Change font size of burned in subtitles

[millsy5]

I created an srt file for a video I made. I set the font size to 40px e.g.

<font size="40px">Subtitle text</font>

This size is perfect when I play my video with VLC.

I then used Handbrake to burn in the subtitles to the video. However the full text string e.g."<font size="40px">Subtitle text</font>" is displayed when I play the video with VLC. Also the size is very big.

I can't see any option for changing the font size with Handbrake. I've never used an alternative tool for burning in subs. Can someone recommend a free alternative that will burn in the subs at a smaller size? Or let me choose the size? I need to share the video so I require the subs burned in.

[aedipuss]

.srt subs are just text files. it doesn't matter what you put as font size, it's ignored. only the player software can change the size.

[millsy5]

.srt subs are just text files. it doesn't matter what you put as font size, it's ignored. only the player software can change the size.

I not sure I agree with you. So please correct me if I have misinterpreted what you said.

The video I created displayed the subs really large using VLC and Windows Media Player. Both displayed identically. However I have watched movies in the past using VLC where the subs were a much smaller size. How can my video display one size and other videos display a different size if the player software (VLC) is the same and font size is ignored?

I'm guessing that because I hardcoded the subs using Handbrake, the subs are displayed with VLC (and WPM) the way they were burned in.

[Cornucopia]

SRT files ARE just text files. But if you overlay them and then burn in (aka re-encode) the results, they are no longer text files, nor are they actually even subtitles. Rather, they are just pixels - elements of the video that just happen to have a shape recognized by humans as text. At that point there is nothing you can do to change them, other than blur them into smoothness and/or put a NEW sub overlay on top of it.


Scott

[Ai Haibara]

To add, normal SRT format doesn't support size/font style/positioning commands. There is, as you seem to be using, a variant of the SRT format that uses HTML commands to add that extra support, BUT it's technically unofficial, and there's no guarantee the software you're using will support the SRT-with-HTML format completely, if at all.

If you want to add styles, size, font and positioning data in a subtitle file for burning into a video, why not use a subtitle format that better supports it, like SSA/ASS?

[videobruger]

Use SSA subtitles instead to control font size.

[millsy5]

Thanks for the suggestion to use formats. I've only ever used SRT but I will check out the other alternatives.

[jagabo]

Most of the subtitle editors can convert SRT to ASS. You can do so with with ffmpeg too:

ffmpeg -i input.srt -c:s ass output.ass

I just verified the html font size settings are retained by ffmpeg.