Add support of embedded fonts into external ASS subtitles

[YKEmbyMedia 1]

Hi,

External ASS file has embedded fonts but they are not used while playback. I tested on both latest versions of Windows and Synology servers with playback via web (Chrome), and Android devices (samsung s23 smartphone and nvidia shield). For testing you can use attached file.

Note: I used a workaroung when subtitles file was muxed into mkv file and font files were added as attachment. That worked.

Grace and Frankie - S07E01 - The Roomies - Web-DL-SDR.netflix.ukr.forced.ass

[visproduction 250]

Related:
https://nikse.dk/subtitleedit/formats/assa
https://github.com/wyzdwdz/assfonts/blob/main/README.md
 

Forum entry of interest: https://www.reddit.com/r/jellyfin/comments/yr2kr5/ass_subtitle_issues/

Quote

mrjoermungandr •1y ago

So i myself use ass subtitles and on web browser they work great. Be sure you set a resolution on them in for example subtitle edit otherwise they wont show up

 

[pwhodges 1815]

Although embedding fonts in an ass file is in the specification, it is rarely used or supported, it seems to me.  For instance, MKVToolnix will read the fonts when merging and add them as attachments, but when extracting ass subs from a merged file the fonts are ignored.

Since merging them fixes the issue, is there a reason not to?

Paul

[YKEmbyMedia 1]

9 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

Although embedding fonts in an ass file is in the specification, it is rarely used or supported, it seems to me.  For instance, MKVToolnix will read the fonts when merging and add them as attachments, but when extracting ass subs from a merged file the fonts are ignored.

Since merging them fixes the issue, is there a reason not to?

Paul

Yes, I ofen find some errors in text or need to change a style a bit. And when it comes to hundreds of episodes, remuxing would takes ages. Unlike external subtitles files which I update in batch using a script.

Edited April 20, 2024 by YKEmbyMedia

[Luke 39648]

Quote

Note: I used a workaroung when subtitles file was muxed into mkv file and font files were added as attachment. That worked.

Hi, so you're saying this works for you on android?

[YKEmbyMedia 1]

1 minute ago, Luke said:

Hi, so you're saying this works for you on android?

Yes, it does when subtitles are muxed into mkv file and fonts are added as attachment. But when subtitles files are external with embedded fonts, it does not.

[Luke 39648]

Quote

But when subtitles files are external with embedded fonts, it does not.

Is this a common pattern?

[pwhodges 1815]

I have never seen this in real life - I know it's possible (and how to do it), but don't know how widely it's supported.

In over ten years collecting anime I've only seen a handful with ASS fonts presented separately, and these did not have embedded fonts - the fonts were presented in a folder alongside, or not at all.  I had to mux them into an mkv and, if the fonts were not provided, find them myself.

Paul

Edited April 30, 2024 by pwhodges

[YKEmbyMedia 1]

I found a quick way to remux fiiles with updated subtitles files using custom scripts for mkvtoolmix. No need to support that) Thanks, anyway

[guilty57 3]

Plex is handling with no problem with external .ass subtitles attached with .ttf fonts.

Example:

Narcos Mexico - S01E01 - Camelot.tur.ass

[Luke 39648]

HI, yes this is something we can look at supporting. Thanks for the feedback.

[Luke 39648]

On 3/5/2025 at 8:17 AM, guilty57 said:

Plex is handling with no problem with external .ass subtitles attached with .ttf fonts.

Example:

Narcos Mexico - S01E01 - Camelot.tur.ass 733.27 kB · 2 downloads

Where is the ttf file?

[pwhodges 1815]

Embedded in the ASS file as an attachment.  This can be done by Aegisub, for instance, but not by Subtitle Edit.  It's a pretty rare thing to find in practice (I've never actually come across a subtitle file with font(s) attached).

Paul

Edited April 16 by pwhodges