Best Program TO Edit Subtitles

[capri435]

Hi
am looking for a software which help me with all problems i face while using subtitles.i have tried a few like time adjuster,subtitle workshop etc but didnt like them much.

I dont create subtitles.All i wantfrom the software is to convert between various formats mainly srt,sub and text files.Synchronisation is the biggest problem....so features like increasing the delay(time for which subtitles stay on screen) are must.

i wud really appreciate if u share ur knowledge.
Thanks

[oss]

in general, I used Sub Adjuster, but I'm now recommending Subtitle Workshop. Use google for downloads.

[capri435]

subtitle workshop didnt work for me.....my main problem is synchronisation....it didnt help me in that

[giannid]

Use subtitleworkshop.

First try to adjust a simple delay problem, i.e. each subtitle is off by the same amount:

Hit CTRL+D to bring up the menu to delay every subtitle (or selected subtitles if you wish) by the same amount.

If that doesn't work. You can try to synch the first and last subtitles by hitting: CTRL+B:

Enter the time when the first subtitle line should begin, and then add the time that the final subtitle line should begin. This should synch up the subs. If it doesn't synch up then it's probably because the videos are different versions like director's cuts, tvrips edited for commercials, etc.

If you want to convert between the various formats, just open the file with Subtitleworkshop, then save as Subrip for .srt, microdvd for .sub. For .txt files, just change the extension from .txt to .sub or .srt.

Also with subtitleworkshop you can hit CTRL+I which will list the errors and allow you to fix them.

[eduo]

There is always the option of Jubler. This is what I use to sync subtitles and it's worked fantastically so far.

[ixquic]

Thanks for the tip, I just tried Jubler and it looks nice. Does UTF-8 and doesn't mangle formatting, as far as I can see. If only it weren't in Java... _@_v

[Gringo]

I am a big fan of SubtitleWorkshop
http://www.urusoft.net/downloads.php?lang=1

It might be a bit of an overdose of feature on first sight but it is definitely the ultimate tool in my opinion. There are also some instructive posts here on this forum to quickly getting started with Subtitle Workshop.


TO GIANNID:
Hola/Oi/dear giannid! I just read your post (reply) to someone who asked about the best subtitle editing tool, and I was very pleased that you did not just mention Subtitle Workshop (which I think is absolutely top notch) but I also learned about the "information and error" (Ctrl+I) option I never was aware it even existed!

So first, thanks!, good tip - I can't belive I was using Subtitle Workshop all this time without having a clue about this feature....and second, of course I tried Ctrl+I and it show me all the potential errors perfectly, but it did NOT actually fix them when I clicked on the "fix errors!" button - all it says is "fixed errors:0" - saving the file didn't help either...any idea what it could be?

So once again: your post was very informative and on the point; it's just a pity that people do not seam to appreciate very competent advice nowadays. Best, Gringo

[eduo]

So once again: your post was very informative and on the point; it's just a pity that people do not seam to appreciate very competent advice nowadays. Best, Gringo

What the hell was this about?

The original poster asked a question and several people responded to it. Where do you come off saying people didn't appreciate it? For all we know the OP saw all options and decided to use whatever worked the best for him.

Couldn't you just have said thanks without slamming others?

[Gringo]

Hello Eduo, I understand your frowning about my last sentence: wasn't my intention. Therefor I have no hard feelings about your impulsive post (who's slamming who?).

Since I don't even know if your post was a question/or if it was indeed a statement, and since this thread is about recommended programms for editing subtitles, I pass on goning into a lengthy and boring explanation of "what-I-really-meant" by saying "I have the impression that people do not seem to appreciate competent advice nowadays".

May I suggest that you read the thread again? Tip: it's about the original poster (-not-you-), and his reference (or rather the lack of any reference) to giannid's extensive and instructive post about SubtitleWorkshop.

So, back to the topic: for anyone who is not affraid of a complex and demanding Subtitle editing tool I recommend:

Subtitle Workshop (freeware)
http://www.urusoft.net/download.php?lang=1&id=sw

[eduo]

Gringo: I understood the reply. I would've put the same thing even if I hadn't given a suggestion myself and even if I hadn't received a "thank you" post myself.

Thanking may be a courtesy but unless you ask for it you can't demand it. We're supposed to give our knowledge freely here. If we get thanks than all the better but you can't slam people for not thanking others. Especially if they may not find useful the same comments as you.

You're right that this thread is for recommending subtitle programs, not about thanking for those suggestions.

I know it's about the original poster, that's what I'm talking about. If GianniD hasn't asked for acknowledgement then maybe he (as me and others that help without asking for anything in return) doesn't really care if he's thanked, only that he's tried to help.

[Gringo]

OK, reply read, I agree: Thanking is a courtesy that can't be demanded, expected, asked anything in return for, nor are any comments about a lack of such apropriate, and slamming is not the level we choose for our converstation. Consense found?

There is always the option of Jubler. This is what I use to sync subtitles and it's worked fantastically so far.

Could you elaborate about Jubler. Do you think SubtitleWorkshop is too complex and painfull to learn? Why you preferr first mentioned programm over the later? Any pros and cons from your POV to report?

Opinion appreciated in advance...

[eduo]

Actually it's simpler than that.

I don't use Windows. Any solution that isn't multiplatform or doesn't cover my platform is useless for me.

I don't judge Subtitle Workshop at all. For me, it doesn't exist in my available universe.

Jubler, on the other hand, works in my platform. Is not native but it's multiplatform and that's enough for me.

Ningun problema aparte de ese, de verdad.

[Gringo]

I found Jubler strikingly beautiful. Its GUI is much more appealing than SubtitleWorkshop(SW).

Cool, I think, is the split up in 3 parts: the Mplayer Window, the video-control, and the subtitle editor itself...lets you arrange things on the screen the way you want.

Now, since I'm quite used to SW but never used Jubler, I first need some time to understand the features...Definitely, Jubler isn't an easy alternative to SW, as it is also very complex. I'm wondering what the markers in four different colors mean..?(there's no pop up information, when hovering over).

I also had to install Mplayer and tell Jubler where the mplayer.exe was to be found.

The encoding and format options when saving is an additional feature to SW (I never thought that there are unicode subtitles, well, well the Windows ANSI fixed guys .
Jubler's cool, I definitely check it out: how the timings options work, how Jubler treats overlapping subtitles...where are actually the subtitle line numbers in the editor?? I need them

For now, in the meantime, I stick to my good old SubtitleWorkshop as long as I have not figured out the basic of editing in Jubler.

[giannid]

I tried Ctrl+I and it show me all the potential errors perfectly, but it did NOT actually fix them when I clicked on the "fix errors!" button - all it says is "fixed errors:0" - saving the file didn't help either...any idea what it could be?

TOOLS -> INFORMATION & ERRORS -> SETTINGS

For the "Check For" tab, I have everything checked except "OCR Errors" and "Spaces before custom characters".

For the "Fix" tab, I have everything checked except "Subtitles Over Two Lines", "Prohibited Characters", "OCR Errors", and "Spaces Before Custom Characters".

Then hit CTRL+I and fix the errors. Sometimes you have to be careful. For example, text before a colon can be hearing impaired, or it might be something more innocent, i.e. "I told you what I want: a car."

I sometimes manually change the colon to a comma or a dash to avoid getting an error reading.

In any case, the CTRL+I function on Subtitle Workshop is usually a good indicator of how good a subtitle file is.

[Gringo]

Hey giannid,

Thx for the quick reply. It must have been a glitch in Subtitle Workshop, because I ended up checking all options in the setting's fix-tab and nothing happend. Should have closed and re-opened the programm, because everything works now fine.

Definitely cool this "information and error" tool. Especially to get a quick overview of the potential quality of a subtitle, as you said.

While checking is never a problem, fixing is, indeed, a thing that must be done carefully.

I configured the check-options in the same way as you explained, with the exception of OCR Errors: I definitely want that. I allowed myself to check the OCR errors of two subtitles you recently uploaded: while on the 4th of July/Brasileiro, there was a series of unneeded OCR error messages, there were on the other hand some usefull OCR-error messages in the subtitle Three/Spanish (You know, the usual suspects, like capital i instead of an l..and such alike). Editing the OCR script, on the other hand, is probably not easy to customize.

I also removed the dash in "space after characters" in the advanced setting to avoid that -Don't say it is changed into - Don't say it. But that's just because I try to keep the length of a line as short as possible, as many stand-alone DivX players (at least mine and the one a friend of mine uses) have problems to display more than 42 characters per line.

But what's best is the "overlapping subtitles"-check, since in SW (directly displayed) the overlapps are just ignored, while on my stand-alone player this causes horrible "four-lines" during the overlapping period, and that's just disgusting!

So, from now on, I'm going to use the information & error checking everytime I download/upload I subtitle and that's because of you...'brigado!