Divx subtitle dilema

[TaoMaster]

I have read most of the info containing stuff about how to fix files so that they play normal on a TV without losing the subtitles. What I can't find is if you can do this process with a divx .avi file and it still be playable in a divx DVD player.

All I want to do is be able to play the anime on TV being able to see the subtitles.

I DO NOT WANT to have to make a DVD disc, i just want the files to stay divx and be able to be read by a DVD player that can play divx. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[TaoMaster]

Can anyone at least point me in the right direction. There has got to be a program that can simply change the picture size so it can be viewed...

[frad113]

Well, I don't see why you can't resize and re-encode them with VirtualDub or VirtualDubMod and just use divx for the compression.

[Quarkboy]

Hmm, this raises an interesting question... Does divx have a built in pixel aspect ratio parameter like AVC video does? If that's the case, and the hardware player supports it, you might be able to change the PAR from default 1:1 to something a little squished vertically... then you squish the video a bit vertically when it's played and you probably don't chop off the subs. The advantage to this would be in not reencoding, but it would also screw up the AR a little on display...

This of course depends on 1. Whether such a paramter exists in divx files, and whether one could change it easily without reencoding (which I have no idea)
and 2. Whether hardware players would even pay attention to such a parameter if it existed...

[frad113]

I just got a better idea: write an avisynth script with the correct resize and then feed it to VirtualDubMod, but do a "direct stream copy". If I remember correctly, that worked for me. I guess that would kinda qualify as "transcoding" then, not encoding.

[TaoMaster]

So how would I do what you just said.....?
I'm still a newb
AND what size would i want to change it to?

[TaoMaster]

what sort of code would i write in the avisynth script and how does that fit in with VirtualDub

[frad113]

Download and install Avisynth. Then open notepad and save the following (replacing "g:\bla.avi" with the path to your AVI file) as bla.avs:

AVISource("g:\bla.avi")
Lanczos4Resize(650,334) *for fullscreen, use (650,432)
AddBorders(35,73,35,73) *for fullscreen, use (35,24,35,24)

Then, open bla.avs with VirtualDubMod, go to Video -> Fast Recompress, then go to Video -> Compression and select divx/xvid, then go to File -> Save as AVI and save it somewhere. In theory, that should work, although I don't have a divx dvd player so I can't say for sure.

[Gekster]

Originally Posted by TaoMaster

I have read most of the info containing stuff about how to fix files so that they play normal on a TV without losing the subtitles. What I can't find is if you can do this process with a divx .avi file and it still be playable in a divx DVD player.

I use Light Alloy player (http://dvdsoftwareguide.com/light-aloy-soft.html) with VobSub (part of k-lite codek pack) plugin for it. VOb sub sends subtitles to overlay an all working fine.

[TaoMaster]

frad, I tried to use avisynth with virtualdubmod BUT it keeps giving me an error message that says the width is not divisble by 4??? what do I need to change the resize to (650,432 doesn't work) so that I can actually run it thru VDUB?


And to the latest post before this one, does lightalloy reencode the files so that the subtitles work properly, or is it just a media player

[frad113]

Quoted from here:

FullScreenResize
Determines the size the video needs to be resized to for 4:3 resolution video. Note that you should substract the borders from this size. Default value is 660,440. If you have a widescreen TV with "Smart Zoom" (or similar) feature, you may want to set this to 640,426 instead (modify the border size too in that case).

FullScreenBorder
Determines the size of the border around 4:3 video to compensate for overscan. Default value is 30,20,30,20. If you have a widescreen TV and changed the resize value as described above, use 40,27,40,27 instead.
...
WideScreenResize
Determines the size the video needs to be resized to for 16:9 resolution video. Default value is 660,330.

WideScreenBorder
Determines the size of the border around 16:9 video to compensate for overscan. Default value is 30,75,30,75.

Try using those values. Also, I don't know if an xvid encode would work on a divx player, but xvid doesn't have that width limitation.

[TaoMaster]

OK finally got it to go thru Vdub:
AVISource("myavi.avi")
Lanczos4Resize(640,480)
AddBorders(36,24,36,24)

I had to use the original video size and just used borders to shrink it.

BUT when i run it thru Vdub it comes out with a verticle line that is discolored on the right side of the picture and its not on the original file. How can I get rid of that line?

[Nicholi]

712x528 is not a proper res to encode anything at, which is why you have that line. Be sure after the borders that the width is at least mod16 (divisible by 16), that will make everything better. The height doesn't matter as much as long as it is mod2 the xvid/divx/lavc decoders will handle it fine, I don't know about a DivX Playback Device though. The ideal situation would be to make both of them mod32, guaranteed to have no funky lines then.

[TaoMaster]

I don't know where you got 712x528 but i left the original resolution of the file the same (640x480) and added the borders to shrink it down (which appears to have worked).

To make matters worse when i watch the output file thru VDUB i don't see the line at all. Its only when i play it back with something like WMplayer or Core Media Player that the line shows up. any ideas???

Also of interest if I try to play the file back thru VDub it gives me an error and crashes. Could it be because I am using DIvx 6.1 instead of 5.2.1?

[TaoMaster]

Ok i got rid of the line.
I don't know if it was because I switched back to Divx 5.2.1 OR if it is because I changed the border from 36,24,36,24 TO 32,24,36,24

Now I need to see if that fixes it and IF it will play on a DVD divx player

I'll keep any interested posted

[TaoMaster]

Yeah it worked and resized the file so I could see the subtitles. The quality of the new video is seriously lacking. Any fast movements and the picture become pixelated to where its almost blurry.

Is there a way to encode the with VDUBMOD so that little or no quality is lost. I even did it using "Full Processing Mode" without "Fast Recompression" and it is still that way.

If i try and use "Direct Stream Copy" it gives me a file that is 17GB!!! WHat now??

[Nicholi]

Unfortunately it seems you have no idea what you are doing at all ;-;

By the way adding borders does not shrink down the video. It adds bordrs to what you already have. That is how I counted 712x528 before. Unfortunately with your new values the video is now 708x528, also not really compliant. Though it may work on your computer as I said with very advanced hackery and good decoders the line may not be there, however your DivX Playback Device/Drive/whatever is likely going to freak out on it.

Direct Stream Copy will copy the video directly to uncompressed RGB, the only difference between Fast Recompress and Full Processing is which colorspace is used to process the video. You don't want to use Full Processing unless you plan on using any VDub filters because you want to work in the native colorspace of the video, which is YV12, Full Processing works with the video in RGB32. Any re-encoding always devalues the quality of the video, I wouldn't expect much in the first place. However since I particularly think that DivX's new 6 version is extremely worse then ever before I would recommend using XviD and encode with the DivX certified parameters and simply change the FourCC to DX50 then. Encode with a low quantizer and you will theoretically preserve more quality. The less advanced options you use the second encoding around the better. Since you are more interested in preserving the already compressed video there are no special options that will make it look better, only compress it moreso. Which seems to me that you just want to add borders, not really compress more. Turn off the cool options, crank down the quantizer, and watch the filesize balloon (but it won't be anywhere near 17GB, maybe a little less then double filesize).

[TaoMaster]

You are correct. I have no idea what I am doing.

The only thing I did differently in the Avisynth script was add borders. I left the screen size the same as the file. When played on a DVD player the added borders made the video smaller so that I could see the subtitles.

As far as:
"Turn off the cool options, crank down the quantizer, and watch the filesize balloon (but it won't be anywhere near 17GB, maybe a little less then double filesize)."

How do I do that using VDUB or is there another program to use instead.
I just want to read the subtitles and not change any picture quality. Is there no easy way to resize the image without changing quality?

[frad113]

Actually, I would suggest to screw the Divx player idea and make regular DVDs, as desribed in the "sticky" in the "Tech Support" forums.

[TheFluff]

Originally Posted by TaoMaster

Is there no easy way to resize the image without changing quality?

No. You COULD mux it into MKV and set a playback resolution, but that would not add any borders nor work in a DivX player. Changing resolution REQUIRES a reencoding, and so does adding borders.