Need help with subtitles

Andrew83Ga said:

I've searched the forums and frankly don't understand what Im doing wrong. I've used handbreak with subtitles added via external .srt file, encoded with the ATV3 setting, put it into my itunes and that's it. I am able to open the movie if iTunes and watch it on the ATV via airplay, but without subtitles. I wanted the movie to but in iCloud, but it's not showing up under my purchased movies on the ATV. Maybe movies don't work like music? As for the subs, should I have "Forced" the subtitles?

Thanks a lot

Click to expand...

First, there is no iCloud for "local" movies.

As far as your subs, you say you are "airplaying" them. Are you trying to stream them to your tv using external an external player (like VLC) & airplay or are you using the aTV interface?

Nevermind. Read your post a little closer and noticed that you mentioned using iTunes. But are you using Airplay or going through the aTV interface?

I could be wrong, as I don't use airplay at all, but I think you need to select the subtitles from the AppleTV and not from iTunes.

While the video is playing on the ATV, press and hold the center button on the remote control and after a couple of seconds a menu should be displayed allowing you to select the chapter and subtitles.

If I'm wrong then sorry, as I said I don't use airplay at all.

Andrew83Ga said:

well I opened the movie in iTunes and it plays there no problem. I noticed the airplay icon in the on-screen "play/pause, volume bar" and clicked it, and saw the AppleTV option. I clicked that, and the movie then stopped on my computer and started streaming on the ATV. I have a mid 2009 MBP and didn't think it was possible. Within iTunes, the subtitles icon is there and i can switch to the spanish subs, but they don't show up while it's streaming on the ATV

Click to expand...

I noticed in your picture, you have the little "dialog" button right next to you "airplay" button. When you click on that in iTunes, it should give you subtitles options. Check on that. If not, just go through the aTV menu system and do as Roidy says.

If the aTV menu system does not give you subtitle options, then head back here and we can try and figure out the problem. But from the way you said you did your file in HB, I think it should work.

You can airplay iTunes to the aTV because the files are already in mp4 format. And iTunes is the only thing you can airplay. So you are right about your 2009 MBP not supporting airplay in general.

Edit: see you solve the problem. So...never mind.

Andrew83Ga said:

thanks! that worked!

But Im confused...this isn't mirroring correct? Airplay is different? Just curious if this is in HD or not...seems to be good, not noticeably grainy.

Now if I could only make the subs a little larger, but I can't complain...very nice that it works as well as it does. No lag, or graininess.

Click to expand...

Glad it worked for you.

Now as for Airplay vs Mirroring, as I understand it, and again I could be wrong Airplay basically sends the raw video file to the ATV to be played, so the file has to be in a format that the ATV can already play. Where as mirroring takes whatever is displayed on the screen, encodes it as a video stream and then sends it to the ATV, so with mirroring you're not just limited to displaying video files, you can mirror things like applications.

If the file you're airplaying to the ATV is HD then what you get on the ATV will also be HD.

As for the subtitle size, I think Subler will allow you to change the subtitle size. Open the video file with Subler, double click on the subtitle track, and I'm sure there is some sort of option to scale the subtitles up, then re-save the file.