Embedded subtitles in mp4 file are not shown

WD Legacy Products My Book Live
1

Hello,

I have seen many topics on the DLNA server not being able to decode external subtitles (.SRT) files so I have used Subler to embed into the mp4 video the subtitles, and force they to be shown.

I have tested with VLC and Quicktime on a mac and indeed they are automatically shown.

How is possible that the DLNA server is not able to interpret that embedded track?

Regards and Happy New Year

2

The server doesn’t. It doesn’t need to. The client does.

3

Thanks for your answer.

Assuming is correct, why the set top box I’m using as client recongnize that there is a subtitle track embedded but even I select it these is not shown?

4

Please post the full TEXT output of MEDIAINFO for such a file.

http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net

Also, what client / set top box are you using?

5

Hi,

This is the mediainfo file:

General
Complete name                            : 13.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media
Codec ID                                 : isom
File size                                : 253 MiB
Duration                                 : 43mn 41s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 809 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-01-31 03:59:32
Tagged date                              : UTC 2015-01-01 11:46:15

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 5 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 43mn 41s
Bit rate                                 : 679 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 11.0 Mbps
Width                                    : 720 pixels
Height                                   : 404 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.097
Stream size                              : 212 MiB (84%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 129 r2245 bc13772
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=18 / lookahead_threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-01-31 03:59:32
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-01-31 03:59:40
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709
Color range                              : Limited

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : LC
Codec ID                                 : 40
Duration                                 : 43mn 41s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 122 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 146 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 38.1 MiB (15%)
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-01-31 03:59:38
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-01-31 03:59:40

Text
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : Timed Text
Muxing mode                              : sbtl
Codec ID                                 : tx3g
Duration                                 : 43mn 40s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 85 bps
Stream size                              : 27.2 KiB (0%)
Language                                 : Italian
Encoded date                             : UTC 2015-01-01 11:46:15
Tagged date                              : UTC 2015-01-01 11:46:15

and this is the set top box information that I have found:

http://www.netgem.com/datas/media/1343118497_ProductSheet%20N7700%20v4.pdf

Thanks

6

Your media player supports these subtitle formats:

Subtitles: srt, sub, ssa, **bleep**, smi, xml

Your file has tx3g subtitles.

But, according to that spec sheet, your media player doesn’t even support MP4 files but does support MOV (which is very similar) – so who knows.

7

The subtitle supported are related to external file not to the embedded. Indeed if MyBook would be able before streaming the video to combine the two (video + subtitle) this post wouldn’t exixts.

The tx3g format is the one used in MPEG-4 to forced embedded subtitles in the container.

Finally my decoder is able to decode MPEG-4.10/H264 which includes the one part of the MP4 containers.

Bottom line MyBookLive that extract from the file the video and audio part seems not able to do the same for the subtitle part.

8

dingone wrote:

The subtitle supported are related to external file not to the embedded. Indeed if MyBook would be able before streaming the video to combine the two (video + subtitle) this post wouldn’t exixts.

Bottom line MyBookLive that extract from the file the video and audio part seems not able to do the same for the subtitle part.

No standard DLNA server does that.   Only transcoding servers can do that, and very few NASes support transcoding DLNA, and most that do still don’t merge or split files “on the fly.”

All standard DLNA servers do are SERVE FILES – they don’t split / combine / extract or do anything else to the file contents… they all serve the file As-Is.

In order for external subtitles to work via DLNA, several things have to happen.

When the client browses or requests the video, the server checks the videos and the library to see if there are external subtitle files available.   If there are, the server tells the client through an extended DLNA attribute that there’s a subtitle file available if the client wants it.   It does the same thing for cover-art, etc.

Then the Client requests BOTH the video AND the subtitle stream as separate files and streams them both simultaneously.

Not only that, but the exchange of information has to occur in way that BOTH the Client AND the Server understand each other.

Now whether YOUR version of Twonky hands back the “RES” (Resource) records for the subtitle stream or not, I don’t know.  

Supposedly that came with Twonky 6.0.39 and later.

Also, whether or not your DLNA Client will interpret the RES record and request the subtitle stream, I don’t know that either.

That’s one of the worst things of DLNA is that the standard is so vague, it’s subject to interpretation by all sides, and the “certification tests” done by dlna.org website are very basic.

There’s several posts in this forum about how to load newer versions of Twonky to see if it works for you.

9

Thanks for the complete explanation.

I will check how is possible to install another version of Twonky but I saw version 7 comes with a fee and not being sure will work I don’t know if to go for it.

EDIT: I have any Twonky installed but the DLNA Media Server