Subtitles

Short answer:

Solution #1:

Rename your video file. For example use .video instead of .mkv or .mpv4 instead of .mp4

Solution #2:

Codec Tweak Tool > Media Foundation > Disable for .mp4 and .mkv

Please read the warning below before disabling Media Foundation!

Long answer:

Since Windows 7, both Windows Media Player and Media Center make use of the Media Foundation framework instead of DirectShow for playing certain file types. As a result, DirectShow subtitle filters like DirectVobSub are not used. Media Foundation lacks native support for many common subtitle formats.

Media Foundation is used for several common file types such as: AVI, WMV, MP4, MOV, 3GP, and M2TS. Since Windows 10 also for MKV.

In case of AVI files, subtitles will be displayed if DirectVobSub (a.k.a. VSFilter) is installed. WMP will automatically switch from Media Foundation to DirectShow in that case.

For the other file formats mentioned above you need to bypass Media Foundation so that WMP uses DirectShow codecs instead. Then it will use the decoders and subtitle filter from the codec pack.

The recommended way to bypass Media Foundation is to rename your file to an extension for which Media Foundation isn't used.

Alternatively, you can forcefully disable Media Foundation with the Codec Tweak Tool.

Warning:

Disabling Media Foundation can break playback of the relevant file formats in applications that are only capable of using Media Foundation. For example Windows Store apps from Microsoft on Windows 8 and 10. But also many modern games use Media Foundation for playback of intros and cutscenes. Some web browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer, also need it.

So please only disable Media Foundation if really needed.

If you use a 64-bit version of Windows, then we recommend to use the 32-bit version of WMP (which is actually also the default one in Windows) and only disable Media Foundation for 32-bit. Other applications that use Media Foundation are practically all 64-bits, which means they will have Media Foundation available as normal.

Additional tips:

If you still have trouble getting DirectVobSub to load for external subtitles, even when DirectShow is being used, then you also need to change the preferred video decoder.

Codec Tweak Tool > Win7DSFilterTweaker > Preferred decoders

The correct setting to use is USE MERIT. Do NOT set it to a specific decoder, because then the subtitles will not work. Just make sure your preferred decoder has the highest merit (in case you have multiple compatible decoders).
The codec pack installer will automatically configure the preferred decoders for you for the most common video formats. This step should only be needed if you have manually installed the codecs.

We recommend using Media Player Classic (MPC-HC) for video playback. That is capable of displaying subtitles without the need for all kinds of special workarounds. This player is included with the K-Lite codec pack.

All you have to do is give your subtitle files the same filename as your movie file. The part of the filename up to the first dot must be identical. If you do that, the subtitles will automatically be detected and displayed.

For example:
This is some cool movie.avi
This is some cool movie.srt

You can add something after the first dot, for example the language of the subtitle:
This is some cool movie.English.srt
This is some cool movie.German.srt

Common subtitle file formats are: srt, idx/sub, idx/rar, smi, ssa, sub

Right-click on the white LAV Splitter icon in the system tray (right-bottom of your screen). There you can select the subtitle that should be displayed.

If you are using Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 7/8/10, then you may need to apply some tweaks to make WMP use the codecs from the pack. By default WMP12 uses Media Foundation codecs for playback of certain file types, such as MP4. You can disable Media Foundation with the Codec Tweak Tool that is included in the pack.

You should see a green arrow shaped icon in your system tray (right-bottom of your screen). That is DirectVobSub. Right-click on that icon to enable or disable the subtitles.

If you don't see the green arrow icon, then you are probably using the internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic. You can enable/disable the subtitles through the menu of the player: Play -> Subtitles.

Go to DirectVobSub configuration. On the tab 'Misc', enable 'Hide subtitles'.

See below.

There are several ways to select your desired audio and subtitle streams.

Media Player Classic:

Menu -> Play -> Subtitles

LAV Splitter:

When LAV Splitter is used for a file, you should see a white icon in your system tray (right-bottom corner of your screen). That icon belongs to LAV Splitter. Right-click on the icon to choose between the audio and subtitle streams that are embedded in the file.

Haali Media Splitter:

When Haali Media Splitter is used for a file, you should see a white icon in your system tray (right-bottom corner of your screen). That icon belongs to Haali Media Splitter. Right-click on the icon to choose between the audio and subtitle streams that are embedded in the file.

DirectVobSub:

When the DirectVobSub subtitle filter is active you should see a green arrow-shaped icon in your system tray (right-bottom corner of your screen). Right-click on that icon to select a subtitle.

If you are using Media Player Classic and you don't see the DirectVobSub icon, then the internal subtitle renderer of MPC is active. See above on how to select a subtitle in that case.

Automatic selection:

Both Haali Media Splitter and LAV Splitter have options to configure your preferred languages for embedded audio and subtitle streams. See this FAQ page for detailed instructions.

Update your graphics driver.

Yes, that is possible!

How you can do it depends on with method you are using for displaying the subtitles. Usually that is one of these three methods: Media Player Classic internal renderer, DirectVobSub, or ffdshow. If you do not know which method you are using, then read the other FAQ topics on this page for more information about them. Below you can find the settings for all three methods.

Media Player Classic internal subtitle renderer

The internal subtitle renderer of MPC works differently from the other subtitle filters. Instead of merging the subtitle image with the video before it gets send to the video renderer, it sends the subtitle image to the video renderer separately from the video. The video renderer is then responsible for merging it with the video. The disadvantage of this method is that it only works with certain video renderers. The advantage is that the subtitles can be placed anywhere on the visible screen. There is no need to enlarge the video frame.

Subtitle placement options can be found here:
MPC Options -> Subtitles -> "Override placement"
MPC Options -> Subtitles -> Default Style -> "Screen Alignment & margins"

If you uncheck (or half-check) the option "Position subtitles relative to the video frame", then the subtitles are positioned relative to your screen (= video plus black bars). Positioning them relative to the screen thus allows placing the subtitles in the black bars that you see during full screen playback.

It is usually enough to adjust the positioning to be relative to the screen. The black bars are almost always high enough to fit the subtitles with the default vertical placement of 90%.

To use the internal subtitle filter:

MPC Options -> Playback -> Output > Subtitle Renderer

(For old versions: MPC Options -> Playback -> enable "auto-load subtitles")

To select a compatible video renderer:
MPC Options -> Playback -> Output -> DirectShow video

DirectVobSub and ffdshow

With these two subtitle display methods, the subtitles are merged on top of the video frame. Placing the subtitles below the video is only possible by enlarging the video frame. This is done by adding black bars to the top and bottom of the video. These black bars will also be visible when the video is not in fullscreen. They are different from black bars that are only visible during fullscreen playback. Those are not part of the video frame and thus can not be used to put the subtitles onto.

So two steps need to be taken: (1) enlarge the video frame, and (2) move the subtitles down a bit. Step 1 is the most important, step 2 is often not even needed.

Below you will find instructions for configuring DirectVobSub and ffdshow. You only need to configure the filter that is responsible for displaying the subtitles. Usually that will be DirectVobSub, unless you explicitly configured ffdshow to handle the subtitles.

DirectVobSub settings

(1) DirectVobSub options -> General -> Vertical Padding -> Extend to 16:9
(2) DirectVobSub options -> Main -> Override placement

ffdshow settings

(1) ffdshow video decoder configuration -> 'Subtitle' page -> Enable 'Letterbox' with value 16:9
(2) ffdshow video decoder configuration -> 'Subtitle' page -> Vertical Position

Values that you should use for DirectVobSub and ffdshow

Extend and Letterbox 16:9 means that the video height will be enlarged so that the ratio of the video width/height becomes 16/9. A different ratio may be more optimal depending on your monitor/tv. Some indications:
Monitor with screen resolution 1600x1280, 1280x1024, 1280x800 -> use 16:9
Monitor with screen resolution 1600x1200, 1024x768, 800x600 -> use 4:3
HDTV -> use 16:9
PAL TV -> use extend to 576 lines
NTSC TV -> use extend to 480 lines

Both filters have a default vertical position of 90%. To move the subtitles further down, increase this percentage with a few %. Don't make it too big, otherwise the bottom part of the subtitles may fall outside of the visible video area.

You need to enable the option called "Allow animation when buffering" in DirectVobSub and/or MPC.

DirectVobSub options -> Misc tab
Media Player Classic options -> Subtitles

In old versions of DirectVobSub the option is named differently. Then it was called "Pre-buffer subpictures" and you need to disable it to get animation.
In old versions of Media Player Classic the option was called "Sub-picture buffer". Set that value to 0 to get animation.

MPC Options > Playback > Output > Subtitle Renderer > select Internal Subtitle Renderer

MPC Options > Playback > Output > DirectShow video > select a video renderer that is compatible with subtitles

They are largely based on the same code, so they have similar abilities. The main difference between the two is how the subtitles are merged with the video.

DirectVobSub merges the subtitle image with a video frame before that video frame gets send to the video renderer. The advantage of this method is that it works with all video renderers.

The internal subtitle filter of MPC sends the subtitle image to the video renderer separately from the video. The video renderer is responsible for merging them together. The advantage of this method is that it is compatible with DXVA video decoders. That are video decoders that use your graphics card to assist in the decoding process. Such decoders need a direct connection to the video renderer, meaning that intermediate filters such as DirectVobSub can not be used. A disadvantage of the internal subtitle filter of MPC is that it only works with certain video renderers.

When the internal subtitle filter of MPC is enabled it will automatically prevent DirectVobSub from being used. That way you won't get double subtitles.

This is the fault of Windows Media Player. In certain situations it prevents intermediate filters (such as DirectVobSub) from loading.

An alternative method for displaying the subtitles is to activate the internal subtitle filter in ffdshow. You can enable/disable subtitles through the red ffdshow video decoder icon in your system tray.

If you always want to use ffdshow for the subtitles, then don't forget to disable DirectVobSub with the Codec Tweak Tool. Otherwise you might get double subtitles in some situations.

Make sure you have enabled the DVD subtitles. You can enable the subtitles through the "Navigate" menu in MPC. There you can also select the subtitles language.

If no subtitles are displayed, even when you have enabled them, then try the following solutions:

• Enable the internal MPEG-2 decoder in MPC. You can do that in MPC Options -> Internal Filters.
• Disable DXVA hardware acceleration in the Cyberlink MPEG-2 Decoder. You can do that through: Codec Tweak Tool -> Various Tweaks.

First try this option:
MPC Options > Subtitles > uncheck "Allow dropping some subpictures if the queue is running late"

If that does not help, disable subpicture buffering:

MPC Options -> Subtitles -> set "Sub pictures to buffer:" to 0.

There are three ways to display subtitles using the components that are available in the codec pack. By default either DirectVobSub or the internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic is used.

Internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic

This subtitle renderer has the advantage that it is compatible with video decoders that use DXVA hardware acceleration.

This renderer works differently then DirectVobSub and ffdshow. It does not merge the subtitle image with the video before the video reaches the video renderer, but instead it sends the subtitle images to the video renderer separately from the video and instructs the video renderer merge them with the video.

The above is possible because Media Player Classic has control over the video renderer. The internal subtitle renderer only works with specific video renderers.

To enable and disable the internal subtitle filter:
MPC options > Playback > Output > Subtitle renderer

To select a compatible video renderer:
MPC Options -> Playback -> Output -> DirectShow video

DirectVobSub

This dedicated subtitle filter works with all players.

It gets placed in between the video decoder and the video renderer. It merges the subtitle image with the video. This filter is not compatible with decoders that use DXVA, since those need to be directly connected to the video renderer.

ffdshow video decoder

ffdshow has an option for displaying subtitles. If enabled, then by default it will only be active whenever ffdshow is used to decode the video. If you also want to use it together with a different video decoder, then you need to enable "Raw video" in ffdshow.

You should see a green arrow shaped icon in your system tray when DirectVobSub is active. The system tray is located in the right bottom corner of your screen.

Media Player Classic can show you which filters are being used during playback. Right-click on the video and select Filters. You should see DirectVobSub in the displayed filter list when it is active.

MPC Options -> Playback -> Output -> Subtitle Renderer

(In old versions: MPC Options -> Playback -> enable "Auto-load subtitles".

You also need to select a compatible video renderer. Compatible ones are: VMR-7 (renderless), VMR-9 (renderless), Haali video renderer, EVR Sync, EVR Custom Presenter, and madVR.

MPC Options -> Playback -> Output -> DirectShow video.

When the internal subtitle renderer is active, it will automatically prevent DirectVobSub from being used. So you do not need to uninstall or disable DirectVobSub.

It is only possible to adjust the font and color of text based subtitles. Subtitles that are based on images, such as idx/sub, can not be modified.

Instructions can be found below for each of the subtitle display methods that is supported by the codec pack.

Internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic

MPC Options -> Subtitles -> Default Style. There you can choose the font, colors, and font size.

DirectVobSub

DirectVobSub configuration -> Main tab -> Text Settings -> click on "Arial". There you can choose the font, colors, and font size.

ffdshow video decoder

ffdshow video decoder configuration -> Subtitles -> Font. There you can choose the font, colors, and font size.

ffdshow video decoder configuration -> Subtitles -> VobSub. There you can adjust the size (scaling) of image based subtitles.

MPC-HC works with a delay interval (default: 500ms). Press F1 to substract this interval from the current delay. Press F2 to add this interval to the current delay.

For example, press F1 twice for a delay of -1000 milliseconds. Press F2 three times for a delay of +1500 milliseconds.

The delay interval can be adjusted here: MPC Options -> Subtitles -> Delay interval.

If you want to use a specific delay value, then you could use set that value as the delay interval (as a positive value!). After that you will only need to press F1 or F2 once to activate the delay.

Yes, that is possible by increasing the resolution of the texture upon which the subtitles are rendered. This will however result in a small increase in CPU usage.

DirectVobSub

DirectVobSub configuration -> general tab -> adjust the "Resolution" setting

Internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic

MPC Options -> Subtitles -> adjust "Maximum texture resolution"

Those options are only available when using the internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic. They are disabled when using an external subtitle filter, such as DirectVobSub.

This is a performance issue and can be solved by disabling subtitle animation. Animation is rarely used, for example for karaoke effects in anime videos, so disabling it is no problem for videos with regular subtitles.

1. Go to: Media Player Classic options -> Subtitles
2. Uncheck "Allow animation when buffering".
3. Set "Sub pictures to buffer" to 4.
4. Do the same in: DirectVobSub options -> Misc tab

This may happen if the subtitle language requires a different code page than the language of your Windows locale settings. You can solve it by adjusting the code page setting.

Another cause can be if the selected font does not contain certain (Unicode) characters that are used by the subtitle. We recommend using the Tahoma font.

You can change the font here:
Media Player Classic options -> Subtitles -> Default Style
DirectVobSub options -> Main tab -> Text Settings -> Click on "Arial" (or whatever font is default)

You can change the code page by clicking on "Default (1)" on the above settings pages.

This problem may also occur if you have Logitech Gaming Software installed. Remove or disabling that software will solve the problem.

Some subtitle formats (such as SSA/ASS) may contain their own subtitle styles. You can override those styles with this setting:
MPC-HC menu > Play > Subtitle > Default Style
With that option enabled, it will use the style that you have defined in the MPC-HC settings.

You need to use the internal subtitle renderer of Media Player Classic. It is not possible to use DirectVobSub in combination with DXVA (native), because the video decoder needs a direct connection to the video renderer. This limitation does not exist when using DXVA2 (copy-back). But that requires Windows 7 or newer, and may not work well on (very) old graphics cards.

This is caused by the DivX Plus Codec Bundle. You can solve it by uninstalling DivX.

This is possible with MPC-HC. With these settings you can display subtitles in multiple languages.

1. MPC-HC options > Advanced > BlockVSFilter = False
   Then you can use both the internal subtitle renderer of MPC-HC and VSFilter at the same time. Each can display a different subtitle.
   There is just one limitation: at least one of the two subtitles must be an external subtitle file (for example .srt), because only one embedded subtitle can be active in the splitter.
2. MPC-HC options > Subtitles > disable "Prefer external subtitles over embedded subtitles"
3. Here you can select first subtitle:
   MPC-HC menu > Play > Subtitle track
   (it is recommended to use MPC-HC for displaying an embedded subtitle and VSFilter for an external one)
4. Second one can be selected by right-clicking on the VSFilter icon that appears in the system tray (right bottom corner of screen).
   VSFilter can also be accessed through: MPC-HC menu > Play > Filters
5. Now you need to adjust the position of the subtitles, so that they don't overlap. You can do this in either MPC-HC or in VSFilter. Both offer the same options.
6. MPC-HC options > Subtitles > Default Style > Adjust the position of the subtitles.
   For example position it at the top instead of bottom. Or increase bottom margin to move it to a higher position.
   - or -
   VSFilter settings > Main > Text Settings > click on "Arial"
7. VSFilter is not compatible with DXVA2 (native) hardware acceleration in the video decoder. Change that to DXVA2 (copyback).

When you want to display only one subtitle, you can use one of the following settings to disable subtitles in either MPC-HC or VSFilter:

• MPC-HC menu > Play > Subtitles > Enable (or simply press W on your keyboard)
• VSFilter right-click menu > Hide subtitles

Our MPC-HC player has basic support for this subtitle format.

Playback in other players not supported.

You can convert .vtt files into .srt format with these sites:
https://gotranscript.com/subtitle-converter
https://nikse.dk/SubtitleEdit/Online