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Read More While I'm putting things up in nice tidy square cardboard boxes, I've been listening to my "go to" playlist of Belle & Sebastian, God Help the Girl and Baxendale .....
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In the nineties, record companies started selling CD singles one and two, along with their already established 7" and 12" (and sometime cassingle) formats. Some fans felt cheated out of buying the same song multiple times, but for most hardcore fans, we at them all up.
I don't know when the trend started happening, but record companies had this brilliant idea to introduce a new format into their singles mix: the dreaded DVD single. I think it made sense when MTV was in power, considering that often bands would produce a promotional music video for their singles, but do fans really want to just sit and watch one music video on a disc over and over again? Even worst, some of these "videos" were nothing more than music set to a slideshow.
On retrospect, I think these DVD singles were a disaster. First of all: most of these came with region restrictions or formatted not compatible with various countries. For instance, the U.K. used PAL, while the U.S. uses the NTSC format. Fans who bought the DVD single from Europe could not watch it in North America, that's what it came down to.
Anyway, the bands I liked were all from the U.K., so most of my DVD singles won't work on my DVD player. Since there is a lot of interest in my How to create MP4 files with multiple audio and subtitle tracks, I've simply the process instruction below.
The best part: this will cost you zero dollars. I should also stress that this is strictly for your personal use.
#1: DECRYPTION
In order to start copying your DVD, you need to decrypt the disc. I think there is plenty of software out there to strip out the region coding or decryption of discs - but the one I've been using is DVDFab's Passkey Lite, which is free. This is only for DVD, if you want to do BluRay, you have to pay for the upgrade.
#2: RIPPING
Handbrake is my choice for ripping DVDs. It's by far the slowest ripper I've ever used, but what it lacks in speed, it does make up for being free. There are some presets, but personally I've been ripping at the best quality that will run on the iPad. For Bluray, I find that the iPad will run at RF:20 at 1280x720p. For DVD, select "Strict" Anamorphic which keeps the original DVD size with little image quality loss.
As for subtitles and multiple audio, you have to add them on Handbrake's settings. Softcoded subtitles seems to only work on VLC or the iOS, which means that the subtitles won't work on PS3 or Xbox. If you want to hardcode subtitles, Handbrake does offer "Burn in" - but it only works if the DVD includes its own subtitles or closed captions. Handbrake won't burn in external SRT sources and it doesn't see BluRay subtitles at all.
Below are additional/optional steps to further enjoy your music videos or movies:
#3: TAGGING
This step is unnecessary - but I still recommend it. I'm using MetaX to retrieve cover artwork and additional information (actors, release dates, synopsis,etc.)
#4: WATCHING
I personally hate the VLC icons (it's like an "under construction" cones, it's UGLY and I sense that it's "beta"). The open source software VLC player will play all everything and offers audio and subtitle switching. If you want to watch movies on the television via a computer hookup, I found the interface for XBMC to be one of the best.
#5: STORAGE
Most of my movies I store on a "NAS" (Network Attached Storage) harddrive. I have two and I love them both. Between the two, my Seagate GoFlex drive is my favorite, mostly because it's faster access and higher storage (3gb). 3GB is not enough for me (I own over 2,000 DVDs), but it should be big enough for most people.
Once you put all your videos into a network folder (especially if you ripped Belle & Sebastian's Fans Only DVD), you can sit back, relax, and enjoy some great music videos of your favorite bands.
I don't know when the trend started happening, but record companies had this brilliant idea to introduce a new format into their singles mix: the dreaded DVD single. I think it made sense when MTV was in power, considering that often bands would produce a promotional music video for their singles, but do fans really want to just sit and watch one music video on a disc over and over again? Even worst, some of these "videos" were nothing more than music set to a slideshow.
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Some of my DVD singles: Belle & Sebastian
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Anyway, the bands I liked were all from the U.K., so most of my DVD singles won't work on my DVD player. Since there is a lot of interest in my How to create MP4 files with multiple audio and subtitle tracks, I've simply the process instruction below.
The best part: this will cost you zero dollars. I should also stress that this is strictly for your personal use.
#1: DECRYPTION
In order to start copying your DVD, you need to decrypt the disc. I think there is plenty of software out there to strip out the region coding or decryption of discs - but the one I've been using is DVDFab's Passkey Lite, which is free. This is only for DVD, if you want to do BluRay, you have to pay for the upgrade.
#2: RIPPING
Handbrake is my choice for ripping DVDs. It's by far the slowest ripper I've ever used, but what it lacks in speed, it does make up for being free. There are some presets, but personally I've been ripping at the best quality that will run on the iPad. For Bluray, I find that the iPad will run at RF:20 at 1280x720p. For DVD, select "Strict" Anamorphic which keeps the original DVD size with little image quality loss.
As for subtitles and multiple audio, you have to add them on Handbrake's settings. Softcoded subtitles seems to only work on VLC or the iOS, which means that the subtitles won't work on PS3 or Xbox. If you want to hardcode subtitles, Handbrake does offer "Burn in" - but it only works if the DVD includes its own subtitles or closed captions. Handbrake won't burn in external SRT sources and it doesn't see BluRay subtitles at all.
Below are additional/optional steps to further enjoy your music videos or movies:
#3: TAGGING
This step is unnecessary - but I still recommend it. I'm using MetaX to retrieve cover artwork and additional information (actors, release dates, synopsis,etc.)
#4: WATCHING
I personally hate the VLC icons (it's like an "under construction" cones, it's UGLY and I sense that it's "beta"). The open source software VLC player will play all everything and offers audio and subtitle switching. If you want to watch movies on the television via a computer hookup, I found the interface for XBMC to be one of the best.
#5: STORAGE
Most of my movies I store on a "NAS" (Network Attached Storage) harddrive. I have two and I love them both. Between the two, my Seagate GoFlex drive is my favorite, mostly because it's faster access and higher storage (3gb). 3GB is not enough for me (I own over 2,000 DVDs), but it should be big enough for most people.
Once you put all your videos into a network folder (especially if you ripped Belle & Sebastian's Fans Only DVD), you can sit back, relax, and enjoy some great music videos of your favorite bands.
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Still from Belle & Sebastian's "I'm a Cuckoo" video |
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You can use Handbrake to add multiple SRT files, so there is no need for external SRT files with your MP4 files, etc. Although I'm not sure if your TV is able to switch SRT files or not.
ALSO: I noticed "Closed Captions" will display on Apple IOS devices.
Posted by: W♥M | 11/04/2016 at 07:09 AM
I have 2 SRT subtitles (different languages) of a MP4 movie.
How can I switch ON Samsung Smart TV between them.
I know the naming rule must be the same of the MP4 file for SRT. I succeed in displaying one subtitle in this way. But how do I name the SRT's when I want to choose which language subtitle to display on TV.
Is this possible anyway for MP4 files.
On PC VLC can switch between two or more SRT subs.
On TV I can switch between subs in an MKV-file made with Handbrake. But MKV is not compressed and takes too much space on NAS...
Posted by: Ronny L. | 10/28/2016 at 04:17 AM