WD TV LIVE persistent subtitle issues

[parnott100]

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dhstraayer wrote:

What is the issue with VLC running on Live (or Live+) hw?  Wouldn't that be a great solution to not only the subtitle issue?  And a lot of other issues.  Especially the ability to use menus on ripped DVDs. 

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VLC- never going to happen. The cpu in the Live (+ or hub) does not have the processing power to run VLC. It is only a 500MHz cpu. Plus there are no open source drivers for the video rendering hardware in the device. It has been tried but failed.

DVD Menus- you have this today if you are using up-to-date firmware.

[dhstraayer]

Could you expand on your comment that we have DVD menus now, with up-to-date firmware? 

Is that using network shares, or streaming? 

By the way, I downloaded and tried the bdsup2sub hack that Miklos Juhasz published.  Worked like a charm!  I'd ripped Season 2, disk 1 of "Modern Family", and the subtitle fill was transparent, making the subtitles almost unreadable.  I applied the bdsup2sub to the idx/sub files, remade the mkv files, and they worked like a charm!  Now it looks like I have also gained a solution to the "no subtitles on blu-ray" problem too.  I had been searching the web for .srt ASCII subtitles, but that's a lot of work, because sometimes you have to fiddle with the timings.  

What is the problem with those WDC firmware folk?  They've got their bug delivered to them on a plate.  Should be a piece of cake to fix.

Ah well, a million for new features, nary a cent for bug fix.  Story of firmware.

DHStraayer

[Pecker]

Sorry if this has been covered or if I'm not using the correct technical language.

I recently ripped the long (290 minute television) version with the German soundtrack and English subs using MakeMKV from the UK DVD.

The subs show up, but they're...transparent, or maybe translucent.  As best as I can describe it the subs are black with a white border, but the 'black' actually allows some of the picture information through.  This makes it very difficult to read.

The DVD itself shows the subs fine, and the WD doesn't do this with most other subs.

What's going on?

Steve W

[dhstraayer]

Yeah it has been covered, but I'll try to help you out. 

If you ripped to a folder, the folder should contain a lot of files, .vob, .idx, ... etc.

If you ripped to a MKV, there will be a folder with one or more .mkv files in it. and you'll have to use a MKV Extract program to extract the files.  Google MKV Extract, install, and figure out how to use it.

Anyway, eventually you will find a file with the extension .idx.  That's the DVD file that coordinates with another file (extension .sub, if I remember) to implement DVD subtitles.  There is a known bug in the Live/Live+ firmware dealing with the fourth of four colors in the subtitles, making color #4 always fully transparent.  Depending on the DVD, that could be the text outline, the text fill, the character background, or the anti-alias color.  If it is the anti-alias color, the subtitles will be pretty readable, but a little odd around the edges.  If it is the outline color, the text won't be outlined, and may "disappear" into a background.  If it is the fill color, the text will just be outlines, and often almost impossible to read.   If it is the text background, all will be fine, and the subtitles will show just fine.

Obviously, in your case, it is the fill.

Ok, here is the workaround.  Another member, "mjuhasz" has posted a special version of a program called BDSup2Sub.   It can automatically edit the idx/sub file pair to repair the damage, by making sure that color #4 is the text background color: the one that really "wants" to be transparent.

The link to get to Mr. Juhasz's patch is: http://sw-planet.blogspot.com/2011/07/wdtv-live-subtitle-issues.html 

I downloaded it, and used it.  It works fine.  It isn't quite as cumbersome a process as this all sounds, and it's really worth it for me.  Someday, we hope, the WDC engineers will take this wonderful piece of debugging information that Mr. Juhasz has done for them, and fix the darn bug in the firmware.  In the meantime, the patch, and a  little fiddling around, will make these rips viewable.

DHStraayer

[Techflaws]

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Pecker wrote:
What's going on?

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I'd like to ask you the very same question. You have found this thread but not read the initial posting that describes your problem offering a solution (which is also referred to one posting about yours)?

[Pecker]

Thanks for the patient, helpful, non-patronising reply Techflaws.

Steve W

[Pecker]

dhstrayyer, thanks for that.

I'm afraid that's all a bit too complex for me.

Can't WD simply add the facility to change the colour of subtitles (in the same way that you can change the size and borders)?

Steve W

[TonyPh12345]

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Pecker wrote:

dhstrayyer, thanks for that.

I'm afraid that's all a bit too complex for me.

Can't WD simply add the facility to change the colour of subtitles (in the same way that you can change the size and borders)?

Steve W

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No, because VOBSUBs are GRAPHIC subtitles, they're basically IMAGES.   

[Techflaws]

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Pecker wrote:

Thanks for the patient, helpful, non-patronising reply Techflaws.

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You're welcome.

[Pecker]

But here's the thing.

When I play The Godfather Blu-ray Disc on my Blu-ray Disc player the subs are white.  When I play the rip on my WD they're bvlue.

If the colour can't be changed, how is that possible?

Steve W