WDTV profile for subtitles - Handbrake

[tomas31]

Hi, I'm making mkv files from my Blu Ray discs in MakeMKV using the WDTV profile, so I can watch the movies on my WDTV Live, which works perfectly. Now I would like to make the mkv files a bit smaller. When I tried Handbrake, the new mkv files are probably not the same as the mkv files I made with makemkv WDTV profile, because if I now select a subtitle on the WDTV, the subtitles don't show. Does anybody know any workaround to get the subtitles working on the WDTV after making the size smaller with Handbrake? Thanks a lot in advance!

[Woodstock]

Handbrake SHOULD pass the PGS files through untouched, assuming you're using MKV as your output format. You would still rip with the WDTV profile in MakeMKV so that the subtitle files are compressed, however.

If you are having handbrake output MP4 files, then the first PGS subtitle track will be burned in to the video, and no others will be available. MP4 does not handle PGS subtitles from BDs.

[Chetwood]

IIRC WD has changed the firmware some time ago so the compression of PGS subs in no longer necessary. If you're stuck on an older firmware and Handbrake does touch the PGS, you would have to remux the file with MKVToolnix to get the tracks compressed again.

[tomas31]

For me probably the easiest way I tried is to make the MKV file smaller with Handbrake, and then take the smaller mkv file once again through MakeMKV with the WDTV profile, so the subtitles function without problems on the WD TV