Subtitles via media player/streamer

[Skyzoomer]

Asked this question on a different website but no replies. Hope someone here has experience with the following:

Has anyone been able to view subtitles via RCA cables to their TV set when playing video from a hard drive connected to their media player "by turning the subtitles on using their TV's remote"? (As opposed to turning subtitles on using the media player's remote.) If so, could you tell me which media player you have?

Thanks for any help,
Sky

 

[Destiny]

I'll try it and report back to you tomorrow...

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Asked this question on a different website but no replies. Hope someone here has experience with the following:

Has anyone been able to view subtitles via RCA cables to their TV set when playing video from a hard drive connected to their media player "by turning the subtitles on using their TV's remote"? (As opposed to turning subtitles on using the media player's remote.) If so, could you tell me which media player you have?

Thanks for any help,
Sky

That's not going to work.

 

[Soundmanred]

That's not going to work.

Yup, subtitles are encoded in a certain way. If they are encoded for a media player to use them , your TV doesn't know about it and vice-versa.

 

[Skyzoomer]

I'll try it and report back to you tomorrow...

Will really appreciate that a lot!

PS: If you do the test, it's important to verify that the original DVD can display subtitles by turning them on using the TV's remote. One DVD that can do it is the "My Fair Lady" DVD starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

Thanks,
Sky

 

[Skyzoomer]

That's not going to work.

Yup, subtitles are encoded in a certain way. If they are encoded for a media player to use them , your TV doesn't know about it and vice-versa.

Hi Drizzle and Soundmanred,

There are two ways to display subtitles.

1. Subtitles are multiplexed into the vertical sync of the TV signal. The subtitles only work via composite RCA cables since composite video sends the TV signal via analog and retains the vertical sync signal. These types of subtitles are turned on/off via the TV's remote.

2. Subtitles are data on a DVD. The subtitles are overlaid on the video by the playback device before the video is sent on the composite or HDMI cable. The subtitles are just part of the video in this case. These types of subtitles are turned of/off via the DVD player, or in this case, the media player/streamer.

So a media player/streamer could display multiplexed subtitles (method-1) as long as it does not reconstruct the vertical sync signal like a time base corrector does. This is what I'm trying to find out.

Thanks for reading,
Sky