Subtitles in Android

[Unimaginative]

Ooh, first topic on a forum EVER I believe, but here goes...

I was wondering if anyone has had any luck getting subtitles to work in any video player on Android so far.

I though that I may be lucky after converting an MKV with embedded subs to an MP4 and playing in Meridian with no luck. After having a look over the Meridian FAQ/Tutorial I can see they are supported, though only as an additional SRT. Having a had a look around it appears extracting SRTs from MKV is not nearly as easy as you'd think (I've so far been unsuccessful) so I thought I'd see if anyone else has had more luck.

Cheers.

 

[kmfdmk]

Tried Handbrake yet? I know it has an option for working with Subtitles sources etc, whether embedded or linked (SRT).

You're thinking the same thing as me! Anime on the Droid!!

 

[Unimaginative]

Indeed, that's what I was hoping for. Cheers for the suggestion; I'll give this Handbrake thing a look.

 

[GameBoiye]

If you guys are still interested, I found a way to do this after much looking. First convert your video using any converter you can find. Don't worry about trying to get the subtitles converted. I have looked everywhere and could not find anything that could reliably do mkv subtitles. I personally have used iskysoft video converter (not free) and handbrake. Both work with good results. Use 848x480 for your resolution and you should be fine. If I have more time I'll post good profiles to use, but there's plenty of tutorials out there that will give you settings to use.

Now that the video is converted, use mkvextractgui (MKVExtractGUI & MKVE Wizard - Video software and downloads - VideoHelp.com) on the original mkv file to extract the subtitle files. Name them the same name as your converted video (don't change the extension of course, there should be an srt file) and then put them in the same folder as the video on your droid. Download Meridian from the market (it's free) and play your video file, and it should pick up the subtitles automatically. They do have a paid beta version if you want to change how the subtitles look and such, but it's still in beta and not on the market, but only goes for 1.50 usd, so might be worth it if you watch a lot of anime.

I hope this helps someone out there. I searched for ever to find a good solution, and this is actually really good. It's got an eztra step after conversion but at least the subtitles aren't hardcoded into the video file which would reduce the quality of the video.

If you all need any help let me know, i'll walk you through best I can.

 

[Unimaginative]

<snip>

You, good sir, are a champion. I finally found an MKV with an embedded SRT, extracted with your method and played it flawlessly in Meridian. Many, many thanks.

 

[GameBoiye]

You are welcome. I just wish there was a way to either play MKVs with subtitles natively, or a converter that could do MKV subtitles with the convertion.

With as many anime watchers out there you would think at least ONE of the video converters out there would support MKV subtitles during conversion!!

 

[MDesire2010]

Hi guys, Have you found any newer player that can play the subs without the conversion process?

 

[afzkl]

Good news, well at least for some of you guys. If you have a Galaxy S (which can play mkv natively) you will most likely be able to play subtitles stored inside mkv files in the next version of mVideoPlayer.

I'm the developer of that application and I have found a way to read subtitles in a mkv file..

 

[godslayer]

Good news, well at least for some of you guys. If you have a Galaxy S (which can play mkv natively) you will most likely be able to play subtitles stored inside mkv files in the next version of mVideoPlayer.

I'm the developer of that application and I have found a way to read subtitles in a mkv file..

That is great news!
No more extracting of ssa from mkv. Does this means that all colours, fonts will be kept intact?

Is there any ETA for this? I am very excited about this!

 

[afzkl]

That is great news!
No more extracting of ssa from mkv. Does this means that all colours, fonts will be kept intact?

Is there any ETA for this? I am very excited about this!

No sorry, advanced formating will not be supported. The SSA/ASS support will be just as the external one is now, italic, underline etc. is supported but nothing more advanced. The ASS format is very complex, I could spend 1000 of hours trying to support everything but it's just not worth it from my point of view.

Another problem would be fonts, Android only has 3 of them by default I think. I would have to pack all fonts that are used into my app making it 20mb or bigger which is no good. But, I think you will survive without the advanced formating, it not really used on anything else than anime.. I guess you are watching that.

ETA: a week or two maybe. Public beta versions will be up on mVideoPlayer.info before that.

Tthe code and everything is implemented and I think it's working, currently it doesn't support selecting subtitle track it there are multiple but that will soon be supported.

The biggest problem is that I don't have a Galaxy S so I can't test it, the SgS is the only phone for what I know supports mkv playback by default so I really need someone who could test the app for me give me a heads up if it is working or not.

If you are interested in helping me out (and got a SgS of course), send me an email on the address I have specified on the Market.

 

[zero|fade]

The biggest problem is that I don't have a Galaxy S so I can't test it, the SgS is the only phone for what I know supports mkv playback by default so I really need someone who could test the app for me give me a heads up if it is working or not.

If you are interested in helping me out (and got a SgS of course), send me an email on the address I have specified on the Market.

I just accidentally stumbled upon mkv support in the Galaxy S today, I just copied a video over for the hell of it and away it went. Minus audio and subs though. It had a vorbis audio track.

Anyway, I just shot you an email. I'd love to be a guinea pig.

Edit:
Here's a link to a thread about converting .ass subs to .srt with Subresnc, part of the Vobsub package. Real simple, drag and drop, then save as. and you're done.

http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/270095-Convert-ass-to-srt-help

 

[godslayer]

No sorry, advanced formating will not be supported. The SSA/ASS support will be just as the external one is now, italic, underline etc. is supported but nothing more advanced. The ASS format is very complex, I could spend 1000 of hours trying to support everything but it's just not worth it from my point of view.

Another problem would be fonts, Android only has 3 of them by default I think. I would have to pack all fonts that are used into my app making it 20mb or bigger which is no good. But, I think you will survive without the advanced formating, it not really used on anything else than anime.. I guess you are watching that.

ETA: a week or two maybe. Public beta versions will be up on mVideoPlayer.info before that.

Tthe code and everything is implemented and I think it's working, currently it doesn't support selecting subtitle track it there are multiple but that will soon be supported.

The biggest problem is that I don't have a Galaxy S so I can't test it, the SgS is the only phone for what I know supports mkv playback by default so I really need someone who could test the app for me give me a heads up if it is working or not.

If you are interested in helping me out (and got a SgS of course), send me an email on the address I have specified on the Market.

SPOT ON!
Haha, yes, I am watching anime. I think anime is the only one where you get translated roadsigns etc on the screen. In fact that is the only type of video I watch on my Galaxy S.

Like zero|fade, I am using Galaxy S too. Dropped you an email too in case you need extra beta testers.

 

[godslayer]

Hi afzkl,

I am not able to send you my test results.
Encounter the following mail returned error.

maildir delivery failed: Sorry, this user has overdrawn their
diskspace quota. Please try again later.

Perhaps you need to clear/archive some mails .

 

[Aero1]

Good news, well at least for some of you guys. If you have a Galaxy S (which can play mkv natively) you will most likely be able to play subtitles stored inside mkv files in the next version of mVideoPlayer.

I'm the developer of that application and I have found a way to read subtitles in a mkv file..

I would sugest your applciaiton allow user to move subtitles position vertically. Most playback devices that read mkv allow you to do this.

on a device that is 800x480 almost all widescreen films which are 1.78:1 or 2.35:1 will ahve a substantial lower black bar and this is the best place to place subtitle test for readability. You get a nice black background and the picture is not obscured..

So the ability to move it to either the encoded black bat (non anamorphic) and better yet the player created black bar (anamorphic) would be, IMHO even more beneficial than worrying about font and other controls.

Good luck

By the way guys, in the meantime you can burn (hardcode) srts with ripbot264, which is what I use for converting content for my androids (Epics and Evo).

 

[afzkl]

@godslayer
You were right, I should be fixed now so please send me the result as fast as you can.


@Areo1
I'm not sure this is exactly what you mean but if you have the latest version on the market, go to preferences - Subtitle - Subtitle Location and you will be able to specify the distance from the bottom of where you want the subtitle to appear, Is that what you mean?

 

[afzkl]

Public beta version now online on mVideoPlayer.info check it out if you are interested in this.

 

[godslayer]

Public beta is version now online on mVideoPlayer.info check it out if you are interested in this.

Looking forward to the big day!

 

[afzkl]

Alright, since I didn't get any real bug reports the final version is now up on the market. So go and get it there. ;D

 

[Aero1]

@Areo1
I'm not sure this is exactly what you mean but if you have the latest version on the market, go to preferences - Subtitle - Subtitle Location and you will be able to specify the distance from the bottom of where you want the subtitle to appear, Is that what you mean?

Wow! lots of options. thank you!

 

[godslayer]

Alright, since I didn't get any real bug reports the final version is now up on the market. So go and get it there. ;D

Just got it!

A fine release indeed!

Good Job

 

[oliwek]

hello,
I'm really glad to finally find a video player in android with embedded subtitles support in mkv.
There's one thing though preventing your app to be the killer one : audio track choice (I usually rip the movies and select several audio tracks : original, dubbing in my own language, and possibly audio comments).
Do you think you could add this in a future release?

 

[Dicky]

I'm download .mkv anime and convert them to .mp4 for viewing on my desire. I use Any Video Converter which is free.

All I do is select customized mp4, change the resolution to 800x480 and convert. The subs appear when i play without any additional conversion or anything.

 

[Syberjj]

Rockplayer - RockPlayer 1.0.28 – Now Support srt subtitle | PlayerAndroid
mVideoPlayer - Download mVideoPlayer 1.6.1 for Android Free - Video player for the Android platform. - Softpedia
Soul Movie - Soul Movie ~ Android Application v4.9 By Bolero | Multimedia

 

[nea13]

I was able to play my mkv files on a droid OS with the App VideoBox. I installed it from AppsLib, ran it, and chose the option to use the default video player that was already on my Kyros Internet Tablet. It showed the subtitles without me even having to convert the files. If you don't find it keeping the current translation up til the next one is supposed to show, or that it'll rarely show Font settings infront of certain titles ( I noticed that it would show a little extra lettering in front of words with special settings like animated wording) annoying, then this should work just fine. I hope this helps you.

VideoBox Android application - AppStoreHQ

 

[NZtechfreak]

FYI on the Galaxy S 2.2.1 JPU update subtitles work in the inbuilt player - just watched a little of a 720P MKV with subtitles on JPU. Sweet. My bloody PS3 can't even play those!

Noticed after copying the file across that the media scanner is much faster to scan my 32GB card on this firmware. Nice.

EDIT: Even better than I thought - in settings there are now subtitle options - you can choose text size and colour and even change how they are sync'd - so if there are sync issues you can fix them from within the app! Brilliant.