Plex and Subtitles (I hate them)

[DQ]

So for years now I have not put subtitles on anything because dealing with them was always a pain when I tried. Whether that be AS MP4's or my disc MKVs. So long as there was the burned in ones when someone spoke another language I was happy. Well recently I started to include subtitles with AS and disc rips. But I am noticing instances where a foreign language is spoken temporarily but no subtitles of any kind automatically.

Now when I play stuff it's via Plex. Clearly that is what chooses to play them or not. Well I have found that I can turn on subtitles manually (so long as I have added them prior) and get the temp foreign language in English but then they are on period. And then I notice Plex transcodes at the same time when normally it would not.

How am I mishandling this? I know it's a me problem, just not sure how to get the proper behavior.

 

[cartman0208]

So what's your issue then?
Plex transcodes when subtitles are on?
Or Plex does not display forced subtitles by default?

The second one I mentioned multiple times:
AnyStream does embed forced subtitles, but doesn't mark them "forced"

Plex recognizes those streams as "normal" and only plays if enabled manually.

That's the main reason I run all my downloaded files through StaxRip ... it recognizes forced streams by the stream title and marks them accordingly.
I'm pretty sute that can be scripted, but I find my way the easier approach

 

[DQ]

Thanks man I think you have explained it or at least the AS part. At the heart of it the issue is me and not knowing enough to get the output I want subtitle wise. I fully admit that. Nothing is broken or wrong, just trying to get it figured.

Here are some examples I noticed:
1) AS MP4 with downloaded subtitles does not play what should be forced when the primary language is not on. But I think you explained that one.
2) Discs ripped with CDB and subtitles basically do the same thing to me. No forced unless I turn them on manually in Plex.
3) In the case of #2 the subtitles will play but it transcodes to do it. I think that is just how it works it just presents an issue for UHD content.

Again, core issue is me. I have avoided subtitles so long I am fairly ignorant of how to get the proper behavior.

 

[cartman0208]

Mhh, ok, understood ... I also was wondering why my rips suddenly were encoding when I enabled subtitles with Plex.
It's easy to solve if you know why

The answer should cover 2) and 3) of your questions

It's quite simple: the ripped subtitles are not text but picture format (.sup)... Plex always recodes those (or burns in)
Easiest way is to run the subtitle files through SubtitleEdit and output .SRT files.
Not only the size is reduced to less than 1% of the .sup file size, but Plex can handle that without recoding.

 

[DQ]

Ahhhhh ok. That makes complete sense. I will look into that. Thank for taking the time to explain it.

 

[DQ]

Mhh, ok, understood ... I also was wondering why my rips suddenly were encoding when I enabled subtitles with Plex.
It's easy to solve if you know why

The answer should cover 2) and 3) of your questions

It's quite simple: the ripped subtitles are not text but picture format (.sub)... Plex always recodes those (or burns in)
Easiest way is to run the subtitle files through SubtitleEdit and output .SRT files.
Not only the size is reduced to less than 1% of the .sub file size, but Plex can handle that without recoding.
View attachment 70816

So I have been messing around with SubtitleEdit. I can see what you are talking about with the image file and not being forced. Can you tell me roughly what process or settings you use to OCR the images? My initial attempts were not great and I got a lot of garbled words.

 

[cartman0208]

When you open/import the .sup file, you should get this dialog.
You need to download the dictionary for the language you want to work with (the three dot's)
Then just check the options that meet your needs and press "Start OCR"



the preferred output format is .srt, but you might wanna play around with other formats, that are compatible with the video container and Plex.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200471133-adding-local-subtitles-to-your-media/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_container_formats#Subtitle_formats_support

 

[DQ]

When you open/import the .sup file, you should get this dialog.
You need to download the dictionary for the language you want to work with (the three dot's)
Then just check the options that meet your needs and press "Start OCR"

View attachment 70840

the preferred output format is .srt, but you might wanna play around with other formats, that are compatible with the video container and Plex.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200471133-adding-local-subtitles-to-your-media/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_container_formats#Subtitle_formats_support

Perfect man! Thanks! That screenshot got me straight. That worked MUCH MUCH better. Thanks!

 

[DQ]

OK so I just played a SRT I created in Plex and it worked like a forced subtitle. I had to turn it on manually but it behaved as expected after that. So I take it the SRT is always stored outside of the MKV? The current PGS one is inside of the MKV is why I ask.

 

[cartman0208]

Of course you can remux it into the file ... that's what I do with StaxRip
Load the original video file with the Re-Mux Template, Click on "container configuration", remove all the .sup subtitles and add the .srt's
If a filename contains "forced" it's flagged as forced and should play automatically in Plex

 

[DQ]

Thanks again @cartman0208 you have helped me immensely and saved a ton of time in trial and error.

 

[DQ]

Of course you can remux it into the file ... that's what I do with StaxRip
Load the original video file with the Re-Mux Template, Click on "container configuration", remove all the .sup subtitles and add the .srt's
If a filename contains "forced" it's flagged as forced and should play automatically in Plex
View attachment 70841

OK so I am trying to load the MKV with the remux template selected and I get this which I am not at certain what it is complaining about. If I open the MKV with the default template it does load ok. I am using this movie as a test because it has a lot of what would be forced subtitles in the beginning making it easy to locate and test.

Script Error

DSS2: Can't open "C:\Movies\Black Adam(2022) - UHD.mkv"

Connect filters (Src_Out + VS_In): (80040217) No combination of intermediate filters could be found to make the connection.

(C:\Movies\Black Adam(2022) - UHD_temp\Black Adam(2022) - UHD_new_source.avs, line 6)

 

[cartman0208]

Uhm, not really sure what the issue is ...
But if the default loads fine, you can set that one to ReMux


Or you can try playing around with the source filters by righclicking (DSS2 in your case)

 

[DQ]

Uhm, not really sure what the issue is ...
But if the default loads fine, you can set that one to ReMux
View attachment 70846

Or you can try playing around with the source filters by righclicking (DSS2 in your case)

OK, that got it done! Thanks man!

 

[DQ]

So I tried it in Plex. It works without any transcoding now. But I still have to turn them on. I understand why because they are not burned in.

So I guess a follow-up. Is there a way to burn in with say CloneBD so that plex does not have the chance to not select it without manual intervention? (I am dinking with that now via the forced option).

 

[cartman0208]

Do you have a MediaInfo of that file? is the Forced-Flag set for the subtitle stream?
If it is, Plex does not need manual interaction, it uses the forced stream, that matches your language (first)

I did not set the above ... it already was set after starting the movie

 

[DQ]

This is where it gets a little sticky. Looks like Plex account level settings make a diff. Mine were jacked. I have fixed those now but I need to find something else to test with. Apparently once you alter the subtitle selection in a library manually it is never automatic again.

 

[cartman0208]

I just needed to smile ... look what's in the newest Plex patch notes

(Subtitles) Attempt to automatically detect improperly-tagged forced streams based on their titles (#14096)

That won't help with your issue, but is still a funny coincidence

 

[DQ]

I just needed to smile ... look what's in the newest Plex patch notes

(Subtitles) Attempt to automatically detect improperly-tagged forced streams based on their titles (#14096)

That won't help with your issue, but is still a funny coincidence

Plex is just messing with me now