Take/Pass the Ball, then "???"...subtitles and EU video format issues
April 8, 2019 8:09 AM Subscribe
I purchased this video as a gift for my dad who's a big Barca fan. Since it was from a UK vendor and it said the narration was in English (it is), I figured there'd be a robust and easy to find subtitle function for any of the Spanish, et al that was featured. Maybe not.
(1) He wasn't able to get the DVD to play in an american player, though he could get it to work on his computer.
(2) The video has narration in English, but a large amount of the content is not in English and he hasn't found anything in the play menu or in the files he can access that help with translation.
- So is this ability there? Is anyone familiar with this particular documentary and got it to work?
- I'm sure there may be differences in EU vs American formats, but shouldn't it play on his DVD player?
- Are there codecs or other drivers he should look for to pull this off instead on his PC?
Thanks!
(1) He wasn't able to get the DVD to play in an american player, though he could get it to work on his computer.
(2) The video has narration in English, but a large amount of the content is not in English and he hasn't found anything in the play menu or in the files he can access that help with translation.
- So is this ability there? Is anyone familiar with this particular documentary and got it to work?
- I'm sure there may be differences in EU vs American formats, but shouldn't it play on his DVD player?
- Are there codecs or other drivers he should look for to pull this off instead on his PC?
Thanks!
Best answer: How computer-savvy is your dad?
If the answer is somewhere from "Reasonably..." upover, he could try the following:
- Download and install the (free) software program Handbrake
- Using Handbrake, create a digital copy of the video/documentary by following a tutorial such as this one. The important part is to view the Subtitle tab and select "Add all tracks" (see section 2 of the tutorial). This will, unsurprisingly, add all the available tracks on the DVD to the digital file.
- IF the DVD doesn't contain the desired subtitle track, you can download it from Subscene. Open the zip file and place the .srt file in the same folder as the movie file you created in the previous step.
- (Optional) Playing back the file is probably easiest using Videolan Player, aka VLC. VLC allows you to add a subtitle file to video playback (right-click your mouse in the window showing the video, select the Subtitle option, add subtitle, point at the .srt file.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 10:21 AM on April 8, 2019
If the answer is somewhere from "Reasonably..." upover, he could try the following:
- Download and install the (free) software program Handbrake
- Using Handbrake, create a digital copy of the video/documentary by following a tutorial such as this one. The important part is to view the Subtitle tab and select "Add all tracks" (see section 2 of the tutorial). This will, unsurprisingly, add all the available tracks on the DVD to the digital file.
- IF the DVD doesn't contain the desired subtitle track, you can download it from Subscene. Open the zip file and place the .srt file in the same folder as the movie file you created in the previous step.
- (Optional) Playing back the file is probably easiest using Videolan Player, aka VLC. VLC allows you to add a subtitle file to video playback (right-click your mouse in the window showing the video, select the Subtitle option, add subtitle, point at the .srt file.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 10:21 AM on April 8, 2019
Addendum to my earlier answer: I kept this a little short and sweet, skipping over some steps that may need further explanation (partly because I'm at work and not my home machine where I have this software). If you need more details on any step, let me know here or by memail.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 2:49 PM on April 8, 2019
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 2:49 PM on April 8, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
DVD players have a programmed region code setting that is difficult to switch unless you know the access code for that make/model to change it. The players can be sold worldwide and programmed to the local region code setting. Region 1 for US/Canada, Region 2 for Europe/Japan, etc. Computers can easily change region codes however some will lock after a certain number of times and won't change after that.
posted by acidnova at 8:16 AM on April 8, 2019