subtitles in vob, but not detected by mkvmerge [Solved]

Message

Nicias · Post by **Nicias** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 4:12 pm

I've been using the following command to rip my dvd's to vobs and them turn those vobs into mkvs:

/usr/bin/mplayer dvd://${title} -dumpfile ${TMPDIR}/${DISC}-${title}.vob -dumpstream  && 
                /usr/bin/mkvmerge -o ${DESTDIR}/${DISC}-${title}.mkv =${TMPDIR}/${DISC}-${title}.vob

However, it throws away the subtitles. The subtitles are present in the vob, as ffprobe reports:

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 ffprobe raw.vob 
ffprobe version 0.10.7 Copyright (c) 2007-2013 the FFmpeg developers
  built on May 10 2013 18:55:46 with gcc 4.6.3
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --libdir=/usr/lib64 --shlibdir=/usr/lib64 --mandir=/usr/share/man --enable-shared --cc=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-gcc --cxx=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-g++ --ar=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-ar --optflags='-O2 -pipe -march=native -fomit-frame-pointer' --extra-cflags='-O2 -pipe -march=native -fomit-frame-pointer' --extra-cxxflags='-O2 -pipe -march=native -fomit-frame-pointer' --disable-static --enable-gpl --enable-postproc --enable-avfilter --disable-stripping --disable-debug --disable-doc --disable-network --disable-vaapi --disable-vdpau --disable-ffplay --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-libxvid --enable-libfaac --enable-nonfree --disable-indev=v4l --disable-indev=v4l2 --disable-indev=alsa --disable-indev=oss --disable-indev=jack --disable-outdev=alsa --disable-outdev=oss --disable-outdev=sdl --disable-amd3dnow --disable-amd3dnowext --disable-altivec --disable-avx --disable-vis --disable-neon --enable-pic --cpu=host --enable-hardcoded-tables
  libavutil      51. 35.100 / 51. 35.100
  libavcodec     53. 61.100 / 53. 61.100
  libavformat    53. 32.100 / 53. 32.100
  libavdevice    53.  4.100 / 53.  4.100
  libavfilter     2. 61.100 /  2. 61.100
  libswscale      2.  1.100 /  2.  1.100
  libswresample   0.  6.100 /  0.  6.100
  libpostproc    52.  0.100 / 52.  0.100
[mpeg @ 0x103436a7b0] max_analyze_duration 5000000 reached at 5005000
Input #0, mpeg, from 'raw.vob':
  Duration: 00:48:53.99, start: 0.280633, bitrate: 6778 kb/s
    Stream #0:0[0x1e0]: Video: mpeg2video (Main), yuv420p, 720x480 [SAR 32:27 DAR 16:9], 9800 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 90k tbn, 59.94 tbc
    Stream #0:1[0x80]: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), s16, 448 kb/s
    Stream #0:2[0x20]: Subtitle: dvd_subtitle

but mkvmerge doesn't see them:

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mkvmerge -i raw.vob 
File 'raw.vob': container: MPEG program stream
Track ID 0: video (MPEG-2)
Track ID 1: audio (AC3)

I've tried commands like

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$  mkvmerge -s 2 -o new.mkv =raw.vob 
mkvmerge v6.2.0 ('Promised Land') built on Jun 25 2013 11:16:08
'raw.vob': Using the demultiplexer for the format 'MPEG program stream'.
'raw.vob' track 0: Using the output module for the format 'MPEG-1/2'.
'raw.vob' track 1: Using the output module for the format 'AC3'.
Warning: 'raw.vob': A track with the ID 2 was requested but not found in the file. The corresponding option will be ignored.
The file 'new.mkv' has been opened for writing.

but mkvmerge doesn't want to see the subtitles. I've also tried with -s 0 and -s 1. I don't want to have to start tearing the file apart to get the subtitles. Is there something else I am missing?

eyoung100 · Post by **eyoung100** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:38 pm

See:
How to add subtitles to .mkv files using mkvmerge GUI

Nicias · Post by **Nicias** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:35 am

Thanks for the suggestion, but it a) I wanted something that would work in a shell script and b) the subtitles on a DVD are not srt's the are vobsubs. srts are text, vobsubs are graphics. I managed to get it to work, but it did require pulling the subtitles out of the vob and then pushing them back into the mkv. Seems clunky, but that is apparently the way it works.

HolgerB · Post by **HolgerB** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:51 pm

Niclas,

you should add solved to your first posting.

but it did require pulling the subtitles out of the vob and then pushing them back into the mkv. Seems clunky, but that is apparently the way it works.

I am not shure what it clunky about extracting the subtitles from the output vob you created.
MKVMerge is expecting native vobsub files (idx / sub) and not something inside a vob container

Nicias · Post by **Nicias** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 2:25 pm

HolgerB wrote:Niclas,

you should add solved to your first posting.

done.

I am not shure what it clunky about extracting the subtitles from the output vob you created.
MKVMerge is expecting native vobsub files (idx / sub) and not something inside a vob container

It seems to me that if I can put the vobsubs in to the mkv, (with for example

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$mkvmerge -o out.mkv in.vob --default-track 0:0 in.idx in.sub

where I got in.idx and in.sub from the vob, that it should just be able to copy those tracks from the original vob.

HolgerB · Post by **HolgerB** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 1:42 pm

Yeah, true...but this not exactly how mkvmerge works

Its more likes either raw streams (vobsub files, DTS, AC3, h264) and source MKV in order to output to target MKV.

Once you have arranged with this approach the workflow is pretty nicely, e.g. MakeMKV for BD Shrinking plus ffmpeg plus mkvmerge.

mkvmerge is MKV centric since it come with the MKVTool Box. I think a straight VobSub from VOB to MKV would something you could rather see from ffmpeg.