Newbie converting mkv to mp4

[MiamiBourne]

grey bar when subtitle displays on letterbox

Ok...I used Subler to import a subtitle file, that I added and saved to an mp4. I play the movie on my Mac in iTunes and the subtitles display fine. It does seem that playing the movie on the monitor my Mac is connected too has larger letter box, maybe that has something to do with it.

Anyways when I play the movie back on my ATV (1080p ver) I get these light grey bars that pop up over the letterbox every time there is a subtitle. Do I need to adjust the settings in Subler to fix this...or is it just a bad srt file?

Thanks

 

[MiamiBourne]

Ok...so after some more Googling, I seem to find out that this translucent bar that comes up in the subtitles I added is a default by the Apple TV and can't be removed? Is this correct?

Thanks.

 

[6th]

I am not saying HB is THE answer for the op. However saying HB "isn't a viable option for him ..." seems a bit strong. At any rate its no "skin off my nose" what the op uses. As you guys have already outlined there are many options.

It's not an option for the OP, end of story. Why would anyone suggest to re-encode videos that have been encoded already is beyond me.

 

[mic j]

Ok...so after some more Googling, I seem to find out that this translucent bar that comes up in the subtitles I added is a default by the Apple TV and can't be removed? Is this correct?

Thanks.

Correct. Only way to not have the gray bar is to burn in the subs. Apple feels the gray bar makes subtitles easier to read.

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It's not an option for the OP, end of story. Why would anyone suggest to re-encode videos that have been encoded already is beyond me.

Where does it state they have been previously transcoded?