Adding a Subtitle to a Bluray that originally had None - Does not Display

[maczones]

I have a bluray that came with no subtitles. Added a srt subtitle using tsMuxeR, swapped the m2ts, mpls and clp files but playing back the bluray, I have not subtitle to select from. Not sure if the problem is from not having a subtitle originally, that you would normally replace or a menu issue. Has anyone else seen this problem previously with some suggestions to correct it?

Thanks;
Mac

[netmask56]

I would suggest you remux as MKV using mkvtoolnix and you can easily add a srt or pgs subtitle. Far more flexible that m2ts

[maczones]

@netmask56. Thanks for the reply and suggestions but trying to keep intact the menu's. I believe there is a way to change the BD structure to incorporate the added sub but just need some advice doing it. Tried using the BDedit discussion on this site explaining how to activate the sub but did not work for me. Hopefully more suggestions will follow to get me there.

[Neo_01]

I can’t really figure out BDEDIT, but the program is very powerful and you can use it to change and create everything. There’s a user named Lowpro who authors complete Blu-rays using only BDEDIT and Photoshop.

https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=182746

[maczones]

@Neo-1, thanks for the advice and link. Looks intensive but will explore it further to gain more traction on how to solve my issue.

[maczones]

Still stuck here. Tried BDedit per @Neo1's suggestion and followed it to a T but still no subs showing up. A few things to note. The original BD did not have subs so therefore the menu did not show that option. Is it possible since the menu did not have an option for subs, adding a sub via tsMuxeR, does not work unless the menu had subs listed? I do know when I process the BD with tsMuxeR to add the sub, the m2ts file created, I can play the movie and the sub is present but when that m2ts file and the other newly created mpls and clp files are swapped with the original BD files and then played on my Oppo, subtitles do not appear, as the Oppo subtitle menu does not indicate there is one to select. One thing that is absolute is if the BD originally included subs, you can swap one for another and everything always works fine.

[ProWo]

I don't know BDedit, but logic dictates that you can't use the original BR files; you have to create a completely new BR with a new menu.
Otherwise, it won't work.

[maczones]

@Prowo, thanks for the reply. Adding another subtitle in lieu of one that originally existed can be done without redoing the whole BD. When adding a new subtiitle, the BD menu displaying the available original subtitles that came with the BD, will not change unless you go into the BD structure and edit the menu itself, which I never bother to do. But when you add a new subtitle using tsMuxeR and swap the files I mentioned in my previous post and then play the BD and select “Subtitle” on the remote, the new sub will be displayed and it can be selected. The unfortunate part here is I am doing exactly this procedure with this BD but when selecting ”Subtitle” on the remote, no subtitles are displayed for selection. Since the BD never came with subtitles, I suspect the BD structure must be set in a way that it will not display anything when “Subtitle” is selected on the remote. I would guess the BD has to be edited someway in BDedit to reconfigure/set the BD to display subtitles selections when “Subtitle” is selected from the remote. How that is done is what I need to know.

[Neo_01]

I never tried by myself, but it should be possible.

In BDEdit you need to do the following:

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1. MPLS → PlayItem → STN Table

The STN Table has three sections: Video, Audio, Presentation Graphics (PG / subtitles).

In your case, the PG section will currently be empty.

You must add a new Presentation Graphics Stream here:

PID (must match the PID used in your tsMuxeR mux, e.g. 0x1200 = 4608)

Stream Type = 0x90 (PGS Subtitle)

Language Code (e.g. “ger” or “eng”)

---
2. CLPI → Program Info → Stream PID Table

Add the same PID as above, with Stream Type 0x90.

This tells the Blu-ray structure that the .m2ts file actually contains a subtitle PID.

---

3. Consistency check

Make sure the PID in CLPI and MPLS are identical.

Set the language code properly, otherwise the player will only show something like “Subtitle 1” without a language.

---

👉 This way the player will recognize the new subtitle when you press the Subtitle button on the remote, even if the original disc had no subtitles at all.

[maczones]

@Neo_01, thanks for all this information. I will work on this soon but have a few questions in the meantime:

With regard to adding a new Presentation Graphic Stream (PGS), I am using a .srt subtitle. Does the .srt need to be converted to a PGS file when adding the subtitle?

How do you find the PID # in the tsMuxeR mux?

More questions might follow if I am stuck…

Thank You;
Maczones

[krykmoon]

With regard to adding a new Presentation Graphic Stream (PGS), I am using a .srt subtitle. Does the .srt need to be converted to a PGS file when adding the subtitle?

I know very little about BRs/BDs .. so take this with a grain of salt: but I think a blu-ray works only with that PGS (shitty not customizable image based) subtitle format. that is always a pain in the ass when you try to convert it in anything else (it needs OCR.. since it's image based)

On a pc your video player can show any kind of subtitles attached to a m2ts stream, but on a real BR Player.. I don't think it would be the same.
So maybe this is the true issue when you try to remux the m2ts with a srt (text based) subtitle.

(as I said.. I don't know much about BRs/BDs.. it's only a speculation.. wait for more expert people on BR/BD giving you advice)

[maczones]

@krykmoon, thanks for your insight on the PGS and agree its a shitty file format to work with. As far as using a .srt file instead and remuxing it to the BD, I can attest after working with many conversions to add .srt based subtitles, the .srt based subtitle presentation on the screen looks just as good as the PGS subtitles, so in my own humble opinion they basically looked the same.

[Neo_01]

You need Subtitle Edit and there you can Convert your srt to Sup. You can load your Video too, and test and correct your srt.

Finding the PID in tsMuxeR

When you add streams to tsMuxeR GUI (video, audio, subtitles), tsMuxeR shows a track list.

Each track has info like: Track ID, Codec, Bitrate, PID.

For subtitles (SUP / PGS) you’ll see something like:


Track ID: 4113 (0x1011) Video: H.264
Track ID: 4352 (0x1100) Audio: DTS-HD MA
Track ID: 4608 (0x1200) Subtitle: Presentation Graphics

The number after the hex (e.g. 0x1200) is the PID you must copy into BDEdit’s STN table

[maczones]

@Neo_01, thank you for addressing my questions, as it clarifies better what I need to do.