Forced Subtitles Detection

General Discussions
1

I posted this in another forum, but it’s obviously more appropriate here…



Are there plans to implement automatic forced subtitle detection into Plex? Currently, I have to manually enable a forced subtitle track. For example…


  • Kill Bill Vol. 1 (1080p MKV w/ English audio track)
  • English subtitle track (for non-English parts) contained within the MKV w/ forced flag set correctly



    The forced track is not displaying unless I manually enable subtitles and choose that track (ignoring the convenience of having the forced subtitle flag).



    A lot of players currently support this feature, so hopefully it’s going to find its way into Plex :slight_smile:
2

Can you create a sample file of a movie which has this subtitle feature and upload that sample to the FTP server?

3

FTP: samples.plexapp.com

login: samples

password: Plex*Samples



Also upload a description of what the file is named and what it contains and how it should work (in your view).

4

+1 for anything that helps improve subs. Recent updates have improved this area but as a world cinema fan any and all improvements in this areas helps improve the already excellent Plex experience.

5

I support any improvements to subtitles. For some reason, Plex does not allow me to view the subtitles that are embedded in my .m4v files while programs such as VLC and MplayerX have no problem with that. If I try to download an srt file, Plex recognises it, but the srt does not match the audio in my .m4v. With those files being so ubiquitous, what with the iPhone and iPad and everything, it would be really helpful if Plex allowed for embedded subtitles within files.

6

Plex used to pick my .srts automatically back in the days. Now I always have to browse for them, even though I haven’t changed their names (same as video file).

7

Lazarus and Tassi, this is not the thread for your issues. This is about “forced subtitle detection”.

8


Sample MKV and README.txt uploaded (to "Uploads" folder).

Thanks, Atrus!

-Bitwize
9

Suggestion: Please add an option under Plex preferences to auto-enable forced subtitles. If this option is turned on, then Plex just has to check if the forced flag is set to yes/true. If true, then Plex displays this subtitle track. There should never be more than 1 track with the forced flag set to true. If by chance there is (user error when creating an MKV, for example) then the first subtitle track with the forced flag set to true will be the displayed track. Seems pretty cut and dry and will prevent a good deal of frustration.



Thanks for your consideration!



-Bitwize

10

I do not agree. In my opinion: If this feature gets implemented it should follow it more to the letter. Forced is forced, and if you want it off, then disable subs or don’t set the forced flag when creating the movie. I think we should try to stay clear of more switches and settings if possible. That is one of the reasons why I do not like VLC. It is basically impossible to find anything in the preferences.

11


I think you may be misunderstanding my motive. Forced subs are an integral part of the movie authoring process. For example, an English version of a Bluray movie will have an English soundtrack. If there are non-English parts on this soundtrack, then a separate Subtitle track is created for these non-English parts. This track will have the Forced flag set to true/yes. MKVs provide the same functionality by allowing a non-English parts Subtitle track to have a Forced flag.

Currently in Plex... If I'm watching a movie for the first time that has a Forced subtitle track but am not aware of it's existence, then non-English parts in an English movie will NOT be displayed. This is highly annoying as I would have to manually enable Subs and choose the Forced Subtitle track, while also rewinding the movie. The Forced Subtitle option would be a very nice convenience for people NOT wanting to display Subtitles UNLESS they are intended to be displayed for parts not in the native language of the primary audio track.

In closing, my MKVs with Forced Subtitle tracks are set to Forced because they were set that way in the original Bluray source. They should be displayed because the original author of the Bluray disk intended for the Forced track to be displayed. Currently, Plex will not honor the Forced flag for a Subtitle track. Therein lies the problem.

Thanks, Atrus, for hearing me out on this. I'm doing my best to clearly communicate my concern and appreciate your patience!
12

Ah, then we are definitely in agreement. B)
13

I’d like to add one thing:



Since I am not a native english speaker, I mostly watch movies with english subtitles. Sometimes there are movies, like Lord of the Rings for example, that have a subtitle file for the english parts and a separate forced one for elbish parts.

So for the correct experience you would have to have both files enabled, which i believe is not possible right now.

14

No, my subtitles for those movies have english subs for elvish in the same srt file as the normal english talk. But I understand that it might be a problem if you do not have subtitles like that.
15

Lord of the Rings was mentioned here but there are many other films that would benefit by having forced subs.



I was watching “X-Men: First Class” last night. There are many parts of the film where the dialogue slips into German, French and Spanish. It really would be nice to have this feature to automatically show subs for these parts of the film. Another film where I really missed forced subs is the fantastic “District 9”. Any time the aliens talk to each other it would be nice to see the subs.



+1 vote for this feature!



Thanks

Chris

16

I'm sorry but that part I do not understand. Why don't you just download subtitles which has only those parts subtitled? The rest of the timestamps are blank. I know I have seen a lot of those. Usually they are named something like "foreign only" or similar.
17

I’ve not played much with subtitle and was not aware that I could to that. I’ll give it a go. Thanks for the suggestion.

18



I did just that for the parts of X-Men First Class the poster refers to; Plex doesn't recognize the file. Named properly (The Whistleblower is similar, non English parts, and works fine). There is an English subtitle track for the whole movie embedded in the main file, enabling subtitles turns this track on, no option for the foreign parts only track. Don't know if this is causing the issue or not, searching the forums hasn't provided an answer. Don't want subtitles for the whole movie, just the foreign speaking parts.

Have force refreshed, rebooted, etc., no change. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.
19

And there is only one subtitle track embedded in the file? Please double check that.
20

I had exactly the same problem with Whistleblower last night and can confirm that there is only 1 subtitle track in file that I have.



Does anyone knows of a player or utility that reads or displays forced subtitles? If so then I will check my files to see if there are forching markers in my copes of LOTR, Avatar, XMen:FC, District 9, etc.