Jan Zdarsa There are many ways to convert your favorite movie (or series) with subtitles for playback on iPhone. I chose one of the procedures, which is easy even for a complete layman. The entire guide is designed for MacOS computers and I will mainly focus on the fact that the subtitles are not "hard" burned into the film, but can also be turned off on the iPhone.
First step – converting the video
We will use to convert the video for use on the iPhone the Handbrake program. I chose him for the reason that with him it works simply, it is free to distribute and offers iPhone profiles. My complaint with it is that it takes longer to convert than with competing products.
After starting, select the file you want to convert (or select it after clicking on the Source icon). After clicking the Toggle Presets button, preset profiles will appear. So choose Apple > iPhone & iPod Touch. This is all you need. Now just choose where the file should be saved and what it should be called (under the Destination box) and click the Start button. At the bottom of the window (or in the Dock) you will see how many percent is already done.
Step two – editing the subtitles
In the second step we will use the Jubler program, who will edit the subtitles for us. The second step is more of an intermediate step, and if the program for adding subtitles was perfect, we could do without it. Unfortunately, perfect is not a it works poorly with subtitles that are not in UTF-8 encoding (iTunes and iPhone will not play the video). If you have subtitles in UTF-8 format, you don't need to do anything and go straight to step three.
Open Jubler and open the file with the subtitles you want to add. When opening, the program will ask you in which format to open the subtitles. Here, select Windows-1250 as "First Encoding". In this format you will find subtitles on the Internet most often.
After loading, check that the hooks and dashes are displayed correctly. If not, then the subtitles were not in Windows-1250 encoding and you need to select another format. Now you can start saving (File > Save). On this screen, select SubRip format (*.srt) and UTF-8 encoding.
Step three – merge subtitles with video
Now comes the last step, which is the merging of these two files into one. Download and run the Muxo program. Choose the video you want to open and add subtitles to. Click the "+" button in the lower left corner and select "Add subtitle track". Select Czech as the language. In Browse, find the subtitles you edited and click "Add". Now just save the file via File > Save and that's it. From now on, Czech subtitles should be turned on in iTunes or on the iPhone for the given film or series.
Another procedure – burning subtitles into the video
It could be used instead of the previous two steps the Submerge program. This program does not add a subtitle file to the video, but burns the subtitles directly to the video (cannot be turned off). On the other hand, there are more settings regarding font type, size and so on. If the previous method does not suit you, then Submerge should be a good choice!
Windows system
I don't have much experience with converting video with subtitles for iPhone under Windows, but to at least point you in the right direction, it might be a good idea to look at the program MediaCoder.
Links to download the software used in the article:
RoadMovie – convert video and subtitles and link to movie :]
@Tomas: Road Movie is definitely a very good tip! Only when I tried it last time, it came really slow... but it must have received some update, I should try it again :)
For me, ffmpeg, which cooperates with Perian in terms of subtitles, is the best and fastest for converting. He is at his best at speed.
well, a normal movie lasts an hour and a half...
I don't know how it is with other foreigners
I use Roadmovie in combination with Elgato Turbo.264 and I am very satisfied.
@Tomas: so I think that's a good result..
I use Windows XP and I recommend CloneDVDmobile, it works with all phones (disadvantage: it's paid, but it can be done...). There you can set the subtitles you want (if they are on the original), the resolution and also the display (so-called letterbox). MediaCoder is good, but I get the impression that it can't do subtitles. It still works with DVDFabPlatinum,http://jablickar.cz/index.php/2008/11/jak-si-zalozit-itunes-store-appstore-ucet-zdarma/e there aren't that many setting options.
Thank you for the useful guide. I haven't converted any videos with subtitles yet and I don't know how to do it. So far, I've only edited music clips etc. into the iPhone, and subtitles are not needed for that. I normally use QuickTime Player for this, because that is the basis in MacOS – File -> Export -> Movie to iPhone. I open some videos (a lot of them) in VLC and it can convert too. There is a procedure – File -> Streaming/Exporting Wizard -> Transcode/Save to file -> MPEG-4 Video and MPEG-4 Audio etc. You can set multiple formats, video and audio bitrate there, you don't set anything in QuickTime (only iPhone ). As for the video quality - complete satisfaction (for "non-iPhone" people around, it's amazing - e.g. with the convertible demonstration HD video from Panasonic).
Hello, I have a problem, when I want to convert a scary movie, it says: No Title. Please make sure you have selected a valid, non-copy protected source. Yout source may be copy protected, badly mastered or a format which HandBrake does not support.
Please refer to the Documentation and FAQ.
Hi, I have a problem with these subtitles. I converted a DVD movie (56 minutes) using handbrake and added subtitles using muxo. The subtitle option has now appeared in quicktime even when playing in iTunes and it works without a problem. But when I play the movie on the iPhone (3G S), the button for subtitles does not appear there. :(
I have a feeling that OS 3 might be behind it (would support be removed?). Unfortunately, I've never tried it on OS 2.x, so I can't compare (try).
Has anyone tried subtitles on OS 3? And if so, and I'm working, can you advise?
Thanks in advance for your answer!
I have exactly the same problem as Rostak. I've also never tried adding subtitles on FW 2.x or 1.x, but it just doesn't work for me on 3.0, and I've done it exactly according to the instructions...
So I figured it out... I don't know why, but a program called Subler must be used instead of Mux (http://code.google.com/p/subler/)
Or you can also use iSubtitle, but that is paid...
Thank you for the instructions, I followed exactly as described above, iTunes plays the movie with subtitles, I get the movie on my iPhone, but I have nowhere to turn on subtitles in IP. I tried in iPhone - settings - iPod - show closed captions to "ON" but that doesn't help either. I have iPhone 3GS FW 3.1.2 (NonJB). Does anyone have any instructions on how to do this? Thanks in advance! David
Hello, does it also work when adding a subtitle only to xVid/divX???
Hello, great tutorial, I need advice on turning on subtitles in os 4.2.1. In iTunes, it offers me an icon with subtitles turned on, everything works, but in iPhone I don't know how to turn them on? Is it possible to set the subtitles to be turned on?