SHow to play video files with external subtitles (srt, sub, idx) on your PC Install VobSub or VSFilter/DirectVobSub.
(preferably DirectVobSub)Rename the subtitle file to the exact same name as the video file. For example:
Movie name.avi
Movie name.srtPlay the AVI with your favorite (software) video player and the subtitles should appear.
How to show subtitles on your hardware/standalone Divx/Xvid player Background:
It wasn’t long ago many of us, who preferred watching DivX formatted
movies on our televisions sets, had to spend hours re-rendering video files
to VCD, SVCD or DVD format in order to play them on our DVD players. Now
that many DVD players are DivX-Certified, DivX video files can be played
without re-rendering or authoring a DVD video disk.
As DivX specifications were updated, the ability to display subtitles from an
external source were added. Instead of permanently “embedding” subtitles
as part of the video stream, it was now possible to include a separate
subtitle file containing the needed text, formatting and timing information.
General Procedure:
In general, DivX-Certified DVD players only require you to copy DivX files to
a CD or DVD disk, just as you would copy any other data file. There are no
special authoring requirements. Once the files are on CD or DVD, the player
will be able to recognize the medium and display a list of all DivX files on a
screen menu. All you need to do is select the appropriate file and press “enter”.
Subtitles are added with the same simplicity as DivX files. Once they reside
on the CD or DVD, the player’s menu allows the operator to select both the
DivX and subtitle file. In most cases, subtitles can be hidden or displayed
without interrupting the movie.
Specifics:
Of course, there are always quirks. Here are a few.
- Not all DivX files are created equally. Higher resolution DivX videos
may not play back properly on all DivX-Certified players. The same
is true about higher bitrates. Consult your unit’s user manual or
manufacture’s website for more information. - Subtitles may need to be in a specific format. SubRip (.srt) files
seem to be the most popular. - The subtitle’s timing information is framerate specific. So the DivX
framerate must match the former. If not, subtitle editors like “Subtitle
Workshop” can be used to make adjustments. - Some players (Philips, for example) require that both the video and
subtiltle files have the same file name. As a benefit, the player automatically
selects the appropriate subtitle file without operator intervention. Other
players (Toshiba, for example) don’t have this requirement. - Some players may require that both video and subtitle files reside in
the root directory. - Some players will ignore formatting elements (Bold, Underline, Italics, etc.)
- DivX-Certified players will list versions of DivX they are compatible with.
Always purchase the player with the latest update (DivX 6.5, as of this
writing). However, in general, backward compatibility is retained.
As the DivX specification changes, new features are added and different
manufacturers may implement these features in different ways. Indeed,
some manufacturers may implement subtitle formats that are intended for
their specific playing units. DivX itself has developed their own proprietary
subtitle format (XSUB).Hopefully this guideline will help some of you get started with DivX subtitles
for your DivX-Certified players. I myself am new at this. So I’m sure I’ve
left out some aspect on this subject which I am not aware of. Please feel
free to let me know….
Relevant Links:The official DivX website
A history of the DivX format. Past, Present and Future
www.videohelp.com A huge, user-suported website with, among many things, a list of DivX certified DVD players.
Subtitle Workshop’s Official Website
