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Good subtitling software?
Thread poster: Daithi
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
Aug 2, 2016

Hi, I am new to this forum. I hope this question hasn't been asked before, which it very likely has.

What are reasonably fast programs to use for subtitling movies. Or even, when I want to translate (manually) already made and synced subtitle file.


 
Juan Jacob
Juan Jacob  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 11:58
French to Spanish
+ ...
Asked before, Aug 2, 2016

of course.
Free ones? A lot. I use Subtitle Workshop for 15 years now. Very good, for me.
Others have this, or not, and discussion goes on. [Sound wave, for example, frame change indicator, etc.]
Good luck.


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 18:58
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Free subtitling software Aug 3, 2016

Welcome Daithi,

for years I've been using SubtitleEdit, a free software that works very well.

Best,
Tayenga


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Charsets Aug 3, 2016

Juan Jacob wrote:

of course.
Free ones? A lot. I use Subtitle Workshop for 15 years now. Very good, for me.
Others have this, or not, and discussion goes on. [Sound wave, for example, frame change indicator, etc.]
Good luck.



Hi Juan. Thanks for the reply. I tried that program just a few days ago. I was doing a translation from Czech to English. The program failed to display the Czech subs with proper diacritic. It is very limited with regards to chatsets. Unless, of course, I do not know how to use it.

[Edited at 2016-08-03 12:21 GMT]


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Manual translation Aug 3, 2016

Thayenga wrote:

Welcome Daithi,

for years I've been using SubtitleEdit, a free software that works very well.

Best,
Tayenga


Hello Tauranga, I have this program for some years but only used it for adjusting times. As mentioned above. I wanted to do a sub translation from Czech to Eng. I could not find the translation mode. There was only automatic translation which I did not wanted to use.


What I am doing at the moment is this. I created a copy of the Czech sub file. Opened it in Note++, and just rewrite the lines into English.


 
Michelle McBride
Michelle McBride  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:58
Japanese to English
Question about Subtitle Workshop positioning Aug 3, 2016

Juan Jacob wrote:

of course.
Free ones? A lot. I use Subtitle Workshop for 15 years now. Very good, for me.
Others have this, or not, and discussion goes on. [Sound wave, for example, frame change indicator, etc.]
Good luck.



Hello, I hope you don't mind my jumping in for a query!
I heard that Subtitle Workshop is quite good, but is it correct that changing the position of the subtitles to the top of screen (if needed) is not possible? For example, if there are any graphics at the bottom of the screen can we move the subtitle to the top for that scene?

Thank you for your help


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 14:58
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
What is SUBTITLING software? Aug 3, 2016

Every now and then I see people saying they want to 'get into subtitling', and their question sounds like "What software would DO IT for me?"

Apparently they are looking for some kind of Google Translate where people would upload a video, and receive it subtitled. If that's the case, YouTube has it. It's just a matter of configuring the page, and it gets done in real time.

However it uses voice recognition, whose results are utterly ludicrous. Then it uses machine tran
... See more
Every now and then I see people saying they want to 'get into subtitling', and their question sounds like "What software would DO IT for me?"

Apparently they are looking for some kind of Google Translate where people would upload a video, and receive it subtitled. If that's the case, YouTube has it. It's just a matter of configuring the page, and it gets done in real time.

However it uses voice recognition, whose results are utterly ludicrous. Then it uses machine translation, and the output serves no other purpose than roaring laughter. For no reason whatsoever, the funniest ones tend to be with institutional videos for dermatology clinics.

I divide my process in steps:
  • Translating and breaking - using Express Scribe and the Windows Notepad
  • Time-spotting - using Subtitle Workshop 6 or Subtitle Edit
  • Checking and special formatting, when needed - I usually do this simultaneously with spotting
  • Burning, if required - VirtualDub is my all-time favorite


It is possible to subtitle without burning if you play the video with VLC VideoLAN, or if you'll be uploading the subtitles to YouTube. Subs are generated in real time during playback.

I've skipped a truckload of details here. If you need information on digital video, you'll find it at VideoHelp.

However there is no "reasonable fast" way to subtitle, other than YouTube's experimental contrivance.
Subtitling requires skill, effort, and time.
Collapse


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
No problem Aug 3, 2016

Michelle McBride wrote:

Juan Jacob wrote:

of course.
Free ones? A lot. I use Subtitle Workshop for 15 years now. Very good, for me.
Others have this, or not, and discussion goes on. [Sound wave, for example, frame change indicator, etc.]
Good luck.



Hello, I hope you don't mind my jumping in for a query!
I heard that Subtitle Workshop is quite good, but is it correct that changing the position of the subtitles to the top of screen (if needed) is not possible? For example, if there are any graphics at the bottom of the screen can we move the subtitle to the top for that scene?

Thank you for your help


Hi no problem. Hi does the Workshop operate with Japanese characters? It wouldnt display Czech alphabet. I tried all the available charsets in the program.


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Sounds good! Aug 3, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

Every now and then I see people saying they want to 'get into subtitling', and their question sounds like "What software would DO IT for me?"

Apparently they are looking for some kind of Google Translate where people would upload a video, and receive it subtitled. If that's the case, YouTube has it. It's just a matter of configuring the page, and it gets done in real time.


Hi and thank you for the reply, José. I'm sorry but not at all am I looking for that. I am interested in manual-work quality subtitles. However, I'd like to speed it up as much as possible. Let's us say save 4 hours from the total. Sometimes there is a ton of unnecessary clicks when editing, so I thought there's a program that has keyboard shortcuts for example and increased ease of use, or something like that.

[Edited at 2016-08-03 11:47 GMT]


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 14:58
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Anything is possible Aug 3, 2016

Michelle McBride wrote:

Hello, I hope you don't mind my jumping in for a query!
I heard that Subtitle Workshop is quite good, but is it correct that changing the position of the subtitles to the top of screen (if needed) is not possible? For example, if there are any graphics at the bottom of the screen can we move the subtitle to the top for that scene?


Michelle,

Subtitle Workshop saves its subtitles in about 60+ file formats. The choice depends on what software you'll use to burn or show (overlaying in real time) the subtitles.

You can see the difference, say, between SSA and SRT files about 3/5 of the way down on this page.

SSA holds a bunch of parameters, including subtitle position. After you learn the ropes, you may open a SSA file using the Windows Notepad and manually edit the parameters to your wishes. If you are not that brave, you may try to find SubStation Alpha software, which allows to do the same with a more friendly user interface.

Just remember ONE thing: After you have edited SSA parameters, DON'T open the file on Subtitle Workshop!, as it will reset ALL these parameters.

SRT, as you'll see there, contains very skimpy data. The idea is that all changes in subtitle features will be handled by the software to burn them on the video, or to show them in real time. While some commands are allowed, they tend to be specific to the burning/playing software, not standard, so results may (or not) be unpredictable.

You can get the SSA specs from http://moodub.free.fr/video/ass-specs.doc


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 14:58
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
What version of SW? Aug 3, 2016

Daithi wrote:

Does the Workshop operate with Japanese characters? It wouldnt display Czech alphabet. I tried all the available charsets in the program.


SW was the #1 most popular program for years in its v2.51 from Uruguay. The same author attempted a complete rewrite, v4.0, which never worked well.

Then v6.0 came up from Bulgaria, so it supposedly handles Cyrillic chars without a hitch. I guess they wouldn't let their Slavic neighbors down. If you have trouble with Czech, write them, and I'm sure that by this time they have a solution.


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks. Aug 3, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

Daithi wrote:

Does the Workshop operate with Japanese characters? It wouldnt display Czech alphabet. I tried all the available charsets in the program.


SW was the #1 most popular program for years in its v2.51 from Uruguay. The same author attempted a complete rewrite, v4.0, which never worked well.

Then v6.0 came up from Bulgaria, so it supposedly handles Cyrillic chars without a hitch. I guess they wouldn't let their Slavic neighbors down. If you have trouble with Czech, write them, and I'm sure that by this time they have a solution.


Thanks for that. You are a mine of information.


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Camtasia Aug 3, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf


Camtasia also looks very appeasing. You can even move the caption visually with the timeline and stretch it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnC_I3-TbMk


 
Michelle McBride
Michelle McBride  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:58
Japanese to English
Thank you for your kind assistance! Aug 7, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

Michelle McBride wrote:

Hello, I hope you don't mind my jumping in for a query!
I heard that Subtitle Workshop is quite good, but is it correct that changing the position of the subtitles to the top of screen (if needed) is not possible? For example, if there are any graphics at the bottom of the screen can we move the subtitle to the top for that scene?


Michelle,

Subtitle Workshop saves its subtitles in about 60+ file formats. The choice depends on what software you'll use to burn or show (overlaying in real time) the subtitles.

You can see the difference, say, between SSA and SRT files about 3/5 of the way down on this page.

SSA holds a bunch of parameters, including subtitle position. After you learn the ropes, you may open a SSA file using the Windows Notepad and manually edit the parameters to your wishes. If you are not that brave, you may try to find SubStation Alpha software, which allows to do the same with a more friendly user interface.

Just remember ONE thing: After you have edited SSA parameters, DON'T open the file on Subtitle Workshop!, as it will reset ALL these parameters.

SRT, as you'll see there, contains very skimpy data. The idea is that all changes in subtitle features will be handled by the software to burn them on the video, or to show them in real time. While some commands are allowed, they tend to be specific to the burning/playing software, not standard, so results may (or not) be unpredictable.

You can get the SSA specs from http://moodub.free.fr/video/ass-specs.doc


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Express Scribe Aug 9, 2016

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
I
divide my process in steps:
  • Translating and breaking - using Express Scribe and the Windows Notepad
  • Time-spotting - using Subtitle Workshop 6 or Subtitle Edit
  • Checking and special formatting, when needed - I usually do this simultaneously with spotting
  • Burning, if required - VirtualDub is my all-time favorite




I just started working with Subtitle Edit and it's truly amazing program. I am a little intrigued about this Express Scribe. I watched some YouTube videos about it. But from I I could see it did not offer that much extra from Sub Edit.

Sub Edit offers waveform, video form, playback speed control, hotkeys (maybe not for everything), Subtitle sliding and stretching.

What exactly are you using Express Scribe for?

I saw that it has this door pedal function, but that's about it.


 
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