Resolved Recoding downloads for a smaller size - subtitles lost

[ClicketyClack]

I just installed the AnyStream trial last night and am super impressed with the interface and especially with the speed of the downloads. The video quality is wonderful and the subtitles in the video work perfectly.

We have someone who is hearing-impaired, so the subtitles are necessary to prevent the walls from cracking from the volume that they would need to hear the movie.

The one gotcha is the size of the video file when 1080p is chosen. For example, Archive (2020) from Prime is around 10.2 GB. Other downloads are in the 4-5 GB range. I did find that I could choose some Audio & Video settings to shave a little off the download size, but not that much.

I use the current version of Handbrake and the H.265 NVENC 1080p preset. That dramatically reduces the file size with no apparent loss of quality, but the subtitles are gone from the resulting video. Handbrake doesn't even SEE the subtitles on the initial encoding setup in the "Subtitles" tab.

: Handbrake doesn't even SEE the subtitles

: Subtitle Edit sees the subtitles and will even export them, but the timing is WAAAY off.

I had lifetime licenses from the previous products that came out of Antigua, so I know how fantastically well the developers do with this type of software. Maybe this is something on their To-Do list? This isn't necessarily a deal breaker in my purchase, but I sure would love to figure this out as my available storage space is in danger.

Any help would be much appreciated!

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Problem solved, you're fantastic - thank you so much! That settles it for me, I'll just wait for Labor Day to purchase in the hope of a sale.

 

[BCloud]

The video size depends of the title. Generally old movies or action movies are bigger because they are difficult to encode. You can choose also a lower resolution to get a smaller file, I was surprised that the 720p is not so bad on my TV.

For the subtitles, I think you should try with separate subtitle files in the settings (SRT), it will create extra files with the name and language of the subtitle and you will be able to add them in handbrake I think.

EDIT: If you don't want to download again you should try to export your subtitles in SRT, I use MP4box to do this.

 

[DQ]

Just my personal 2 cents. It's far easier and less work to just go with 720 in that case. Even on a sizeable TV 720 looks pretty good in my experience.

 

[MuttJunior]

Can you use external subtitle files in the video player you are using? I use Plex for my media files, and it uses external files, but the file names have to match, with *.en.srt at the end ("en" is language code, and "srt" is format of subtitle file). It then transcodes the subtitle in with the video on the fly as it plays (if the external srt file is specified in the settings for that video).

 

[ClicketyClack]

The video size depends of the title. Generally old movies or action movies are bigger because they are difficult to encode. You can choose also a lower resolution to get a smaller file, I was surprised that the 720p is not so bad on my TV.

For the subtitles, I think you should try with separate subtitle files in the settings (SRT), it will create extra files with the name and language of the subtitle and you will be able to add them in handbrake I think.

EDIT: If you don't want to download again you should try to export your subtitles in SRT, I use MP4box to do this.

Thank you! I've got it now!

You're right about the 720p, that is more than fine. I forgot about the subtitle settings and it was on embedded. I changed that to download them and that takes care of that!

 

[ClicketyClack]

Just my personal 2 cents. It's far easier and less work to just go with 720 in that case. Even on a sizeable TV 720 looks pretty good in my experience.

Thank you! I've got it now!

You're right about the 720p, that is more than fine. I forgot about the subtitle settings and it was on embedded. I changed that to download them and that takes care of that!

 

[ClicketyClack]

Can you use external subtitle files in the video player you are using? I use Plex for my media files, and it uses external files, but the file names have to match, with *.en.srt at the end ("en" is language code, and "srt" is format of subtitle file). It then transcodes the subtitle in with the video on the fly as it plays (if the external srt file is specified in the settings for that video).

Yes, Thank you for reminding me of that!

I also use Plex and have the lifetime Plex Pass. I HAD been using MKVToolNix to add the subtitles to videos, but adding them separately (*.en.srt) is not only faster by saving a step, but works perfectly.