Software name : Avidemux
Software version : 2.4
Software version : 2.4
If you want to extract subtitle files from a DVD you should understand a little how they work. Subtitles in DVDs are contained in VOBfiles along with the main video and audio streams. We can call them all streams here to account for the difference between a self contained file and a stream. Several streams can be included in a file.
Extract Subtitles from DVD Folder. To begin with, you need to download a DVD subtitle extractor. After searching online, we dig out some for you, including free SubRip, Jubler, D-subtitler, CCExtractor, SubtitleEdit, Avidemux, DVD SubEdit, VobSub and more. The guliverkli project withal includes the ability to extract subtitles from a DVD via the vobsub ripper program. However, development of guliverkli ceased in 2005 with version 2.37. Extract IDX+SUB Subtitles from DVD This guide shows how to easily extract subtitle streams from DVD in the native IDX+SUB subtitle format. This format, also known as VobSub, is very flexible and portable, and widely supported by devices and media players. After downloading the VobSub Ripper Wizard tool, open it directly (no installer is included). The VobSub Ripper will start extracting subtitles. Usually it takes about 2 minutes for a DVD9, if all the files are stored on your local hard disk. It can take about 10 minutes, if you extract subtitles from your original DVD. MEncoder is capable of extracting subtitles from a DVD into VOBsub formatted files. They consist of a pair of files ending in.idx and.sub and are usually packaged in a single.rar archive. MPlayer can play these with the -vobsub and -vobsubid options.
The subtitles you see on a DVD are streams of images files which appear one after the other. Each stream displays a different language. When we extract these streams of subtitles the most handy format we can save them as is actually a text file which has the timecode of when the text appears. If the subtitle file you have is in text rather than image format it makes it easier to edit it and translate it. You can easily send that file via the internet or put it on a website for others to download.
In order to create a text-basedsubtitlefile we first need to extract the images files from the DVD to two files:
- an *.idx file which has the time code of the image subtitles (this is called a VobSub file)
- and a *.sub file and contains the image information.
We can then convert those files into a single text based subtitle file. There are many different formats but Avidemux uses a very compatible one with the '.srt' extention.
note : Screenshots in the following explanation are a combination of Ubuntu (Linux) and Windows operating systems. Avidemux works well in both and the interface looks the same except for a few color differences.
Extracting to an idx / VobSub file
From the Tools menu select 'VOB' and then 'VobSub'
Then you should see the following screen asking you to Browse for three things.
- VOB file(s)
- IFO file
- VobSub file
Finding the VOB Files
When you click on the first Browse button in the above image we are asked to browse for the VOB files :
However sometimes it's not that clear where they are. The files we want are in a folder on the DVD (if you are doing this for files on a DVD) called VIDEO_TS folder.
Normally for a short film there is only one VOB file with video data in it. For longer films there is normally more than one, because there is a maximum file size for the VOB files.
Let's have a look at a complicated DVD structure. There are some small entries in the structure which are system files and files for the menu - we should ignore these. The files with the video, audio and subtitle files we need are the big ones. They start with names like VTS_02_1.VOB,VTS_02_2.VOB, VTS_02_3.VOB, VTS_02_4.VOB. If you click 'Browse' next to 'VOB Files' then you should browse to the appropriate directory ('VIDEO_TS') and you should see something like this :
For this task we need to select the first big VOB which in this case is VTS_02_1.VOB. The ones following it will be selected automatically. When you have selected the right one click on 'open' :
Locating the IFO file
If you click on the second button :
you will be asked to look for the IFO file. The IFO file has information on what language the different subtitle streams are, so we need to browse to find this file. If there is more that one IFO file in the DVD we need find the one that has the same beginning as the large VOB files. In this case it is VTS_02_0.IFO
When you have found it click on 'open' :
Select where to save the VobSub files
The third button :
will ask you to browse for a place to save the VobSub file. When you have found the right directory write the name of it in the box next to 'Name:' and make sure it ends with '.idx'. The below is an example (you can use any name, 'subs' is just my example) :
When you have done this, and if the other three boxes are complete, then press 'Save' :
Saving your files
When you have found or selected all the files. Then click 'OK' to shut the small window with the small buttons :
and you'll get a window telling you how long the process will take.
When this process is complete you will have created a new .idx file and and new .sub file. These will be saved in the directory you choose for saving the .idx file. In my case I saved them to the desktop :
Making the '.srt' File
Now we want to merge the idx file and the .sub file into a '.srt' file. Click on the top menu 'Tools' and then 'OCR (VobSub -> Srt)':
You should see a window titled 'MiniOCR'.
Click on the 'Open' button under 'VobSub'. You will then see a window called 'VobSub Settings'.
Click on 'Select .idx' and browse for and select the idx file you created in the 'Extracting to an idx / VobSub file' section.
Click on 'Open' when you have selected the idx file. You should return to the 'VobSub Settings' window :
If the DVD you are using has more than one language it should be displayed in the 'Select Language' drop down box. Select the language you want to create a subtitle file for.
When you have the right language selected click 'OK', and you should return to the 'MiniOCR' window. Now you need to select a place on your computer to save the target *.srt file to. Click on the 'Save' button in the 'Output srt' section :
You will see a window asking you to choose a folder to save the srt file in.
'
Browse until you find the right place. When you have, give the file a name by typing in a name in the box at the top
make sure the name ends in '.srt' and then click 'Save'
Now you have set your input and output files you can start the process of converting the images file in to a text file. This process is called OCR. Click 'Start OCR'.
You should see a window like this:
The OCR (Optical Character Recognition) process needs you to tell it what the characters (letters and numbers + symbols) in the subtitles are. It will display a character from the image subtitle and you have to then tell the application what the corresponding text character is. Avidemux will show you a phrase and one character for that phrase like this:
Now you must type the right character in the empty text field.
You do this because it is more accurate for you to specific exactly what the characters are than for the application to guess.
Where it says 'Current Glyph Text:' and shows an image of a character you need to enter that character using the keyboard in the box below and then click 'OK'. It does make a difference if it is a capital letter or a lower case letter. Also this process is very unforgiving at the moment. There is no undo option, so don't get it wrong!
Sometimes 2 characters well be selected. You should enter those two characters and click enter. This may seem to be taking a long time but when you have entered all the characters and numbers the program should fly through the subtitles. You should be able to process a 90 minute film in 5 -10 minutes.
When you are finished the '.srt' file you saved will have the right timecode and subtitle information in it. You can open it with a text editor and it should look something like this:
When a video is ripped from a DVD including the subtitles, it’s generated in IDX+SUB format. While most of the subtitle files are in text format, these VOB subtitles in IDX format are not text, but images that are just a repacked file from the DVD and are given the extension of .SUB file. When compared to the normal SRT files, the combo of the SUB and IDX file tells the player where to place the subtitles on the screen and also give them various format and colors like bold, italics etc. This way, the subtitles can be placed near the person who is speaking the dialog and you can get to know who’s speaking.
While the combo of SUB and IDX file can be used on modern day players like GOM, POT Player, and VLC, they might not be compatible with your phone, handheld, casting devices and your TV. They just need the good ol’ text format subtitle in .SRT format to work and we often download them from many online sources.
But then, there’s the issue that has always haunted subtitles and that’s perfect syncing. Most of the online sources that you download the .SRT subtitles from are not perfectly synced and even when you sync the beginning manually, it might go out of sync till you get to the end. In such scenarios, the best way to get the perfect subtitle is by converting. The only problem is that the IDX/SUB files are not text but images and needs a bit more effort in conversion. So let me give you a step-by-step guide to getting things done.
Converting IDX/SUB Subtitle to SRT
Step 1: Download the latest version of Subtitle Edit tool from Niesk.dk. The program is available as a portable ZIP file that can be extracted to a folder and executed or saved as an installer. I would recommend you to go with the portable version. Subtitle Edit is a powerful tool with a lot of features but in this article, I will only concentrate on converting the IDX files to SRT files. But feel free to explore the tool on your own.
Step 2: When you launch the application, this is the screen that you will see. Here, click on the Open button and load the SUB subtitle to the app. Also, make sure that the .IDX file is in the same directory and has the same file name as that of the SUB file. If that’s not the case, you will get errors while importing the subtitles.
Step 3: After the subtitle is imported, the tool will load the OCR module to convert the images to text from the subtitles. There would be many settings to configure in this page, so make sure you have a look at the screenshot and replicate the exact settings at your end. This will make the process seamless and take care of words that are not from a dictionary. Once everything is done, click on the Start OCR button.
Step 4: The tool will start the OCR process and it might take some time before it goes through the entire time codes. The OCR is almost perfect with minimum errors, but still if the tools feel that it might need review, it will highlight the particular line for you to have a check after the conversion has finished.
Step 5: After the entire process completes, you can review the subtitle (if you really have that patience) and then save it as an SRT file format. As the time codes are taken from the DVD subtitle itself, the new SRT file will be perfectly in sync and you can now enjoy the movie on your TV set.
Online IDX/SUB to SRT Converter
If you are looking for an online tool that can convert IDX/SUB file to an SRT with minimum effort, you will run out of luck. Before trying the Subtitle Edit tool myself, I looked for online tools using which the conversion can be done easily, but I failed. None of the online tools were able to convert the IDX file to an SRT file as you would hope for.
Subtitle Edit is your best bet to get things done with minimum manual work (or errors). But still, if you are able to find a better tool which can take care of the conversion online, has a bulk conversion feature and above all, is easy to operate, please let us know through the comments section or our forum.
Extract Subtitles To Srt
ALSO READ:2 Cool Tools to Find and Fix Missing Movie Subtitles In Your Movie Collection
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