Subtitles are seriously ahead on Blurays

[russellbateman]

I've used (paid for) MakeMKV for years now. It's always worked perfectly. My procedure is to transcode from a purchased disk to an .mkv file, then transcode using HandBrake to get the finished product, always including one or two sets of subtitles (English or English and French) as optional. I then put the resulting .mkv file on my Plex Media server for consumption. This works perfectly for DVDs and used to work perfectly for Blurays until movies that have come out the last couple of years.

Nowdays, the subtitles are seriously, like a couple of minutes, out of synchronization and of no use.

What has changed recently in the industry and what can I do to fix the problem?

[preserve]

I almost always watch with subtitles these days so that I don't miss any dialogue while being careful not to annoy my neighbors with sound volume (unfortunately), and I've never had any (original-from-disc) subtitles be out of sync, from the earliest DVDs and Blu-rays to brand new releases. However, my playback is always on PC (currently via MPV), either direct from MakeMKV's MKV or from a Handbrake MKV (which I only reduce video bitrate, and don't change anything else).

[Woodstock]

Some players (those from KDLink at least) have an issue with timing the first PGS subtitle on playback of an MKV file. I have not seen it with VLC, but I don't use VLC to play stuff on the TV.

Typically, the first subtitle will appear right after the video starts, even if it's 2 minutes before the subtitle is SUPPOSED to appear. This has happened with both of my KDLink HD720s, the HDLink A300, and two units previous to the HD720 that had a different brand name on it.

Since VLC gets it right, and handbrake does a "pass-through" on PGS subtitles, I don't think it's a problem with the subtitle track.

[russellbateman]

Perhaps it is a change in HandBrake, then. I believe I can use the output of MakeMKV directly, but it's literally 10 times the size of my YIFY settings in HandBrake. These settings allow me undiminished quality, for the most part, while reducing the size of the film on disk. Where I lose is in rare scenes of dust storms and night footage.

Indeed, if I place the huge, original-size result of MakeMKV's transcription onto my Plex Media server, I do get the subtitles perfectly synchronized. This must be a HandBrake problem.

Thanks

[Woodstock]

It's not an issue with the handbrake version, because I get the same issue on the hardware players whether the file has been processed with handbrake or is a raw MKV file. PGS subtitles are not properly handled by a lot of players that SAY they're compatible with PGS subtitles.

If you convert to MP4 in handbrake, it is a moot point - the PGS subtitles have to be burned in on MP4 files, so handbrake gets the timing right.

[russellbateman]

However, for a long time (several years), my procedure was:

1) Bluray disc -> MakeMVK -> .mkv
2) .mkv -> HandBrake (for compaction and optional subtitles) -> .mkv
3) .mkv -> Plex Media server

and it worked perfectly.

I was only 18 months or so ago that this procedure began to exhibit unsynchronized subtitles whether I used Roku to play or the Plex app running in a browser.

This same procedure when used on DVDs does not exhibit the problem of unsynchronized subtitles.