How does MB-C handle subtitles?

[nydude25 11]

Yes, I did hit that and accepted the defaults. I also told MPC-HC to always exit on stop but that never worked. As for files, that can't be helped. I'm not about to re-rip 379 movies, and I don't have or can't find the disks for many of them (I think my wife gave a whole bunch away 2 or 3 years ago since they were all on my old server). So long as I can play them normally I guess I'm good and only about 5% of them are subtitled. Any new rips will be to MKV, of course.

 

That video really helps, and tomorrow I will try it and remove MPC-HC and see if that's a better way of doing things.

 

I have ripped DVD movies on my server that I play using MBC and I'm able to use the subtitles that the disc has included by selecting them from the disc menu. Aren't you able to play the movies using the included subtitles? I don't use MPC-HC, just the standard player in WMC.

[ebr 14904]

I have ripped DVD movies on my server that I play using MBC and I'm able to use the subtitles that the disc has included by selecting them from the disc menu. Aren't you able to play the movies using the included subtitles? I don't use MPC-HC, just the standard player in WMC.

 

He probably ripped them without the DVD menu.

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

So, any idea where I can find MCERemote? I'm getting all sorts of references for something called XBMC, which I don't think I have, but nothing for an MCERemote x64 download.

[nydude25 11]

Oh, yea, if you only ripped the movie and not the whole disc then you won't be able to use the included subtitles. 

 

There is some links to subtitle tutorials and on using MCE Remote on this site and it looks recently added:

 

http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/9749-subtitle-andor-alternate-audio-support-in-mbc/

[qbie 4]

So. Things have gone from bad to worse. MPC-HC is a disaster for me -- the mouse pointer remains on screen at all times, it doesn't exit back to MB-C after I press the stop button, and worst of all, it doesn't even find subtitles in .ISO movies that I know are there because I just played them fine with VLC player stand-alone.

 

Because this is kinda veering off-topic a little I'm starting a different thread. Subtitles are still critical but now there are other failures that I'd like to address. Thanks again.

 

Actually, part of this may not be your fault. I noticed on a new install of MBC with MPC-HC a little while ago that the auto configure option in the MB Configurator doesn't seem to be working, I'm not sure if something changed in recent builds of either MBC or MPC-HC however it's now not automatically setting the Web Interface on for example (which is why it's not returning to MBC when something has finished playing, it uses the Web Interface to determine this if I recall correctly) and also it doesn't set the MCE remote options correctly either.

 

I tested this on an existing install - I changed some of the MPC-HC settings, went into the Configurator to apply the preferred settings again but nothing in MPC-HC changed (That I could see).

Edited August 19, 2014 by qbie

[ebr 14904]

Changes in MPC-HC may have screwed up our auto configure, I haven't tried it out in a while.  I know they had two different ways of saving settings and that could be part of the problem.

 

However, that is not how we know to return to MBC after playback.  That just requires that MPC-HC be closed.

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

Guys, this has gotten worse by orders of magnitude. I once again removed MPC-HC from my system, and installed all the software from that video referenced above and it's hopelessly screwed up to the point I have a dead player.

 

The MB-C aspect works 100%. The interface launches as it should and I can navigate properly to any title. It just won't play. Period. Black screen and that's it. After stabbing at stop, cancel, back and ghods only know what else I get a window up saying WMC has crashed and needs to restart. It won't re-start properly and won't play a damned thing. I'm beyond frustrated at this point.

 

Please, PLEASE, can someone work with me one-on-one, maybe remoting in or something, and help solve this once and for all? If I count all the time I tried to get my old MB-2 system running properly under the new software, I've got about 2-3 weeks into this project and it's still a complete and absolute failure at this point. Heaven only knows if all this installing/uninstalling/etc, has buggered up Windows or corrupted something, somewhere. I'm just not prepared to re-format and start over again -- I'll look for a commercial product if it has to come to this, but I've got a family that's ragging on me and a dead player. I think I need a miracle (or at least a miracle worker) to get this 100% functional.

 

Pointing me to another rabbit hole, referencing software that's 2 or 3 editions too old and has different setup parameters, etc, has exacerbated the issue dramatically.

 

I *must* stress here, that my remote is NOT a standard media center remote. Its command set is different than the MCE standard (it seems to follow something called a YAMA standard, and it's a VLC-1100). The commands are being mirrored in a Harmony 659 universal remote.

Edited August 20, 2014 by NJ RadioGuy

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

Maybe I should also clarify this, since there are multiple ways to skin this particular cat:

1) I would like to keep with MB-C running over Windows Media Center, since the problems with MPC-HC were just too much to overcome and nothing was forthcoming.

2) I need to keep the whole system from ever using a keyboard/remote for a player interface.

3) I need subtitles embedded in .ISO files to work. The subtitles are there because I've played them before on my old Popcorn Hour A-110 server about 3 or 4 years ago.

 

Thanks in advance.

[breezytm 124]

I don't mind helping but I would advise that you do a clean OS install prior to me assisting. I can almost certain If you do a clean windows install and follow the video you shouldn't have any problem. Keep in mind, the simpler your setup is the nicer things work. Why have an external player to do what the internal can do a great job doing. I am not saying it's just as good but it's good enough.

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

I'd like to give things a try without a clean OS install since that's a full couple of days to get all the little things in place, get networking set up right, drives in the right order, desktop set and 2 days to rebuild the library and all cast photos, etc.

 

What I can do is roll back a couple of days to before things went truly pear-shaped; that was with MB-3 Server, MB-C and WMC. It was about 90% functional with only two problems: MB-C Crashing on completion of .ISO playback or when STOP command invoked, and subtitles not accessible via remote, which is what started this thread in the first place.

[breezytm 124]

Windows Restore doesn't always make a huge different when it comes to big chances but it's worth a shot.

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

No, I don't trust Windows Restore. I just rolled back to Monday at 5:00am on my partition backup. The only configuration I'm working on now is my Harmony 659 remote and LM Remote mapping to start MB-C rather than WMC. Everything else is back to the way it was before I started messing with everything.

[breezytm 124]

Okay. PM me and I'll see what I can do.

[Dibbes 431]

As I'm in a similar situation when it comes to subtitles, I worked around this with VLC.

The way I have it setup:

Windows 7 x64

MB3 with various accounts

VLC 2.0.8 (Do not use a newer version as it won't work)

 

 - Install everything you need to install

 - Open the MB Configurator and configure to play the file-types you want to play with subtitle to play with VLC 2.0

 - Configure your remote to be able to send the key "v" to your HTPC. This will cycle between subs titles within VLC including disable

 - Configure your remote to be able to send the key "b" to your HTPC. This will cycle between Audio tracks within VLC including disable

 

The disadvantage is that MBC (or rather the exhost) crashes so once in a while after about 30 seconds and therefore won't record the play-state.

[Deihmos 147]

I think you are better off using xbmc with the mediabrowser plugin than using wmc with an external player. It just isn't pretty.

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

Yeah, I'm getting the feeling that WMC is a pig. I spent many hours with a fellow member here today and at the end of it all, I could not play MKV files if I had FFDShow installed, no matter what I did. I reverted to my original configuration and left it at that for now. I'd never really heard of XBMC before since I've never played a video game before and knew nothing of their consoles or operation--but now I understand it's a replacement player that runs under Windows so I may give it a shot.

 

I love the MB-C interface with the Classic theme. Our family has been used to seeing it since early 2011 and we can navigate in it pretty well. If I can keep MB-C and this theme I'll certainly be willing to look at XBMC, if it means I can play everything back with a remote, including subtitles on .ISO files. I confirmed with the better half today and most of our DVDs were given away in 2012 (or so she thinks). We'd watched everything at least one and a lot more 3 or 4 times, so, since all the .ISOs were backed up to 3 drives, we both figured it was safe to ditch the disks (we never watched the extra crap on them anyways--just the movies).

 

As a retired 35mm motion picture projectionist, I still love movies and popcorn, and building a presentation exactly the way I used to serve it to my audiences--flawlessly every single time. My goal is to bring the same perfect sophistication to my HTPC that I had in my work. This is still a long way off for me (unless someone can tell me of software that will let be sequence trailers, Dolby/dts and THX trailers and a feature presentation snipe in front of the feature). Subtitles are just the tip of the Perfect Presentation iceberg!

[nydude25 11]

Yeah, I'm getting the feeling that WMC is a pig. I spent many hours with a fellow member here today and at the end of it all, I could not play MKV files if I had FFDShow installed, no matter what I did. I reverted to my original configuration and left it at that for now. I'd never really heard of XBMC before since I've never played a video game before and knew nothing of their consoles or operation--but now I understand it's a replacement player that runs under Windows so I may give it a shot.

 

I love the MB-C interface with the Classic theme. Our family has been used to seeing it since early 2011 and we can navigate in it pretty well. If I can keep MB-C and this theme I'll certainly be willing to look at XBMC, if it means I can play everything back with a remote, including subtitles on .ISO files. I confirmed with the better half today and most of our DVDs were given away in 2012 (or so she thinks). We'd watched everything at least one and a lot more 3 or 4 times, so, since all the .ISOs were backed up to 3 drives, we both figured it was safe to ditch the disks (we never watched the extra crap on them anyways--just the movies).

 

 

 

It sounds like you ripped the entire disc to make your iso files. If you just change the DVDs that have subtitles from iso format to dvd folder format, they will play in MB with the actual DVD menus and you'll be able to watch it with the included subtitles. There isn't any transcoding or converting to do, because an iso file is similar to a zip file. Just open the iso file with 7zip or winrar and extract the VIDEO_TS folder into the proper movie folder in your library. 

 

As a retired 35mm motion picture projectionist, I still love movies and popcorn, and building a presentation exactly the way I used to serve it to my audiences--flawlessly every single time. My goal is to bring the same perfect sophistication to my HTPC that I had in my work. This is still a long way off for me (unless someone can tell me of software that will let be sequence trailers, Dolby/dts and THX trailers and a feature presentation snipe in front of the feature). Subtitles are just the tip of the Perfect Presentation iceberg!

 

 

It sounds nostalgic, but I really dislike getting to a movie on time and then having to sit through twenty minutes of trailers, ads and other stuff before the movie starts. Ripping discs and watching at home allows you to avoid that. Do you also invite people over to yell at the screen and talk loudly on phones so your audience can enjoy that part of the cinema experience? 

[ebr 14904]

This is still a long way off for me (unless someone can tell me of software that will let be sequence trailers, Dolby/dts and THX trailers and a feature presentation snipe in front of the feature). Subtitles are just the tip of the Perfect Presentation iceberg!

 

Actually, I can.  It is called MB Intros and is available in the server plug-in catalog.

 

MB Intros

[breezytm 124]

I assisted him yesterday in configuring everything. Again things worked great while I was with him and later on in the afternoon they weren't. Still doesn't make any sense to me. I configured his setup exactly like I have mine and I don't have any issues. The only problems left before I close the remote session were he couldn't get subtitles from his .iso which I explained to him why and he wished to start Windows Media Center in the Media Browser Classic entry point and I wasn't sure how to do that. Everything else worked.

 

I honestly think the best solution for him would be XMBC. That way he would not have to worry about figuring out a way to start MBC automatically, he would not have to worry about iso being mounted correctly and most certainly not worry about subtitles. XBMC will detect them or allows him to download them on the fly. 

 

Here's a video I created to show how simple I have my setup and everything work. If it works for me It should work for you and everyone else. I also noticed a lot of people having issue with configuring .iso in MBC. I will create a thread to show how to do it. 

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

It sounds like you ripped the entire disc to make your iso files. If you just change the DVDs that have subtitles from iso format to dvd folder format, they will play in MB with the actual DVD menus and you'll be able to watch it with the included subtitles. There isn't any transcoding or converting to do, because an iso file is similar to a zip file. Just open the iso file with 7zip or winrar and extract the VIDEO_TS folder into the proper movie folder in your library. 

 

 

It sounds nostalgic, but I really dislike getting to a movie on time and then having to sit through twenty minutes of trailers, ads and other stuff before the movie starts. Ripping discs and watching at home allows you to avoid that. Do you also invite people over to yell at the screen and talk loudly on phones so your audience can enjoy that part of the cinema experience? 

heh. In the 80s and 90s, when I was working every theatre in my area, we generally had great audiences. I worked a lot of the art houses and rep houses; all had curtains at the time, and until the mid-90s, no commercials, slide-shows or other crap. Typical presentation was house lights to half, dowser opens to "coming soon" trailer image on closed screen; time screen opening to match footlight fade; play 2 or 3 trailers; close curtains/raise footlights Pause for about 10 seconds (and change lenses/masking when needed). Dowser opens on Feature Presentation logo. Curtain opens, footlights down. Play sound trailer(s). Houselights from half to full off, feature begins. Movie ends, NO lights on during credits, EVER, curtain close, footlights up, 10 second pause, houselights up slowly. *That* is a perfect presentation in a theatre. In the days of changeovers, I timed to the very last frame of the outgoing reel and first frame of the incoming reel.

 

Today audiences expect less, tolerate anything and yeah, sit through 25 minutes of shyte on the head end. No curtains, no sound trailers any more (in the NYC area at least), loud, vile creatures in the seats, cellphones, the lot. Mouth breathing yard apes, not sophisticated moviegoers.

 

Actually, I can.  It is called MB Intros and is available in the server plug-in catalog.

MB Intros

Awesome; I will check it out, and THANK YOU.

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

I assisted him yesterday in configuring everything. Again things worked great while I was with him and later on in the afternoon they weren't. Still doesn't make any sense to me. I configured his setup exactly like I have mine and I don't have any issues. The only problems left before I close the remote session were he couldn't get subtitles from his .iso which I explained to him why and he wished to start Windows Media Center in the Media Browser Classic entry point and I wasn't sure how to do that. Everything else worked.

 

I honestly think the best solution for him would be XMBC. That way he would not have to worry about figuring out a way to start MBC automatically, he would not have to worry about iso being mounted correctly and most certainly not worry about subtitles. XBMC will detect them or allows him to download them on the fly. 

 

Here's a video I created to show how simple I have my setup and everything work. If it works for me It should work for you and everyone else. I also noticed a lot of people having issue with configuring .iso in MBC. I will create a thread to show how to do it. 

 

I am extremely grateful for the time and effort you spent with me yesterday on the phone and remote. You helped me understand quite a bit about the topic. Unfortunately, FFDShow was causing a problem that I can't explain or fix, so I had to revert to the old configuration. I will experiment with XBMC on a test machine and see how well it runs at some point.

[MediaExplorer 2]

I think you are better off using xbmc with the mediabrowser plugin than using wmc with an external player. It just isn't pretty.

 

That's the way to go. XBMC (or should I say Kodi?) is still the king for any HTPC enthusiast.

 

@NJ RadioGuy I hope perseverance pays you off. 

Edited August 24, 2014 by MediaExplorer

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

I went over to XBMC this past weekend. Not bad at all. Setup is a royal pain and it took about 10 hours to troubleshoot some library issues but so far it's working very well. I still prefer the MB-C interface (as does the family) but otherwise everything is just so much more reliable than WMC.

[ebr 14904]

Using the xbmb3c plug-in?

[NJ RadioGuy 2]

Not familiar with it. How does it work (and a link?)?