YouTube captioning is the way to help hearing impaired people to understand the videos and, coupled with automatic translation, it can also help non-English people around the world to access the video content. The feature uses Google speech recognition technology to transcript any uploaded video.

The captions are mostly decent-quality (especially in cases when the speaker in a video talks slowly and clearly). Even in cases when the machine fails to fully understand what is being spoken, you will still be able to understand the content of the video.

By default, captions are disabled in an embedded video, however you may want to force the subtitles for one (or both) of the following reasons:

• You want to make your video more accessible (especially to hearing-impaired people who are unaware of the option).
• You are sharing an English video with non-English-speaking community.
• Even if anyone can enable automatic subtitles manually, few people are actually aware of the option, so showing the captions by default would help a lot.

1. Add Subtitles in an Embedded Video (by Default)

Normally, if a user turned on captions once, YouTube will remember it and play subtitles by default until the user turns them off.

What you can do is to change the default settings (show subtitles to users who don’t have the subtitles disabled or are logged out of Google / Youtube).

To enable subtitles by default, you will need to use &cc_load_policy=1 parameter as shown below:

Old-style code:

<object width=”550″ height=”343″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/kTvHIDKLFqc?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;&cc_load_policy=1“></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/kTvHIDKLFqc?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0&cc_load_policy=1” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”550″ height=”343″ allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>

Iframe (mobile-friendly) code:

<iframe width=”550″ height=”343″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/kTvHIDKLFqc?rel=0&cc_load_policy=1” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

2. Translate Subtitles in an Embedded Code

Despite the fact that this parameter is not “officially” described, YouTube has supported it for ages: “hl=” parameter in an embed code pre-selects the subtitle language. Most of these language code should work when used after the &hl= parameter: Language Codes

This means that the following code should work to play the video automatically with translated subtitles:

<object width=”550″ height=”343″>
<param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/kTvHIDKLFqc?version=3&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=ru&amp;cc_load_policy=1&amp;rel=0&amp;hd=1″>
<param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”>
<param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”>
<embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/kTvHIDKLFqc?version=3&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=ru&amp;cc_load_policy=1&amp;rel=0&amp;hd=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”550″ height=”343″ allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed>

However, due to reported  bugs, this code won’t work in many cases (maybe because of the numerous tweaks to the YouTube player). If you start experimenting with automatically translated captions, check out this particular post offering a few workarounds to the bug (one possible workaround is to use version=3 parameter in an embedded code).

Also, there is no way to translate captions in an iframe-based (newer) version of the embed player (sadly).

3. Linking to Videos with Captions

If you want to share a link to the video for viewers to see captions by default, you need to add this code at the end of the URL string:

&yt:cc=on

Here’s an example.

More tricks to know about YouTube video URLs and embed player:

• 10 Youtube URL Tricks You Should Know About
• 10 More Cool Things You Can Do With YouTube Videos
• 4 Ways To Easily Embed Part Of A YouTube Video

What are your experience with YouTube subtitles? Have you ever found them useful? Please share your thoughts!

If you are still looking for a good video converter, you might want to try TEncoder. This is an open source multi-threaded video encoders that would also help you hard code subtitles into the converted movies.

Multi-What?

Similar to other video converters like Handbrake and FormatFactory, TEncoder can help users convert videos from one format to another. Currently, TEncoder supports 9 major video formats, such as: Xvid, FLV, H264, WMV, MP4, MPEG 2. It uses FFMpeg and Mencoder codecs in the conversion so it won’t conflict with most formats.

So, what makes TEncoder different from other more established names in the video converter world? It’s the support to multi-thread technology. It means that TEncoder will allow users to do multiple conversions at one time, making use of modern computer’s multi processor power. Users can run up to 8 separate encoders at once.

This feature will make the whole converting process faster than the traditional way where the movies are queued and converted one by one. However, the speed will depend on the computer power and the quality of the video result that you choose. This ability will also be useless if the computer itself is not equipped with proper hardware, or if you only want to convert one video file.

Let’s Convert

If you want to try to convert multiple videos using TEncoder, prepare the files and open TEncoder. Here’s what the main window looks like: the function buttons above, a big file list pane at the center, and the conversion options below.

Start by adding the video file(s) to the list. You can do it one file at a time using “Add File” button.

Or you could put all the files into one folder and add them in a bulk using “Add Folder” button. If every file is located inside its own folder, use “Add Folder Tree” instead. I personally don’t see the need to use three different buttons if you can use just one, but apparently the developer think that three buttons are essential.

In my experiment, I added three different video files to convert.

Then go to the “Options” below the file list. From the Video Options, you can choose the file format, bitrate, size, FPS, and Aspect Ratio. While from the Audio Options, you can choose the Codec, Bitrate, Sample Rate, and Channels. Please consult your device’s documentation to find the settings that you need.

From the “Other Options“, you can set how many parallel processes that you want TEncoder to execute. You can also choose what Encoder that you want to use. To hardcode subtitle into the converted video, check the “Enable subtitles” box and put the subtitle file in the same folder as the video file. Please remember to give both the video file and the subtitle file the same name (without changing the file extensions, for example: movie_title.mp4 and movie_title.srt).

Checking the “Do two passes” box will give you better quality videos without bloating the size. However, the process will take about twice as much time.

The conversion process will start after clicking the “Encode” button. You’ll see the whole and individual progress in the Encoding window, along with the time indicator.

In general, TEncoder is a great tool for those who do a lot of video conversions and have a multi-thread-able machine.

Have you tried TEncoder? What do you think about it? Do you have your own favorite video encoder? Share using the comment below.

Image Credit: ToastyKen

For those who are hard of hearing or obsessed with world cinema, subtitles are a necessity. Step in OpenSubtitles.org, a vast database of subtitles that we’ve happened to mention previously.

The key is in the name, but OpenSubtitles.org aims to be as open as possible. This has allowed for a few features that give the website the edge over the competition.

Finding Subtitles

The home page is packed with info and small text, but if you’re simply after a quick download then you’ll be done in no time.

Finding the subtitles you’re after is a fairly straightforward process. On the main page, enter your search query and hit Search. You’ll immediately be taken to a list of possible films that match your query.

Once you’ve found the film you’re after you’ll be taken to the subtitles results for that film. The language of the subtitles you are downloading is indicated via the flag in the second column of the results.

Simply click on a result to learn more information, add a rating or comment or click Download (ZIP) to download your subtitles. Extract the archive (put the subtitles file in the same directory as the movie, for ease) and you’re good to go.

You can then use your favourite media player to choose the file you just downloaded as a subtitle track and finally enjoy your movie.

Openness

In line with the openness mantra that OpenSubtitles.org follows, there are a few other ways of getting hold of your subtitles. There happens to be an API for the website, which a number of applications take advantage of.

The list of supported media players is a fairly long one. It’s also refreshing to see some big-name projects on the list.

One such supported player is SMPlayer, a popular Linux media player which also works on Windows. Within SMPlayer is the ability to directly search OpenSubtitles.org using the file you are playing.

Simply click Subtitles then Find Subtitles on OpenSubtitles.org. Your results will be showed almost immediately, and can be directly downloaded with a click.

Another media solution that makes use of OpenSubtitles.org is Boxee, the media centre application which transforms your TV into an internet-ready entertainment centre. Simply click the closed caption (“CC” in a speech bubble) button and Boxee will automatically connect and display results.

There are currently more than 220 registered user agents making use of the API, so there’s a good chance you’ve already got software that supports OpenSubtitles.

There’s also the website’s own project, the OpenSubtitles MKV Player which only works on Windows. Much like the other programs, it is a player that connects and downloads subtitles for you (though there are better media solutions out there).

Uploads & Requests

If you’re a particularly patient individual with a love of helping out your fellow man then you might be tempted to upload subtitles. You don’t necessarily have had to slave away on each and every line, you just might find a version in your collection that the website doesn’t have.

Simply click the Upload link to be taken to the subtitles upload page. You will need to input a fair bit of information related to the film that you’ve subtitled, including the IMDB ID and how many frames per second (FPS) your version adheres to.

If you can’t find the subtitles you’re after then you can lodge a request, but you’ll need to register on the site before you can do so. You can also see what everyone else is after, and whether you can help out.

If all that’s not enough, then there’s also some add-ons for your browser. For iGoogle users, you can add an OpenSubtitles gadget, there’s also a Firefox subtitle matcher add-on and an Opera widget if you’re that way inclined.

Conclusion

There’s loads of subtitle search engines and databases online, but none quite offer the plug-and-play ease of OpenSubtitles.org. The use of an API to deliver the content directly within media players is second to none.

Whether you’re physically searching yourself or have a media player that uses the API, you probably won’t find a faster way to download subtitles online.

Do you have any favourite subtitle spots? Do you use Boxee or SMPlayer and rely on the ability to directly download subtitles? Share the love in the comments.

We’ve covered applications to convert video and audio files in Linux before, but none can hold a candle to the simplicity of Arista Transcoder. Select your file, select what you’re converting to and you’re ready to go. Best of all: you can queue a number of files and then walk away, knowing the conversion will be handled for you.

Really Simple Interface

Fire up Arista and you’ll hardly believe you’re looking at a Linux video conversion tool:

That really is all there is to it. Select your source file or disc, select the device you want to play your video on and, if you want, pick a preset. When you’re done simply click “Add To Queue” and Arista will get to work converting the file.

No, really: that’s it. Video conversion doesn’t get easier than this.

Optional items include subtitles, of course: you can pick a file with subtitles to embed, and you can even select whatever font you like. This is useful should you want to watch a French film on your iPod. Finding subtitle files online is easy.

Many Supported Devices

Wondering if Arista can convert videos to playback on your device of choice? Well, by default, exporting to the following devices is supported:

That’s hardly the end of it, though; there are lots more devices you can download from Arista Transcoder’s presets page, so be sure to check that out.

Just download the file, then open Arista. Click “File” followed by “Install device preset” and point the program toward your new file. Voila! You now have support for an additional device; find it in the drop-down menu.

Still not enough? You are picky, aren’t you?

Don’t worry; you can create your own preset on Arista’s website. This, of course, will require a bit of knowledge on your part but it’s always nice to have the option. Be sure to share any working presets you create with the community!

Install Arista Transcoder

Getting Arista working on your computer is pretty easy. Just click here to install Arista on Ubuntu, or find the source code on Arista’s download page. Users of other distributions not wanting to compile from source should check their distro’s package manager.

Conclusion

Linux users in general, and Ubuntu users especially, have long argued that their operating system of choice is easy to use. Software like Arista Transcoder helps prove this.

This program stays out of your way and lets you quickly accomplish a simple task: converting video. This is done without hindering the end user’s ability to customize the program, should they choose to do so. Simply put: I love software like this.

What do you think? Is this a program you could see yourself using in the near future? Please share in the comments below!

It is one of many video editors for Linux, some of which are meant for more professional video production (Cinelerra and Lightworks). Although Avidemux isn’t a powerhouse video-editing software, it actually has a lot of the features that I thought made VirtualDub shine for the price of $0.

One of these features I previously discussed is the ability to embed subtitles permanently in videos. A limitation that you’re presented with if you use VirtualDub a lot (despite all it can do) is that this Windows-only program only accepts a small set of video file types, mainly AVI, MPG, and MPEG. Nowadays, if you own any sort of portable device, be it an Android smartphone, an MP3 player (iPod Touch) or some gaming device like the PSP, you will certainly need your videos to be in MP4 format. Avidemux not only supports MP4 but it also is capable of embedding subtitles so perhaps you can save yourself loads of video-converting steps (though you might still benefit from using dedicated converters for iPhone, PSP, etc.)

You will need to have the Xvid codec installed (recommended also if you’re interested in publishing videos on Youtube), which is pretty standard for video encoding applications.

1. Once you have loaded Avidemux up, press Ctrl + O to open your video (alternatively, go to File in the menu bar > Open) and select any AVI, MP4, or FLV video.

2. If you want to trim part of the imported video, use the sliders to set start and end points. Otherwise, go ahead and select the Xvid codec/mode in the Video drop-down menu. This enables you to use filters, which you can’t do in the default Copy Video mode.

You’ll get the Video Filter Manager window where you can select preset filters for common tasks, such as cropping, resizing, etc. Head to the Subtitles category, where you can choose to embed subtitles in SubRip text format (.srt), MicroDVD subtitle file format (.sub), or the more customizable SubStation Alpha file format (.ssa, .ass), which you saw on How To Create Your Own Subtitles. You can get the subtitles in the latter format using Subtitle Workshop, and Aegisub, which are among the best tools to edit subtitle files.

3. Double-click on the appropriate subtitle filter. Now select your subtitle file.

If you’re using the SSA subtitle filter like I am, there is really no need to adjust the line spacing, font scale, etc. since you probably specified those settings when you were creating your subtitles with, Aegisub for example, so the default values will do fine. If you downloaded the subtitles from the net, you can, of course, adjust these values.

Close out of the Video Filter Manager.

Even though there’s a Preview button, strangely enough, you won’t be able to preview the video with the subtitles. If, however, you use any other filter, such as resize, Preview will work fine.

4. Choose Copy under Audio mode, although you can also use the LAME codec for MP3, which you can learn more about in Audio File Formats Explained in Simple Terms.

Then select the video container/format (either FLV, MP4, AVI) you want to save the video.

5. Save the video.

The time taken to encode the video will depend on the length of the original video.

That’s it! One of the strongest points about Avidemux is definitely the ability to import FLV and MP4, something VirtualDub can’t currently do. One area where VirtualDub does shine though, is filters or plugins. There seems to be way more filters available on the web which can’t be ported to Avidemux. If there is one thing I wish Avidemux wouldn’t do is crash whenever I try to save the video in FLV. Otherwise, it works perfectly.

What do you use to embed subtitles permanently or do you prefer soft-subbed videos?

Photo credit: MazenI77

Sadly, these subtitle releases (have to) differ as much as their video release counterparts. If the encoder decides to cut off an obnoxiously long theme song, the subtitles need to reflect that.

If you’re lucky, they will. If either your native language or the film you’re trying to view is a tad less popular, your chances for success drop drastically. Time to improvise with the tools at hand.

Below are some of the best and most complete subtitle toolsets, one for every platform.

Windows – Subtitle Workshop

In all my years, I have yet to come across a subtitle application that trumps Subtitle Workshop for Windows. It’s an advanced, easy to use application, and the very definition of ‘complete’. When working with subtitles, and if it finds a similarly named movie file, the video is showed above the subtitles. You can jump to any point in the timecode double-clicking a line of text, and check if it’s running on time.

All default subtitle tools – a.o. positive/negative delay, duration limits, subtitle splitting, joining and conversion between file formats – can be found in the Edit or Tools menu. One of the available timing features allows you to ‘read times’ from another subtitle file, perhaps in a different language, but with a correct timecode to match your video.

Mac OS X – Subs Factory

Mac OS X doesn’t offer as many subtitle toolsets as Windows. From these applications, Subs Factory is the most advanced. In many ways, it resembles the aforementioned Subtitle Workshop, although it sometimes feels less ergonomic, perhaps even cluttered.

Having said that, Subs Factory is actually quite easy to work and will help you with most, if not all, of your subtitle needs.

Subs Factory works through a series of independently floating ‘palettes’. These palettes can be enabled or disabled as per your desire, and are named accordingly; finding the right palette is the least of your worries. For basic subtitle tweaking the right tools are always at your fingertips.

Linux – Subtitle Editor

There are a number of subtitle editing applications available and, as can be expected of Linux applications, they all boast an impressive array of features. The appropriately named Subtitle Editor is one of the most popular ones (an alternative application for the Gnome desktop is Gnome Subtitles).

Subtitle Editor shows the corresponding video in the top left corner, and the audio in the top right, overlaid with subtitle keyframes. The latter are mostly useful when creating or editing subtitles, rather than simply splitting or delaying them.

Web – SubsEdit

When you’re at a friend’s, or using a public terminal, downloading and installing a complete subtitle toolset isn’t always a luxury you can afford. Luckily there are some great online alternatives you can use, certainly for the less technical subtitle manipulations.

The SubsEdit suite offers a number of different online tools, including subtitle translation, SUB-SRT conversion, synchronization, simple and progressive delay. There are also a number of more inspired tools, like a YouTube-based subtitle creator and subtitle combination tool to learn languages ‘side by side’.

Do you know any alternatives to the aforementioned applications, or have you come across an interesting tip on the subtitle creation process?  If so, please drop a comment below!

It’s actually not that hard to manually put subtitles into your videos. It often just takes a bit of time, but soon enough, you’ll be able to translate videos to improve accessibility (especially when subtitles in your language aren’t available on the Web), or when you just want to be funny (like some of the English-subtitled Hitler spoofs on the iPad).

Any text editor that you have will be enough to create basic subtitles. For more customized subtitles, you can check out the second section of this article. The footage in the screenshots you see here is from Elephants Dream, the first open-source generated, animated short film ever made.

Making Basic Subtitles In A Text Editor

For this article, we’ll be using the built-in Notepad text editor in Windows to make basic subtitles with no additional color or font customization. Open Notepad and save your file with the .srt extension and is in UTF-8 (especially if you’re inputting special characters).

We will go over how to create subtitles in the SubRip (.srt) format, which follows this easy-to-learn pattern:

1
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,400
Howdy!

2
00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,800
Why, hello there!
What's your name?

1. Start the first line with the number 1.
2. Now input the times of the subtitle/caption start and end. The 

   00:00:20,000

   is in hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds format. You can usually look at the video with milliseconds in Windows Movie Maker while you have Notepad open as well.



3. Make sure to display both windows for easier work by pressing on both programs in the taskbar while pressing Ctrl and right-clicking on either program tab and selecting Show Windows Side By Side.
4. Now just place a space between every line.
5. Repeat the steps until you finish all the lines. Remember to save often.

After you’re done, you can view the subtitles in any major media player as long as your video and the subtitle have the same names but different file extensions of course and are located in the same folder. This is known as softsubbing, which leaves the raw video file intact.

You can also upload the srt files to your videos already on Youtube as captions.

Making Better-Looking Subtitles In Aegisub

Maybe you’re interested in more professional-looking subtitles or captions. In the world of open-source anything, Aegisub is a cross-platform subtitle editor that’s chock-full of advanced features for just this task.

Available as a portable application, the program provides seemingly endless options to customize the font, size, color and position of the subtitles. It also lets you more easily visualize where you might put the subtitles.

1. Start by loading the video (in AVI, MP4, MPG format) you want to subtitle by going to Video in the top menu bar > Open Video.



2. If you don’t have the video (but do have the audio and want to move the position of the subtitles, for example), you can use a dummy video and set the closest matching resolution.



3. You can also load the audio in the video and visualize the timing better (head to Audio > Open Audio From Video).
4. (Optional) To change the font, size and color of your subtitles, head to Subtitles in the menu bar and select Styles Manager. In the dialog box that appears, you’ll see two boxes, Storage and Current Script.



5. You can select to create a new style to your taste in the Storage section (which ensures you’ll always have this style saved) and copy it to the Current Script box (so you can use it to subtitle the video you opened earlier).



6. Then click OK to go back to the main Aegisub window.
7. In the Audio box, click on the start of the sound clip and right-click at the end of the clip. Press the S key or the space bar to hear the audio clip before inputting your subtitle in the Edit Box (you can also copy and paste the start and end frames as you see them in the video).



8. (Optional) Double-click wherever you want the subtitles to appear in the Video Box to set the position. Sometimes, you may wish to add notes of regional sayings, for example, at the top of your video.



9. Type your subtitle (consulting Google Translate if you wish) and press Enter (or hit Commit). Note that to display two lines, you need to use the term

   \N

   in the Edit Box.



10. Also, hit Save (Ctrl + S) to save your entire subtitle file (the default file extension is .ass for Advanced SubStation Alpha.)
11. Now repeat step 4 to 6 until you finish subtitling (remember this combo: click, right-click, space bar, type the subtitle, Enter). Any changes you make, you must remember to save by hitting Commit and saving your whole subtitle file often.

That’s pretty much it. Be warned: Subtitling a whole clip can be very time-consuming. Once you’re done though, it can be rewarding to see your subtitled video in :

• Your computer using VirtualDub or Handbrake for permanently subtitled clips, and major media players, such as VLC for soft subtitles,
• Gaming console,
• iPhone/iPod Touch,
• DVD player using DVD Flick or FAVC.

Of course, if you’d rather just download these and watch them with your videos, there are some very useful subtitle search engines, as well as automatic subtitle-searching-and-downloading software, such as Sublight (for Windows) and FileBot (cross-platform and open-source).

Do you usually add your own subtitles or do you just prefer to download them?

Installing a subtitle ‘interpreter’, like we’re able to on a regular computer, holds no avail either. Drop an AVI and SRT subtitle file together on your console, and it’ll merrily ignore the latter.

People have succeeded in streaming movies with subtitles to their PlayStation 3 using ‘DLNA’, but even that isn’t foolproof and admittedly, requires far too much work and preparation. For a long time, hardcoding seemed the only viable option, albeit incredibly time-consuming. Little do most people know there’s a far easier solution to play AVI files on Playstation 3.

Since a few updates past, the PlayStation 3 supports *.DivX files, which are in fact AVIs with multiple subtitle stream. With a regular AVI and subtitle file, here’s how to make a DivX file in a flash. This tutorial will work on Windows, Mac OS X (Intel) and Linux.

Step One :: Find SRT Subtitles

There are a number of different subtitle formats, most of them simple text documents with embedded time-codes. The most popular one of them is SRT. Before we can cook up a subtitled DivX file, we’ll need said subtitles.

Although this tutorial also works with an idx/SUB pair, we won’t overcomplicate things and advise you to use an SRT file when available.

Luckily, it’s not too hard to find subtitles for a popular video – even in foreign languages. Take a look at one of our previous articles for more information, The 3 Best Subtitle Sources For Your Movies & TV Series.

Step Two :: Install Wine (Linux and Mac OS X)

(If you’re using a Windows computer, skip this step)

We assured the support of Linux and Mac OS X at the start of this article. Although the core application, AVIAddXSubs, is essentially a Windows application, it works very well with ‘Wine’.

Wine is a free computer program for Linux and Intel Macs that emulates a local Windows environment, and can run a large number of Windows applications – all without needing to install another operating system. Read more about the application in Varun Kashyap’s article, Run Windows Applications on Linux (or Mac) with WINE.

Linux users can use the ‘official’ Wine environment, Mac OS X (Intel) users are advised to download and install the WineBottler package. Once installed, you can use it to open EXE and other Windows-native files. If you have trouble with ‘corrupt’ subtitles, later in the tutorial, you might want to reinstall the application and also install the font packs that come with it.

Step Three :: Install AVIAddXSubs

With only 856KB, AVIAddXSubs is hardly a big application to download, but it’s a key component of this tutorial. Install it now. The application is native to Windows, but should just as well with Wine if you’re using Linux or Mac OS X (see step 2).

Step Four :: Mix Video and Subtitles to Divx

Because DivX files use the same video compression techniques as AVI files, mixing in the subtitles happens in a flash. Most work, like installing those applications, needs to be done only once. From now on, the process will hardly take over a minute of your time.

Open AVIAddXSubs and select both video and subtitles. Select or type the path to your AVI and SRT files. The video and subtitle paths need to be separated by a straight slash ( | ) – you might need to do this manually. For example, refer to the screenshot above. If you want, you can select up to eight different subtitle streams this way.

Hitting Start will commence file processing, which shouldn’t take long. The resulting DivX file has embedded subtitle streams and can be played on your PlayStation 3. To enable subtitles, simply press triangle during playback and toggle subtitle options like you would if you were watching a regular DVD.

Do you have any other subtitle- or PlayStation-related tips up your sleeve? Tell us what’s on your mind in the comments section below!