Pixelated Subtitles/Black Screen?

[Steve B]

Hi wonder if anyone knows what I am doing wrong and how to fix.

Duplicate a DVD with sub titles try to view (MKV file) on iMac Mojave plays sound track but no visuals. When converted with Handbrake works okay, (Pixelated Text) just need to see the sub titles if they are there and correct before convertion.

Sub titles okay on master disk but when make MKV-Handbrake the sub titles are pixelated?
Is there a setting I am not seeing needed to be activated. Not sure if it's MKV or Handbrake that's the problem as I can't see the KMV file image on screen.

thanks.

[Woodstock]

It's kind of hard to figure out what you're doing, let alone how you're doing it wrong.

"Duplicate a DVD with sub titles" ... Are you making an image copy of the DVD?

MakeMKV is not going to change the video or subtitle tracks, just remove the encryption ans save them to an MKV container instead of a VOB. As such, a player that understands MKV files, like VLC or Kodi, should play it the same from the raw DVD as from the MKV file. A player that does NOT understand MKV files (like pretty much any player by Apple) won't give consistent results. Well, other than "consistently bad".

Are the subtitles separate tracks on the DVD, or "burned in" to the video? Burned in means that running through handbrake, which will normally try to remove DVD interlacing, can mangle the subtitles pretty badly.

[Steve B]

Thanks, so the MKV file on Mac might be the problem re black screen.
Think that the subtitles were burned in so again may be the problem? any ideas if it can be fixed.

[Woodstock]

If you have VLC for Mac (it's free), you can check the MKV file directly.

But if the subtitles are already incorporated in the video, they can be problematic. If it were me, I'd tell handbrake to NOT do "comb detect", and use Deinterlace "Bob", frame rate "variable", "Same as source". That will force it to de-interlace all frames (not just the ones that look interlaced), and bump the frame rate up to compensate.

[Steve B]

Thanks so much, will give it a go.