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Subtitle issues with ATV 2?

J

jajohns8

macrumors Maltese
Original poster
Sep 11, 2008
237
0
Trying to watch some anime I have in my library. Encoded with subtitles with handbrake. First gen Apple Tv had no problems with this.

The problem is odd, because when the file first plays or is paused, the subtitles show, but after watching for a few minutes, they disappear completely.

(I have subtitles selected in settings.)
 
jajohns8 said:
Trying to watch some anime I have in my library. Encoded with subtitles with handbrake. First gen Apple Tv had no problems with this.

The problem is odd, because when the file first plays or is paused, the subtitles show, but after watching for a few minutes, they disappear completely.

(I have subtitles selected in settings.)
Click to expand...

Having the exact same issue. I have always had issues with subtitles on my players Apple TV xbmc plex ect... thats why i only burn them in.
 
BlackMangoTree said:
Having the exact same issue. I have always had issues with subtitles on my players Apple TV xbmc plex ect... thats why i only burn them in.
Click to expand...

This is odd b/c I've never had issues with subtitles before. They work fine on the old Apple tv or when viewed in VLC, etc.

I don't watch a tremendous amount of content with subtitles, but so far, it's been very annoying trying to watch what content I do have.

I think picture quality is great and the price point is outstanding for ATV2, but they have plenty of issues to work on.
 
I have tried re adding the subtitles with isubtitle and subler and still the same issue.

I think we are going to have to wait for a fix from Apple.
 
wrkngclasshero said:
I have this issue also, any updates?
Click to expand...

Nothing yet. I have sent feedback to Apple i would suggest everyone else does too.

Apple will have to fix this is a future update.

Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be like subs in front row that just show a black screen Apple hasn't fixed that in like years.
 
no news?

Its a real shame this seems to be broken.

I've isolated the problem to a resolution conflict with the subtitle track. Subtitles work on anything below 1200 resolution video, for some reason small subtitles do show without the "pause and show" bug. I've tried to put small subtitles in 720p videos, but even with iSubtitle, Subler or even Jubler I'm not able to lower them below the 1280x60 Normal Size of the subtitle track. It seems to be directly link to the video track and the native resolution in which its encoded.

I'm by no means an expert, but If we could find a way to reduce the with of Subtitles area or space in a 1280 video, I think the subtitles will work.

Has anyone found any temporal solutions? Suggestions?
 
I am not having any subtitle issues with my new Apple TV; been watching Studio Ghibli films as of late. I can post my handbrake settings when I get home if that helps
 
WiiDSmoker said:
No, they are all DVD rips.

I select the correct subtitle track and then I check Burned In. Works like a charm for me.
Click to expand...

Burning in will work, it's the soft subs that we are having issues with. They just don't show on video with resolution higher than 1200.
 
What are soft subs? Like where the movie is in English, but sometimes a part or two might have a foreign part i.e. Kill Bill?
 
WiiDSmoker said:
What are soft subs? Like where the movie is in English, but sometimes a part or two might have a foreign part i.e. Kill Bill?
Click to expand...

i guess im on same boat. I used HB to add them and when played in QT they show fine. but in itunes and on atv 2 no such luck. im new to HB so i dont kno whats goin on
 
Soft Subs are subtitles you can turn on and off.

Burning them into the picture they are on permanently.

This is an Apple TV issue, Apple need to fix it
 
I wouldn't fret over getting soft subs to work, they're too small to be legible at any reasonable TV viewing distances anyway. The Apple TV clearly needs some fine tuning for large screen compatibility.

I had a problem with .SRT files which had been badly put together buy the author, I ran it through Jubler to fix the timings and everything was fine.

If you're using soft, manually added .SRTs then validate them yourself first. Dodgy timings will work in some players, but not the Apple TV.

In my specific example, I had subtitles which had some entries where the end time was before the start time. ATV didn't like that much! If they're not burned in, forget it.

Mostly my fault for being too lazy to load up and rip my DVDs- these days it's easier and often quicker to just download them!
 
wodeh said:
I wouldn't fret over getting soft subs to work, they're too small to be legible at any reasonable TV viewing distances anyway. The Apple TV clearly needs some fine tuning for large screen compatibility.
Click to expand...

I would fret over using soft subs, i have a lot of foreign films that are dual audio with English Dub, i like to be able to turn subtitles off.

They worked perfectly on the original Apple. On the Apple TV 2 if the video resolution is under 1200 they work perfectly if it's over they don't show.

Too small to be legible, are you serious ? If any thing id prefer them smaller. Unless you're blind they are perfectly readable.

Apple have heaps to fix with this Apple TV.
 
I just noticed exactly the same thing when watching a rip of my Avatar BD. I added .srt subtitles with subler to a 1280x720 .m4v file. The subs only show temporarily and when I pause. Interestingly, I also have a copy of District 9 with subs added the same way, but they play fine on the District 9 file. Looking at the resolution, for some reason, the District 9 file is 1272x688. I have no idea why - I think I made this file at the end of last year and never noticed it before. I opened each file in subler and looked at the visual settings for the subtitle tracks on each. After adjusting the settings for the Avatar file to the same as the District 9 file, the subs on Avatar still would not play. I have no idea what's going on here.

Here's hoping Apple, or someone on the forum smarter than me, can find a solution to this!
 
I found,
1280x720 = (X, subtitle disappears)
1280x718 = (O)
1366x720 = (O)
1980x800 = (O)
1280x688 = (O)
1280x536 = (O)
So, the temporary solution is not to use 1280x720 resolution (or, 16:9 aspect ratio).
 
realeric said:
I found,
1280x720 = (X, subtitle disappears)
1280x718 = (O)
1366x720 = (O)
1980x800 = (O)
1280x688 = (O)
1280x536 = (O)
So, the temporary solution is not to use 1280x720 resolution (or, 16:9 aspect ratio).
Click to expand...

That is so weird. I'll have to keep that in mind when making new files.
 
realeric said:
I found,
1280x720 = (X, subtitle disappears)
1280x718 = (O)
1366x720 = (O)
1980x800 = (O)
1280x688 = (O)
1280x536 = (O)
So, the temporary solution is not to use 1280x720 resolution (or, 16:9 aspect ratio).
Click to expand...

I was searching for the error for about 2 hours and tried nearly everything and now I have come to the same conclusion. It's only happening if the video os 1280x720. Hopefully Apple will fix it soon!
 
I figured out how to turn them on/off.

I just started ripping my DVD collection in order to add them all to my iTunes library and came across the same issue.

Small caveat: You need to use the iPhone/iPad Remote app.

There's a list-looking icon in the bottom-left of the app's control UI that leads you to a chapter list. Once there you should see two tabs at the top: Chapters and Subtitles. You will have to scroll up past Chapter 1 so that you can select either of the tabs - not the most intuitive, especially since every other atv2 UI screen allows you to swipe left-right to change tabs.

Hope this helps. The subtitle size is tiny tho still, yes.
 
Tandaemonium said:
I figured out how to turn them on/off.

I just started ripping my DVD collection in order to add them all to my iTunes library and came across the same issue.

Small caveat: You need to use the iPhone/iPad Remote app.
Click to expand...

LOL.. great job figuring out how to turn subs on/off.. :rolleyes: However, it has nothing to do with this issue.

If you had actually read this thread - the problem is subs disappearing after 10 seconds of playback on 1280x720 titles. The issue doesn't exist on SD DVDs. This is something Apple will have to fix in the future ATV2 firmware.

P.S. hint - you don't need iOS Remote app to toggle subs, you can do the same via ATV menus.
 
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