The type of subtitles you seek is called ‘forced’ subtitles.
Post a Plex XML info of the jabba movie.
Then we can see if it contains subtitles.
If there are no subs in it, then you either
- already missed to rip them in makemkv
- they did not “survive” Handbrake
If you convert your movies to MP4 format, Handbrake has no choice than to either
- burn the subtitles in (which is not what you want)
- leave them out
This is because on DVD and BR subtitles are only stored in a ‘picture’ format. (VOBSUB or PGS)
But the MP4 container does not support either of these. It can only store text-based subtitles.
But Handbrake cannot convert ‘picture’ subtitles into ‘text’ subtitles.
So there is a dilemma.
Either you switch to the MKV container (it supports a whole lot of subtitle formats)
or you make sure to rip the forced subtitles and insert a third stage into your workflow where you convert these forced subs into SRT format.
You can use Subtitle Edit for instance.
Later you put your SRT file beside the movie.
Name the file exactly like the video file, but insert .forced before the file name extension.
e.g.
Movies /
Jabba the Hutt (2018) /
Jabba the Hutt (2018) - 1080p.mp4
Jabba the Hutt (2018) - 1080p.eng.forced.srt
(side note: there is no movie titled “jabba the hutt”. Are you referring to a tv show episode? If so, tv shows follow a different naming schema in Plex. Keep that in mind to prevent frustration.)
Pro tip: Cayar’s optimization scripts can convert your raw rips into mp4 + srt files automatically, if the raw rip from MakeMKV contains the subtitles.
