Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

For downloading subtitles from http://www.opensubtitles.com/, a program called SubDownloader is offered by the website itself. But I don't use it because I find it slightly complicated and thus unnecessary. I just download the subtitle file directly, put it in the movie folder and run the media player. If the subtitles are matching the movie, you can close the webpage showing the list of available subtitle files. Otherwise just download the next subtitle file and check again. Since the subtitle files are very small (KB in size), it won't take much time and energy to find the right one. Only on rare occasions you have to use Google Search and Subtitle Workshop (especially for old movies).

Tip 2:

I don't use the Split / Join (append) Subtitle function in Subtitle Workshop. Let me tell you why. If you have the movie in two files and subtitles in a single file, it is better to join the two movie files into one instead of splitting the subtitle file (Use VirtualDubMod for AVI files and MKVMerge for MKV files). If you have the subtitles in two files and the movie in a single file, just open the second subtitle file in Subtitle Workshop, match it with the movie using SET DELAY function. Save the changes, open it in Notepad, Select All, Copy and then Paste it at the end of the first subtitle file.

Tip 3:

Pardon me... I still use the split function of Subtitle Workshop occasionally when I find in a downloaded single subtitle file that the first half of the text is matching with the movie but not the rest. It happens because the uploader has appended the subtitles erroneously (and thats why you should follow my previous tip for joining subtitles). In such cases, open the subtitle file in Subtitle Workshop, split it upto the matching first part and save it. Then open the unmatching second part in Subtitle Workshop and follow the Tip 2 !!

Tip 4:

Whenever you perform the Tips 2 and 3, you will find that although the resulting subtitle file is matched, the numbering of text is not continuous from the first to the last. Now just open this file in Subtitle Workshop, and save it. Now you will see that the numbering of text is continuous !!

Tip 5:

Always keep a copy of the original/ edited subtitle file seperately, until you create a matching subtitle file in Subtitle Workshop.

http Vs https

Question Of The Week

http:// Vs https://

What is the difference?

HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol. It is rather a language of communication for transmitting information between web servers and clients across the Internet.

HTTP serves as a request and response procedure that all agents on the Internet follow so that information can be easily and accurately disseminated between servers, which hold information, and clients, who are trying to access it. HTTP is commonly used to access HTML pages, but other resources can be utilized as well through HTTP.

When you visit a webpage, if you look at the address in your browser, it will likely begin with "http://". It means that the website is communicating with your browser using the regular unsecure language. In other words, it is possible for a hacker to intercept your computer's communication with the website. If you fill out a form on the website providing confidential information like credit card number, password etc., someone might see the information you send out to that site.

To prevent such interception, HTTPS protocol was developed by Netscape. In HTTPS, the S stands for SECURE. If a website ever asks you to enter some confidential information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with "https://" (Internet Explorer shows a Lock Symbol at the end of the address bar and Firefox shows a verification certificate at the start of the address bar). If the web address begins with "https://", that basically means your computer is communicating to the website in a secure manner that no one can intercept. Although there are claims that HTTPS is not infallible, it is the best chance we have at present.

Subtitle Workshop

Program Of The Week

Subtitle Workshop

If you are watching a downloaded movie file (AVI, MKV, MP4 etc., without internal subtitles), the spoken language of which is unfamiliar to you, then you will need external (soft) subtitles in your own / favourite language to understand and enjoy the movie. If you are a frequent user of external subtitles (of whatever language) to watch movies (of whatever language), this is going to be a very useful program for you. How?

1. Frame Rate:

If you don't get a subtitle file which matches the Frame Rate of your movie file anywhere in the web, you can change the Frame Rate of the available subtitle file using this program. To find out the Frame Rate of the movie file, use Media Info or G-Spot Codec Information Appliance (Start menu -> Programs -> K-lite Codec Pack -> Tools). The original Frame Rate of the subtitle file is usually provided in the webpage or inside the file's text.

2. Constant Delay:

Sometimes you may find that the subtitles appear either early or late while playing the movie. The difference may range from a few seconds to a few minutes but it remains constant throughout the movie. You can correct this problem by EDIT -> TIMINGS -> SET DELAY.

3. Visual Sync:

If you can't syncronise the subtitle timing with the movie by those two above mentioned methods, try this one using the first and last sync points.

4. Split and Join Subtitle files:

If the movie is in two files (2CD Rip) and the subtitle is a single file or vice versa, you can use these functions.

5. Text For Hearing Impaired:

Sometimes the only subtitle file which matches your movie file may be a special one created for Hearing Impaired. Unfortunately it will contain text for description of all sounds and actions which might irritate viewers with normal hearing. You can remove such text by TOOLS -> INFORMATION AND ERRORS -> FIX ALL ERRORS.

Opensubtitles and Allsubs

Websites Of The Week

www.opensubtitles.com

www.allsubs.org

If you are watching a downloaded movie file (AVI, MKV, MP4 etc., without internal subtitles), the spoken language of which is unfamiliar to you, then you will need external subtitles in your own / favourite language to understand and enjoy the movie. These two websites have in store lots and lots of external subtitles in a number of languages. External subtitles are available in many file formats (SRT, SUB, SSA, SMI and TXT). The commonest and most famous external subtitle file format is SRT. Opensubtitles gives an option for free registration but it is unnecessary unless you want to upload subtitles on your own.