. I've mucked around with settings in AVIAddXSubs and eventually arrived at the following settings which resulted in the five successfully subtitled .divx files. (This was after much trial and error in which I couldn't get ANYTHING to work.)

Configuration 1 tab:

Sub 1 tab (I only created one subtitle stream per file)
XSUB (avi) selected
Rearrange text: always
Character set: default
Language Code: English
Font: Arial, 18pt, width 100%, bold, outline size 1
Align Center
SRT extension: left blank
Opaque Box: unchecked
Subtitle Bitmap box:
Selected 720x576 resolution
SubWidth: 70%
Subtitle Position box:
Center at: 360
Vertical Position: 440

idx/sub tab:
all left at defaults.


Configuration 2 tab:

Upper left checkboxes:
"Unpack packed bitstream" and "YUV values at idx/sub color palette" checked.
All other options unchecked.
Subtitle Time: 0 time shift, Increase Duration by 1000 (defaults)
Mark DivX as: NONE


So those are the settings that resulted in five of the eight episodes displaying subs more or less correctly on the PS3 (albeit cutting out when I would fast forward or rewind, though I could disable and reenable to "reset" subs). I can't figure out why some episodes are working properly and others "cut out" a few minutes in. I've scanned through the srt files and can't find anything obviously wrong with the subs of the affected episodes (ie., srt format errors).

Can anyone help me figure out this head-scratching mess?

P.S. I've also attempted to use AVIAddXSubs to create idx+sub files, since I read on another forum that current PS3 firmware (I have the latest update) allows this. No luck - they don't display in the directory, nor do any subtitle options even appear when I press triangle.

Also, I've tried copying these files to the PS3's HDD in hopes they run better there than off my USB drive, to no avail. The subtitles cut out regardless.

[remanyao]

This is the correct setting for .avi videos up to 720x576.
A 624x352 resolution is within that range.
Any adjustments to the font size should be made in the Font Size box.

Of course, my language is Spanish. You must also change the language in the Language Code box.



Another song is VLC. I do not know how it's going to look.
I do not use that software. Try it yourself.