UglySub - Simple Subtitle Organazier

UglySub can be downloaded as a TAR archive, uglysub-3.0-RC1.tar.gz, which can be unpacked and installed in three steps:

$ tar -zxvf uglysub-3.0-RC1.tar.gz
$ cd uglysub
$ sudo ./installer.pl

The installer will guide you through the rest of the process. Enjoy!

The main goal for UglySub is to help you long creating/editing/translating subtitles. For a detailed description of translation visit my blog at http://zarzella.blogspot.com. For creating new subtitles to a video visit the "NEW SUBs" section (see the screenshot on the right).

Before opening the new-subtitle editor, UglySub will offer you to create a small-size copy of your video. This option can be useful for those of us with older video cards that cannot scale down the video to fit into a small window. The process takes a very long time, but it is well worth the wait. On the other hand, if you have one a newer video cards, then you can safely skip this.

The editor itself doesn't have that many options, so the best way to learn how it works, is to play around. Have fun!

Creating DVD is also a two-step process: (I) first of all, UglySub will help you create a DVD structure; (II) then you can use that DVD structure to create and ISO file that can be written onto a DVD disc. Lets examine each step separately.

In the simplest mode, creating a DVD structure is simple a matter of specifying the correct video file, which UglySub will fill out automatically if you've been following the workflow. You can also specify multiple files by pressing the "select" button to the right of the "VIDEO FILE" entry field. The DVD structure will be created in the directory specified in the "DVD OUT PATH" entry field.

For advanced users, UglySub allows you to create the DVD with a menu, and custom language settings. To enter the "ADVANCED" mode press the "preferences" second button on the right side of the "DVD OUT PATH" entry field. You will enter a "DVD CONFIGURATION" menu. UglySub will attempt to look for a 'features.list' file (that is created in "DEEP" backup mode) for the information about which video files to include in the menu. The menu generation section is still under development, so my only suggestion is to play around, and see what result you get.

For professional users, you can also edit the dvdauthor configuration XML file by pressing the first button to the right of the "DVD OUT PATH" entry field. If you plan to use UglySub for the menu generation, then it's best to edit this file AFTER you run the menu generation.

As you see, UglySub allows you to do simple things simply, and complicated things comfortably. Whatever your choice is, when the DVD structure is ready it is time to "TEST" it. Use the buttons towards the bottom to launch xine to see if your DVD looks/feels the way you want it. Then you're ready to proceed to step II: create an ISO image.

Now, all you have to do is enter the movie title and press "CREATE ISO". The new ISO image will be saved to the file specified in "OUT ISO" entry field, and you can burn it to a DVD disc using your favorite program for that sort of thing.

When you have all your subtitles saved in one file (it should have an extension .srt) you're ready to remix the new subtitles into the video file. You need to tell UglySub four things: (a) new subtitle ID number, (b) the .srt file containing subtitles, (c) original video file, (d) the new video filename. Lets examine each thing separately.

Similar to extracting subtitles you need to decide which "SPU ID" new subtitles should have. It is important to pick an id that is available, otherwise you may end up with subtitles overlaying other existing subtitles. You can use the "FIND SUBTITLES" button to help you pick the right "SPU ID" (it is also a good idea to verify everything in xine).

Choosing the subtitles file should be easy, use the browse button to the right to select the file where you saved the subtitles. You can also use the preferences button to the right of the entry to adjust the overall timing of the subtitles (this is for advanced users only).

If you were following the workflow of UglySub the remaining two entries should be already filled out for you. But you may choose to adjust/correct them if needed. Advanced users will find it handy to use the edit button to the right of the "INPUT VIDEO FILE" entry box that allows to fine-tune the spumux configuration file.

To extract the subtitles from the video you need to tell UglySub just one thing: which subtitle stream you want to use. The subtitles in the video are stored in streams. They are numbered by their "SUBTITLE ID": 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on. The first subtitle track is 0. You can use the "VIEW IN XINE" button to find out which "SUBTITLE ID" you want.

The subtitle extraction is a two step process: (I) extract the subtitle stream from the video file, (II) convert subtitle stream to PNG images. The second step is the tricky one. UglySub will present you with four versions of a subtitle image and you need to pick one that appears the clearest. Look for an image with a border surrounding each letter. In case you find, later on, that the subtitle images are unreadable, go back to the "EXTRACT SUBs" section and use "REDO PNGs" button to repeat only this second step of the process.

When you launch UglySub you will be presented with a welcome screen showing the diagram of the workflow. Hit "CONTINUE". If your video is a file on your computer select "NEW VIDEo PROJECT", if, on the other hand, it is a DVD, then select "NEW DVD PROJECT". You can also use UglySub to simple backup a DVD, "EXPRESS BACKUP" does just that. And, if you're returning to work on your previous project use the "OPEN PROJECT" button to continue.

No matter what you choose to do, you will need to select a "PROJECT DIRECTORY". It is a folder where all the information related to your project will be stored. Create a new folder for each project you will be working on.

Another thing you can do, is use "TOOLS" menu to convert a video file into a DVD-compliant format, or convert it into an MP4 format for your portable player.

If you're going to backup the movie from a DVD onto your computer, you can either choose to do so in a "RAGULAR" or "DEEP" mode. In the first case, only the main feature is saved onto your hard drive.

In the second case, the "DEEP" backup option allows you to save all the special features as well as the main feature. During the backup you will be presented with a prompt to select all the video tracks you wish to back up. And after that, you can assign each video track to be a Main/Special Feature. Backing up in this mode takes longer time, but it is well worth it if you want to keep everything from the original DVD, because UglySub will record all the information needed to create a nice DVD menu for you later on.

When you backup a DVD UglySub helps you think ahead. It is common these days to use the single-layer DVDs to burn the movie. But they are only 4.7 Gb in size, when most commercial DVDs are double-layer 9.4 Gb. If you choose the "DEEP" backup mode UglySub will automatically offer you to shrink all video segments to fit together on a single-layer DVD.

And, if you decided to use the "REGULAR" mode for backup, then open the "SHRINK VIDEO" tab to resize the video file if you need to. The only thing you need to tell UglySub in this case, is how many audio/subtitle tracks you wish to keep in the final video file.

The backup is done by utilizing the mplayer which would usually be already installed on your system. If you don't have it, you can get it from the official web-site: http://www.mplayerhq.hu.