Subtitles in wtv files (1 Viewer)

[Astrolabe]

I have recently installed MP1 on a windows 10 PC and have had a steep learning curve after many years of using WMC.

The greatest difficulty has been subtitles; my wife and I are a little deaf and have difficulty with audio, especially when there is background music or other sounds. We record Australian TV which has teletext subtitles, after some trial and error I found that FFDSHOW worked for both live TV and videos.

I have just about everything that I need working to enable us to ditch WMC and upgrade our other PC’s except for one thing that I am hoping for some advice on. We have a large reserve of unwatched WMC recordings, wtv and dvr-ms, I have spent many hours trying different codec settings to allow subtitles to be seen whilst playing them through MP1 Videos, but with little success, except for one instance. On one occasion, I enabled automatic codec selection, tried a couple of wtv files and they worked fine, perfect subtitles, I closed MP and reopened it and that was the last we saw of the subtitles; MP showed us it was able to do it then refused to repeat the performance. Unfortunately, the MP codec selection window gives no information on what codec is being used for wtv files so I am flying blind, just changing combinations of codec settings and checking the effect by opening a file in MP. I would really appreciate it if someone that has made it work could share the knowledge.

Yes, I tried the path of file conversion, it seems that wtv files store teletext subtitles differently and none of the conversion utilities, that I tried, can handle them.

 

[mm1352000]

Hello

I'm not going to be able to give you step by step instructions to get subtitles working. However there are a few things which I can clarify for you, and I'm hoping that will help you take steps towards achieving your goal.

This is the main sentence that I'd like to address:

Unfortunately, the MP codec selection window gives no information on what codec is being used for wtv files so I am flying blind, just changing combinations of codec settings and checking the effect by opening a file in MP.

All videos except .TS files, DVDs (including DVD rips - eg. .ISO, .IFO/.VOB), and Blu-Rays (including BD rips - eg. BDMV) are played using the video codec settings as shown here:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...guration/9_Codecs_and_Renderer/0_Video_Codecs

To be clear: that means WTV files are played with those settings.

If you enable the "automatic decoder selection" option then codec selection is handled by the Windows DirectShow framework, which will select capable codecs using a priority system ("merits"). There are various ways to see which codecs DirectShow selects. Probably the easiest way is to press SHIFT+1 (ie. exclamation mark - !) while viewing the video in MediaPortal. This will show various technical information including the used codecs.

Having said all that, I suspect the codec settings are unlikely to be the problem. I say that because codec settings primarily relate to decoding of the video and audio. There are separate settings for subtitles, as shown here:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...iaPortal_Configuration/2_Videos#Subtitles_tab

I'm not sure which (if any) option(s) there would enable you to view subtitles from a WTV file. However, trying each option seems like a sensible thing to do.

The other sensible thing that you really should do if you want the fastest and most accurate assistance would be to post log files. This would enable us to see your current settings, whether MP is recognising that subtitles are present, etc.
I'd recommend using the provided Watchdog tool with option 2 (or option 1). Open MP, play a WTV file which you're absolutely certain has subtitles available for 60 seconds or so, repeat for a second WTV file from a different channel, then close MP. The Watchdog will collect the log files into a convenient zip file which you can attach ("upload a file") here:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/16_Support/3_Forums/2_Log_Files

Regards,
mm

 

[Edalex]

There are various ways to see which codecs DirectShow selects. Probably the easiest way is to press SHIFT+1 (ie. exclamation mark - !) while viewing the video in MediaPortal. This will show various technical information including the used codecs.

Another options are Graphedit and Graphstudio tools which shows what codecs are using now when tool is connected to remote mediaportal graph.

 

[Astrolabe]

Thanks for your help, I hope that these help.

 

[mm1352000]

There is no attachment...

 

[Astrolabe]

I uploaded the Log file yesterday; it was showing on the forum page for a while, the uploaded log file seemed to be gone next time I logged in; am I doing something wrong or was it just removed after viewing?

The Shift + 1 trick lets me see more of what is happening.

I am struggling to understand your assertion “All videos except .TS files, DVDs (including DVD rips - eg. .ISO, .IFO/.VOB), and Blu-Rays (including BD rips - eg. BDMV) are played using the video codec settings as shown here:
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...guration/9_Codecs_and_Renderer/0_Video_Codecs”

The uploaded file of screen prints shows that only FFDSHOW codec is selected; MP1 uses FFDSHOW video for AVI files (subtitles work) but uses LAV for wtv files (subtitles don’t work). How do I force MP to use FFDSHOW video for wtv files?

Another less critical question is that it seems that FFDSHOW settings allow the subtitle position to be changed but wont effect the font size and colour displayed in MP1 TV or video. Subtitles in WMC are white text on a black strip, much easier to read than white against a variable background.[DOUBLEPOST=1446606586][/DOUBLEPOST]another try with the log file.

 

[mm1352000]

I uploaded the Log file yesterday; it was showing on the forum page for a while, the uploaded log file seemed to be gone next time I logged in; am I doing something wrong or was it just removed after viewing?

I haven't seen it at any time, and I certainly haven't removed it. The only thing I can suggest is to make sure you wait for the upload to fully complete and process before clicking "post reply". If you post before the upload completes, the file is not attached.

The uploaded file of screen prints shows that only FFDSHOW codec is selected; MP1 uses FFDSHOW video for AVI files (subtitles work) but uses LAV for wtv files (subtitles don’t work). How do I force MP to use FFDSHOW video for wtv files?

The short answer is: you can't.

Without log files I can't be absolutely certain of what is happening. However based on past experience/reports I'd be more than 50% confident that MP tries and fails to use FFDSHOW, then falls back to LAV. That can happen when the configured codec doesn't support the content format or is somehow incompatible with the used splitter/source filter. Hopefully you can understand and accept that MP can't force incompatible third party components to work together.

Another less critical question is that it seems that FFDSHOW settings allow the subtitle position to be changed but wont effect the font size and colour displayed in MP1 TV or video. Subtitles in WMC are white text on a black strip, much easier to read than white against a variable background.

I assume your question is: how can I get subtitles to show with white text on a black strip?
In general I suspect the answer depends on the subtitle engine that is used.
Have you tried the "opaque box" option shown here?
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...ortal_Configuration/2_Videos#Subtitles_(cont)

P.S. I have the impression that you may think that if you can get MP to use FFDSHOW with WTV files then subtitles will work. I would like to make it clear that there's absolutely no guarantees about that.

 

[mm1352000]

Thanks. I'm looking at the log files now. Please note my previous response...

 

[mm1352000]

With regard to your previous question about forcing MP to use FFDSHOW...
It looks like I was right:
[2015-11-04 13:38:56,939] [Log ] [MPMain ] [INFO ] - g_Player.Play(F:\Movies\Elementary_ONE_2015_02_14_20_31_02.wtv Video)
...
[2015-11-04 13:38:57,565] [Log ] [MPMain ] [INFO ] - Added filter: ffdshow Video Decoder to graph

So, MP is trying and failing to use FFDSHOW. I'm not able to say why.
You could try to use a different splitter or examine the FFDSHOW format configuration.

 

[Edalex]

From what I know about video playing it's the splitter job to find subtitle stream in file and send it to subtitle decoder
Video decoder shouldn't affect on subtitles. Also as I remember we have several subtitles engines supported in MP and MPC subtitle engine is the most powerful. I'd recommend to set it in configuration.
And I'd suggest to invite video, ffdshow, subtitles guru @Sebastiii here