There are many roads you can travel to complete a hardsub. This article describes the method I prefer, variations are possible.
What you will need:
Using Aegisub for timing and typesetting.
You can import subtitles from nearly every format, even plain txt files. The most important buttons to Aegisub are found in this screenshot:
The most important hotkeys are ctrl+3 and ctrl+4 which set start and end time of the sub. If you wish you can import a txt file in aegisub first, export as *.srt and do your timings in Subtitle Workshop if you prefer this program for rough timings.
Above is the style manager. Always create your styles in the storage first. Many times you will need to reuse styles for follow up episodes, etc.
Aegisub can sub-to-video and sub-to-audio. Some subbers prefer the ‘audio only’ modus. I wouldn’t recommend this as the only thing to time to, because sometimes you may want to adapt your sub to scene changes. From the video menu you are able to load your video file. When you’ve loaded your video file, in the audio menu you can now select ‘load audio from video’. It’s something I’d only recommend when you’re going to do Karaoke.
Exporting to SSA
Aegisub works in the format *.ass. You will need to export your work to *.ssa for it to be ready to create a hardsub. Go to the File menu -> Export Subtitles. This time, select format *ssa.
Using Virtualdub / SSA Plugin to hardsub
When your file is completely done you can proceed to create the hardsub. For this load your RAW video into virtualdub and go to the filters menu under Video. Look up the newly installed “Subtitler” filter. Select your subtitle file in *.ssa and preview. If everything is ok, set all your compression options and go to the file menu to ‘Save as Avi’. Now you have created your first hardsub.
hi! i’m a newbie in hardsubbing and I’m having a bit of problem. So, I hope you could help me. ok, here goes, I did everything that you put in the instructions and the subtitle showed up. However, the problem is that the subs didn’t have styles. They didn’t look the same as how I edited them. Can you help me in this?
uhm, I’ve found the error, so it’s ok already. anyway, sorry if I disturbed you. And thanks for the instructions, they’re very easy to understand. ^_^
lol. Good to know it’s being used. I thought I put it up there for nothing:)
this is useful.
thank you.
where i download “style manager.”?=]
It’s included in Aegisub.
i can’t seems to find the ‘subtitler’
can u help me?
Thank you so much for writing this.
I need help. D:
When i try to upload my video it says “couldn’t locate the decompressor for format “MP42″.
http://www.moviecodec.com/topics/5098p1.html
Oh crap. That reminds me to fix the layout of this website. T_T
unn hey i have a question well where can i download the SSA program? i cant find it. help please:)
@evelyn: I’m not sure what you mean. The SSA filter needs to be installed on Virtualdub…
thank you for this but…
i can’t find the subtitler filter.
help please??
oopsss…scratch that.i think i got it..sorry^^
Thanks a lot for the info..!
I really think i get it now…;)
But i have still one problem…
The Hardsubs i made are for a High-Definition movie (Full HD) wich is converted to a Matroska-file (*.mkv)…
So… i was hoping that you might have another solution so i can convert my *.mkv file in High-Definition with hardsub…
Zo.. hallo Venlo, hier midden-limburg.
Je wilt dus MKV terug converteren naar HD, ik denk dat ik weet wat je bedoelt. Probeer eens wat rond te klooien met VLAN video streaming export zoals hier beschreven voor HD video. Er zullen wel legio MKV -> ?format? tutorials en proggies zijn, daar kom je vast wel uit.
Met HD bedoel je de aspect ratio/quality van HD of ook echt *.TS? Wil je naar DVD (*.VOB)? Misschien bedoel je om het naar HQ AVI te converteren?
Eh… 1) Virtualdub will not load the subs
2) Virtualdub will freeze halfway thru the vid… Help please
Oh ya, and… I export the sub in Advance whatever thing, but Virtualdub only allows me to load a v2.x or v4.x filter. Which, for some reason, does not let me choose my sub file. so i select “all”, load it, and not only do I get screwed up symbols instead of my subs, but it’s on the frigging top! xD
I’m using windows7, now trying mediacoder as my last hope. =(
is it possible to set from HD to SD resolution while it undergoes hardsubbing? Or I should first downscale to SD and then Hardsub? Mencoder can do it in the same time, but it doesn’t support ass/ssa :/
got the right filter, however the 14gb size is enormous o_O tried compression options but without success
Yes, virtualdub can do this too.
Which encoder filter?
Hello,i am jonna,nice to meet u!~~~.These days i met a problem about how to convert mkv to DVD and i just wanna watch it on my home dvd player. I’m kinda on a clock!
At the end, i found one passage,which is A good tutorial about how to burn MKV file to DVD in Google. I am so happy now!
Hi! Thanks for this, it’s been helpful.
Except, i’m having the same problem botchan had and I don’t know how to fix it. All the formatting is gone from the subtitles after I export them. (It’s not an issue with virtualdub, just exporting into .ssa)
I’d appreciate it if you could help!
Oh, well. I was able to fix the problem using the VSFilter that came with Aegisub. Sorry about that. :]
When i attempt to load my raw video file into virtualdub, it shows me an error
‘Couldn’t locate decompressor for format ‘XVID’ (unknown)
VirtualDub requires a Video for Windows (VfW) compatible codec to decompress video. Directshow codecs, such as those used by Windows Media Player, are not suitable.
How do i fix this?
Attempted to install xvid codec?
yeah but it still doesn’t work ..
Hi, i’m actually having the same problem with botchan and chichan. i’ve created subtitles using aegisub and saved them as .ass file. loaded it in VD but it got hang halfway thru with all the timing all off. then i went back to aegisub, but there is no selection to save as .ssa file. please help me!!!!
Try SubtitleWorkshop. Can load *.ass and is able to export to multiple formats.
Heyy can you please help me, i can’t find the subtitler filter. i don’t even know what the filter menu is….please help!! TT^TT
One other thing, where you are to download the SSA Plugin to hardsub there are many links which one are we suppose to download? and when i export my subs as ssa, the only choice is .ass and .ssa not just .ssa so it still shows up as a .ass file..I need major help..
Hi~ Which SSA plugin are we suppose to download? there’s like 10 different ones. i downloaded one but when i put the filter in and then added my subs, they subs never showed up when i played the video. please help me!
Hi, my raw video is in MP4, and it won`t load into virtual dub.. How can I make this work?
Please reply!
Great article! Easy to follow. I’ve got my new hard subbed movie converting to .avi right now. Thanks a bunch!
To Shirley: You might want to convert your movie first into a “loadable” format. Try free Format Factory: www. formatoz. com
To Sarah: I was confused by that too. I think all the SSA plugins are the prior versions, plus the most recent version on top. Try the top one. And don’t forget, when saving your aegisub subtitle to actually type in “.ssa” at the end or Virtual Dub won’t be able to import the subtitle file.
Well, it all worked and now my movie has hardsubs in English. Unfortunately, the size of the movie grew from 1.02GB to 102GB after conversion. Just something to keep in mind… If anyone can shed some light as to why the file size ended up being so large I’d greatly appreciate it.
OK, I have it figured out. I had to encode the movie to reduce its size.
My saved avi file is actually smaller now (about 1Gb reduced to 700Mb). Loli moe mahjong! this might help you out too. Before you save as an avi file look under Video–>Compression and select “ffdshow Video Codec” from the list. Press OK and save your file as an avi the usual way. Most of the codecs listed are crap so if ffdshow isn’t there, download and install the fee K-Lite Codec Pack. A quick search on Google will bring it up. After installing the codec pack, ffdshow should appear as an option the next time you open the Compression option on VirtualDub. If you remember to encode your movie before saving as an avi the size of the output file is very reasonable.