Getting foreign language subtitles to play correctly

[mew1033]

I'm just starting to rip my DVD collection, and I'm using MakeMKV. The only problem I've run into is that the subtitles are on by default. Turning them off isn't too big a deal, except for when there are parts of a film that are in a foreign language. Example: The Bourne Identity.

I searched for most of today, and I finally found a quick solution to the problem. Using JMkvpropedit you can edit the properties of the mkv file without having to remux the whole thing. Just load up the mkv file, go to the subtitle tab, check "Edit this track", "Default track" should be set to No and "Forced track" should be yes.

That did it for that film! There may be other problems with other movies, but I think most will be similar.

Thanks for a great program!

[Chetwood]

you can edit the properties of the mkv file without having to remux the whole thing.

Which is exactly what MKVToolnix's header editor does.

[mew1033]

you can edit the properties of the mkv file without having to remux the whole thing.

Which is exactly what MKVToolnix's header editor does.

Look at that, you learn something new every day. (It is a new day since I posted last, right?)

I wish we could see these options in MakeMKV itself. That would save an extra step. Oh well, it's not that time consuming. I'm just grateful for such an awesome tool as MakeMKV!

[Smithcraft]

If you expand the file selection, it will show you the streams that are available. You can select the ones you want, and deselect the ones you don't want.

SC

[mew1033]

If you expand the file selection, it will show you the streams that are available. You can select the ones you want, and deselect the ones you don't want.

SC

But that doesn't solve the problem of the subtitles being set to always on.

[Woodstock]

"Always on" is a function of what you play the files with.

The Uebo M400 always plays subtitle track 1, until you turn it off. Their M100, on the other hand, never plays subtitles, until you turn them on. VLC goes by your preferences, but the default is to play the first track of your preferred language, which may be "forced" or "all", depending on the file. Different software, different results from the same MKV files.

MakeMKV doesn't burn subtitles in, it just copies them from the DVD to the MKV file.

[mew1033]

"Always on" is a function of what you play the files with.

The Uebo M400 always plays subtitle track 1, until you turn it off. Their M100, on the other hand, never plays subtitles, until you turn them on. VLC goes by your preferences, but the default is to play the first track of your preferred language, which may be "forced" or "all", depending on the file. Different software, different results from the same MKV files.

MakeMKV doesn't burn subtitles in, it just copies them from the DVD to the MKV file.

I guess that makes sense. I know that when I edit the mkv file with either MKVToolnix's header editor or JMkvpropedit and set the subtitle track to Default = No, Forced = Yes, the subtitles no longer play by default in vlc. They're disabled when you play the film, but the foreign language parts are still there.

I wonder how XBMC behaves, as that will most likely be what this will all be playing on... I'll give that a shot.

[Chetwood]

Exactly. In one of the last updates, Mike has set the default flag to 'no' so there's usually no need to use MKVToolnix's header editor anyway.

[mew1033]

Exactly. In one of the last updates, Mike has set the default flag to 'no' so there's usually no need to use MKVToolnix's header editor anyway.

Really? That's cool! I'm using version 1.7.4. Is there a newer update?

[Chetwood]

Nope, that's what I'm using and it works. Maybe it's because of advanced mode?