Talk:DVD Rip Using DVDfab and Handbrake

Subtitles

Subtitles may be stored in two different formats within media or as additional files: • Bitmaps (Pictures), e.g. VOBSUBs • Text with markup, e.g. Closed Captions and SRT files.

HandBrake can use subtitles tracks as INPUT from the following sources: • From DVD’s – Either VOBSUB or CC tracks. • User supplied SRT files.

HandBrake has two methods of subtitle OUTPUT: • Hard Burn: This means the subtitles are written on top of the image permanently. They cannot be turned on or off like on the DVD. • Soft Subtitles: This means the subtitles will appear as separate selectable tracks in your output file. With the correct playback software, you’ll be able to enable / disable these subtitles as required.

Subtitle Outputs • DVD and ASTC Closed Captions - When selected, these will be passed through from your source file to the MKV or MP4 output file.

   o CC tracks cannot be burned into the video.
   o Only 1 CC track can be read from the source.
   o CC tracks within an MP4 appear as a subtitle track, not a CC track.

• SRT subtitle import – You can import SRT files into HandBrake through the “Subtitles tab”.

   o SRT files are pass-through only. They cannot be burnt into the video.
   o You can import multiple SRT subtitle tracks.
   o You can set an offset (measured in milliseconds) to change the start time that the first and subsequent SRT subtitles will appear. Use trial and error encoding a single chapter to obtain the correct offset.
   o You should make sure the correct character code is selected from the “Char Code” dropdown. Selecting the wrong code, will result in your output file having no subtitle track, and can cause the player to crash when playing that track.

• Bitmap (VOBSUB)

   o With MP4, you can burn ONLY 1 subtitle track into the video.
   o With MP4, you can not pass-through VOBSUB tracks.
   o With MKV, you can pass-through multiple VOBSUB tracks. These are not burned into the video unless you choose to do so however you can only burn 1 subtitle track into the file. The rest must be passed through.

Setting a Default Subtitle track

If you wish to have your player automatically select a subtitle track during playback, then you can select the “default” checkbox for the subtitle track you wish to enable. You should note that this does not currently work with Apple software or playback devices.

While this option is available for mp4 files, it does not currently serve any purpose. Default subtitle tracks will only be enabled on playback when using mkv files.

Forced Subtitles

With some sources, there is a subtitle track which only displays during foreign language sections of the video. On some titles this is a unique subtitle track in the same language as the main audio track, on others it uses the standard subtitle track in the same language as the main audio track except marks a subset of the subtitles as forced.

In order to select this track, HandBrake can scan the source for subtitles that appear only 10% (or less) of the time in addition to scanning for the presence of any forced subtitles.

To enable this functionality within the HandBrake user interface, from the “Subtitles” tab select the “Foreign Audio Search (Bitmap)” option from the “Track” dropdown menu and click the “Forced” Checkbox.

If you do not get a foreign section only subtitle track in your output file, then you may have to manually find and select the correct subtitle track from the “Track” dropdown menu.