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jimmysteel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2013
9
6
London, England
Hi everyone…
OK - wondered if anyone could help. Got an MKV (it's a French film - from a DVD rip)… I used to have the DVD but now can't find it.
I want to make a DVD / burn a DVD from the MKV file for my sister: she's only got an iPad, and has no laptop. I want to give her a DVD copy of the film so she can watch it on her TV.
I've got Ripit, which only goes the other way (it makes a file from the DVD), and Handbrake.
I also got miDVD, which I noticed was recommended by somebody here.
It created a nice, sharp DVD from the MKV file easily, but the subtitles are nowhere to be found on the finished DVD!
I played the newly burned DVD through my TV - there's a "subtitles" button on the DVD remote, but it didn't work... And when I put the DVD into my external USB superdrive (I'm using a 15" Retina MacBook Pro) it played fine through the the laptop DVD player, except the subtitles were definitely nowhere to be found…
I've got no separate srt file (when I play the MKV file on my Mac the subtitles are already there).
I figured I'd convert it to an MP4 using Handbrake, and all that happened then was that it reduced the file size (and added some director's commentary that I didn't even know was on the MKV…) Seems like "double handling" if I have to use Handbrake as well anyway... In the subtitles section in Handbrake you can only click "forced" or whatever if you have first chosen "track", which gives a baffling drop-down menu.
So is there a simple free DVD making programme out there that will include the subtitles? I know they're somewhere in the MKV file, because they always come up by default when I play the film in VLC (or mPlayer)…
I simply (!) want a hard copy DVD of the file… with the subtitles.
Thanks in advance!
And please excuse the long-winded post…
 
dvd with subtitles

I had thought the latest Handbrake release (May 13)dealt with this issue.
I did notice the ability to choose subtitles and it was in the release notes.
Have you downloaded the latest?
A while ago I had the same problem - russian/english and found a PC program that ran under parallels called Freemake Video Converter.
It allowed you to choose the inbuilt subtitle to use and burnt it in very well.
 
Yeah - just downloaded Handbrake yesterday.
Thanks...
Guess my issue is the "track" drop-down menu in the subtitles section. Surely "track" relates to audio?
If only there was a button that said, "include subtitle, but keep everything else the same", or a simple DVD making tool that had a "keep / force subtitles" button.
So really I guess I wish Handbrake was designed for simpletons like me :)
 
handbrake - subtitles

Have you tried - as an experiment
1. Make copy of film
2. In copy of film open handbrake
3. On subtitles tab - select english - under track
4. check the burned in tick box.
( if you ever had the SRT file then you would select that from drop down)
 
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