I’ve posted it in the ideas forum (and it seems several others have too), but it never gets an official reply.
I have a ton of foreign Blu-ray rips with PGS/SUP subtitles, but no way to play them without ripping the subtitles out, converting them and muxing them back in, or downloading SRT subtitles from the web.
For the amount of films I’m talking about, it would be cheaper and quicker for me to sell the WD TV Live Hub and just buy a Boxee Box that does support it. Which is a shame, because I prefer the Hub’s interface and ability to customize.
PGS/SUP subtitles are supported in .m2ts files, so it can’t be a licensing issue, right?
Very frustrating.
Can you not run the Mkv thru Tsmuxer and save as either .ts or.m2ts ?
Only takes minutes and the PGS subs would be preserved, and the WDTV will see a .ts or.m2ts and all will be good.
Not tried it myself, but it should work, all u change is the container.
Does m2ts allow multiple audio tracks?
Are there any key differences between MKV or m2ts?
Any tracks you want, any amount of subtitles.
Nothing changes Video or Audio wise, as you are not demuxing, changing anything apart from what the files are contained in, give it a try, I think it will fix all your woes.
Get one of your Mkvs and stick it through Tsmuxer, all will be well, if anything its less CPU intensive on the box as well.
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/tsMuxeR
Thanks. I might test a few files and see how I go.
Does the Hub recognize forced subtitles on m2ts?
Yeah should do.
.m2ts files are what you rip off Bluray files and it plays them fine.
As I said before all these names are just containers, so if anything an .m2ts file or .ts file should play the same as you did with the Mkv file.
Give it a shot, and get back with the results, Im sure you will be fine.
Okay, my test file did work well, though it took 45 minutes to convert from MKV to M2TS. I’m looking down the barrel of 300-400 lossless Blu-ray rips though. That’s a lot of time to convert just for subtitle support.
On the other hand, Boxee Box can do it now, plus they have support for USB hubs and arrays and DTS HD-MA pass through.
I think I’m going to buy a Boxee Box and test them side-by-side and see which I prefer. I much prefer WD’s interface and design, but usability has to be the primary concern and I don’t think I can hang out much longer for the possibility of support in these areas.
Thanks for your help and recommendations though.
Ah ok, seems a long time considering you were not muxing in any other audio etc.
I have to say I am surprised that you have that many Mkv files with PGS subs, if they are lossless they might have been better kept at .m2ts levels. As you can’t put quality into a Mkv, especially if its taking you 45 minutes to change containers, they must be close to Bluray size.
What did you use them on before the Hub ?
All in hindsight I suppose, hope the Boxee works out for you, I read the forum when it first came out,seemed to be a bit of a disaster, but it may have improved now.
edit : - Heres a quick one, might not work, just try renaming a .mkv file to .ts or .m2ts and see if that works.
All of my Blu-rays were ripped directly with MakeMKV, so everything is lossless and the same size as it is on the disc. I know there are methods of compressing to still retain the same/similar quality, but I’m **bleep** retentive about that sort of thing.
Apparently the new Boxee firmware is a vast improvement. Most of the quibbles I’ve read were centred around online services. I have a Roku XDS that I’m really happy with for Netflix, Hulu Plus etc., so the WD TV Live Hub was always meant to just play Blu-ray rips.
Another option is one of the Xtreamer boxes.
Just frustrating that a few minor issues ruin what is a perfectly great media player. The lack of DTS HD-MA thing is even something I could learn to live without, because regular DTS and Dolby are pretty good anyway. But the subtitles thing becomes a real PITA when I want to watch a foreign movie.
wdtvhub wrote:
edit : - Heres a quick one, might not work, just try renaming a .mkv file to .ts or .m2ts and see if that works.
Interesting. That actually worked on my computer and played through VLC with no problems. Have to test it on the actual Hub now…
Nope. Didn’t work. Played fine as a m2ts file on the Hub, but didn’t recognize the subtitles. **bleep**. That could have been a great 2 second workaround.
Well, I got a Boxee Box, tried it out and I’m sending it back.
It handles Blu-ray subtitles just fine, and is even quite inspired in the way that it tracks down your videos online and pulls up trailers, info, artwork etc.
However, the way it catalogues your local library is terrible. It digs around into folders on your disks and pulls up content into the main library. This would be great if you only had movies in your collection, but it also means that any special features you have ripped in addition to the movie – or TV episodes tucked away in their season folders – are just dumped into one big scrolling library, making it a long and messy way to navigate.
It also allows you next to no customization.
D-Link is a smaller company than WD, with a smaller user base, yet they have PGS/SUP support for MKV AND they allow DTS HD-MA passthrough. I know WD have said that the DTS-HD MA thing is a licensing issue, but how can that be true? If a smaller company with a smaller product has no trouble with that licensing, then why WD? On the subtitles thing; WD just seem to refuse to even answer the question either way.
Now I have to manually convert or download new format subtitles until WD maybe address these issues.
Though, I’ll likely be getting an Xtreamer Prodigy when it’s released to compare.
Yeah strange isnt it, trying to find the perfect media player…is well, sort of impossible.
I went off the Boxee after reading the forums, peoples problems, and no delivery to UK.
Xtreamer same again, what gets said on their site that the box does, is not that clear when you read the forums.
I gained a lot of things with this box, that the Gen 1 never had, and with the help of these clever themers, its almost perfect for me.
I’ve just bought this instead:
http://usb.brando.com/hi-media-hd600b-full-hd-network-media-player_p02286c035d015.html
Obviously it’s not a top name like WD, Boxee etc., but it specifies that it does everything I need it to do. Interface is a little ugly, but these generic electronics can usually be hacked and themed with no problem. Built-in Wireless N, USB 3.0, Blu-Ray subtitle support, DTS-HD MA.
Also has a web browser, which is interesting and I’ll be keen to see whether it flies under the radar of Hulu when it comes to representing itself as a media player or PC.
I’m happy with my Roku XDS for internet services, so I’m done trying to find a true all-in-one for now. If this thing can play my rips without compromise, then that’s me happy.
