When a video is extracted from a DVD including subtitles, it will be created in IDX+SUB format. While most subtitle files are in text format, these VOB subtitles in this IDX format are not text but an image, but just a repackaged file from a DVD and with the extension is the .SUB file. When compared to regular SRT files, the combination of SUB and IDX files tells the player where to place the subtitles on the screen, and provides them with a variety of formats and colors such as bold, printed, and more. italic, etc. In this way, the subtitles can be placed near the speaker in the dialog and you can see who is speaking.
While a combination of SUB and IDX files can be used on modern players such as GOM, POT Player, and VLC, they may not be compatible with your phone, handheld, transmitter, and TV. They just need good text-formatted subtitles in the .SRT format to work, and we usually download them from a variety of online sources.
But then there is the problem that always haunts the subtitles and that is the perfect synchronization. Most online sources from which you download .SRT subtitles are not synced perfectly, and even if you manually sync the beginning, it may not sync until you watch the end. . In such cases, the best way to get perfect subtitles is to convert. The only problem is that IDX/SUB files are not text but images and require a bit more effort in the conversion process. So let me give you step-by-step instructions to get the job done.
Convert IDX/SUB subtitles to SRT
Step 1: Download the latest version of the Subtitle Editing tool from Niesk.dk. The program is available as a portable ZIP file that can be extracted to a folder and executed or saved as an installer. I recommend using the portable version. Subtitle Edit is a powerful tool with a lot of features but in this article I will only focus on converting IDX files to SRT files. But discover this tool for yourself.
Step 2: When you launch the application, this is the screen that you will see. Here, click Open and download SUB subtitles into the app. Also, make sure that the .IDX file is in the same directory and has the same filename as the name of the SUB file. Otherwise, you will get an error when importing subtitles.
Step 3: After importing the subtitles, the tool will load the OCR module to convert the image to text from the subtitle. There will be many settings to configure in this page, so make sure you have seen the screenshot and copied the correct settings at the end. This will make the process seamless and deal with words that are not in the dictionary. When everything is done, click Start OCR button.
Step 4: The tool will start the OCR process and it may take some time before the entire timecode is complete. OCR is almost perfect with minimal errors, however if the tools feel that it might need a review, it will highlight specific lines for you to check after the conversion is finished.
Step 5: Once the whole process is complete, you can review the subtitles (if you are really patient) and then save it as an SRT file format. Since the timecode is taken from the DVD subtitles themselves, the new SRT file will sync perfectly and you can now enjoy the movie on your TV.
Online IDX/SUB to SRT converter
If you’re looking for an online tool that can convert IDX/SUB files to SRT with minimal effort, you’re out of luck. Before trying out the Subtitle Edit tool myself, I searched for online tools where the conversion could be done easily, but I failed. There is no online tool that can convert an IDX file to an SRT file like you would expect.
Editing subtitles is your best bet to get the job done with minimal manual work (or errors). However, if you can find a better tool that can handle the online conversion, has batch conversion features and above all is easy to operate, please let us know via the comments or our forum.
ALSO READ: 2 Great Tools To Find And Fix Movie Subtitles That Are Missing In Your Movie Collection
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
