In the following text, the color red mainly represents the program name and is a link to the program site itself (all programs are freeware/open-source).
This color mainly represents what operating system the program works best with.
Guide was written in 2010. If any of the program links don't work, please make an admin aware so they can update the links. Thank you.
MEDIA PLAYERS DISPLAYING SUBTITLES ON SCREEN
Simply use a player that can display subtitles out of the box:
Video Lan Client (VLC) (
Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, iOS, Android)
Out of the box subtitles and playback of almost all video and audio formats.
Simply one of the best!
GomPlayer (
Windows)
Good subtitle capabilities (including all non-Western languages). Highly customizable.
MPlayer (
Windows, Linux, MacOS and more)
No frills solid player.
Mediaplayer Classic (MPC) (
Windows)
It looks like an ancient version of Windows Media Player, but don't let that fool you, it's much better. A very good player that can be tweaked and customized as you like it.
OR USE YOUR CURRENT MEDIA PLAYER TOGETHER WITH A SUBTITLE ADD-ON
DirectVobSub/VSFilter (
Windows)
If vobsub can't display it, it's not a subtitle. Use this program to use subtitles with Windows media player on your PC and others.
Perian (together with Quicktime Player) (
MacOS)
The Swiss-Army Knife for subtitles on the Mac. It's a must-have.
HOW TO RIP SUBTITLES FROM A DVD OR SUB/IDX FILES
Subrip Can even rip hard-coded subtitles that are part of the video. Still the best! (
Windows)
Click here for:
A guide to use it
Sub-re-sync, part of the
VobSub package
One of the few tools that allows to re-sync IDX subtitles.
D-Subtiler (
MacOS)
OGMRip (
Linux)
Avidemux Contains a module that can rip subtitles. (
Windows, Unix, Mac OS).
SubExtractor Converts subtitles from DVDs and PGS files into ASS or SRT. (
Windows).
PROGRAMS TO EDIT/SYNC SUBTITLES
Gaupol (
Unix, Mac OS).
Older Stable Version (
Windows).
One of the most easiest, simplest and best subtitle editors with extended spell-checking capabilities. (
Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Sadly, no further updates for this simple program for Windows users.
Last update by the creator:
"I'd say when GIMP switches to GTK version 3, I'll check the Windows status again. GIMP is the most used GTK app on Windows and historically their developers have done a lot of work to make GTK work on Windows."
Subtitle Edit (
Windows and others)
One of the best subtitle editors. This program can also rip subtitles from a (decrypted) DVD. A really good tool and some people prefer this over Subtitle Workshop as it can read and write both UTF-8 and other Unicode files. Click on it to find out more.
Subtitle Workshop Or try the
Alternative Link (
Windows)
Also one of the best subtitle editors.
I recommend Version 2.51, but there is also a newer beta version that is totally different. (I like the older version much better!) The following link is a basic guide for this program:
Basic Subtitle Workshop Guide And the following is a more comprehensive guide:
Comprehensive Subtitle Workshop Guide (Note: Some versions don't work with UNICODE/UTF-8 encoded subtitles!)
Jubler (
Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Java-based subtitle editor. Although it cannot handle IDX/SUB, it's really good with all text subtitle formats.
Submagic (
Windows)
Another subtitle editor that is easy to use and more accessible than Subtitle Workshop.
You may also find the following link useful:
Convert Subtitles from SUB/IDX to SRT
Sub Timings Beautifier (
Windows)
Automatic alignment of timings to the exact frames, considering consistent gaps, cam and scene changes, etc. The finishing touch for every subtitle!
OTHER USEFUL SUBTITLE RELATED SOFTWARE
OpenSubtitles-Uploader (
Windows/Linux/OSX)
For easy and convenient uploading of subtitles to opensubtitles.org. Basically just drag and drop your subtitle and video files and the software automatically detects and fills out most of the input fields. See also the
forum topic about it.
MKVToolNix Or actual
Homepage (
Windows, Linux, Unix)
You can use MKVToolNix to create, split, edit, mux, demux, merge, extract or inspect Matroska and other format files.
A nice and simple program to add subtitles to video files which can be switched ON/OFF with a TV remote.
VirtualDub (
Windows)
Video re-encoding, editing, joining, hard-subbed videos. One of the most useful video tools available.
AviDemux (
Windows, Linux and MacOS)
It's another very powerful video tool. It can re-encode any video into another format. It supports subtitles as well and it's one of the few tools that can extract IDX subtitles on MacOS. Highly recommended.
AVIAddXSubs (
Windows)
One of the best tools to add subtitles to your movie/TV series. When playing your movie on a DivX compatible player (DVD player), just click the subtitle button on your remote and they will be displayed on screen (television).
Merges multiple .srt or IDX subtitles with an avi that will play on newer DIVX DVD players. This is a great way to get Arabic, Hebrew or Chinese subtitles without re-encoding the video.
MediaInfo (
Windows, Unix)
This is a software that shows you advanced information about all media files. It integrates into the operating system's file browser. It is available for Windows and several unix systems. Very useful to find out more about the frame-rate, bitrate, resolution and encoding of videos.
JustSubsPlayer (
Windows)
JustSubsPlayer is a player for .SRT files. Unlike other software, it does not require a video file, so it can be used to add subtitles to online movies or TV series, even if they are flash-based videos.
ExamDiff (
Windows)
ExamDiff is a freeware tool for visual file comparison. It is quick and very simple to use, and has a number of convenient features that many users have been asking for a long time from a file comparison tool. Mostly beneficial for admins who can verify the differences in two subtitle files, especially if one is claimed to be “stolen”.
HOW TO DOWNLOAD SUBTITLES FROM AMAZON
Here the best tutorials how to download amazon subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPQXKqHNe4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZwDfwlVO50
Needed google chrome, and network console on it. So you can go any movie or series subtitles disabled. then open network console with F12
activate subtitle and then either search for .ttml or for "dfxp" and download the file.
Then upload the file to https://gotranscript.com/subtitle-converter and you get a srt.
I hope more people of use rip from amazon the subtitles. So that we have more subtitles on opensubtitles.org.
I think it would be best if that thread would be a sticky for people which not know yet how to download amazon subtitles.
Regards
niceweather
Above info provided by: niceweather. Link to that topic for further help and discussion here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16960
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW TO RIP SUBTITLES FROM DISNEY + (PLUS)
Above info provided by: newkinds. Link to that original topic for further help or discussion here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17097
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: You need to remember that “l” to “I” mistakes happen when your software isn’t used to or doesn’t recognize the images in the files. You need to associate the images to the characters. The subtitles in a DVD are stored as images, your program needs to recognize those images to convert them into readable letters.
When you first use a ripping program, it asks you to associate ripped images to alphabetical letters. If you get it wrong here, it will always rip it wrong and to your previously set specifications.
I personally use Gaupol for editing, it has a friendly user interface. Don't forget to upload your work to opensubtitles
Wanna learn more?
Browse through our forum. Your question might have been already asked and answered.
Still none the wiser?
Head over to
videohelp.com to find more amazing and free software.
They also have a huge
forum:. If they don't know it or can't figure it, nobody does.
And now:
Welcome to the world of subtitles.
Now you are ready to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Good luck
Thanks to rogard for the detailed information.