post-it wrote:.. actually, I'm having a little trouble trying to pull a sub-file from an MKv right now and I'm not having much luck; 1meg files are not SSA or any other subbed standard.
VobSub / SUP files can be several megs in size because they're bitmapped. If SSA or ASS subtitles have embedded fonts or ASSDRAW attachments, the filesize can also be large.
And besides, this is precisely the reason MKVExtract exists, and is a part of the MKVToolNix package (has been for as long as I can remember as well).
Even in that circumstance, the OP wasn't asking about pulling subs out or rendering without them - they want them there, but they want them hardcoded onto the video (my guess is that it's to play on a standalone player or something that doesn't support softsubs). And sure enough, I did simply say that using DirectShowSource would resolve that in one go rather than jumping through hoops trying to get the files themselves reconfigured, as long as VSFilter was set up correctly.
The information for using this stuff is secondary because the OP
specifically made reference to already using AviSynth, so going into explicit detail on how to use DSS is practically wholly unnecessary. I did mention the only relevant option for VSFilter, though.
Quite frankly, these kinds of questions are shuffled under the rug for a reason - the Org forums from 2001 and maybe early 2002 didn't mind or at least overlooked the questions concerning digisubs and other such topics (as attested to by archives that survive from that period), but that has not been true for several years.
It's a liability, and the only reason such questions still get answered now are because the posters aren't stupid enough to come right out and say that's what they're using (and if they are, the posts get edited and/or the thread locked). So it falls under something of a banner of plausible deniability.
Even though I use MKV extensively for my own purposes and can maintain something of a benefit of a doubt concerning it, the plethora of questions that arise on the topic are grating, because it's gotten blatant and illustrate clearly just how little reading, testing, and observing people do (seriously, one MKV or MP4 conversion question doesn't even have to be three posts down for another one to pop up in the
same section -
are you kidding me?). This forum has a Search function, as most do. If they can't use it effectively, then tough shit. The same is true of places like Doom9, which are much more centered around video processing and treatment than we are, and they have the same sort of zero tolerance policies in place, and are harsher about it than this site is.
There's a certain amount of tradeoff here - if they can't be expected to do at least some of the proper research, then we can't (and really, should never have in the first place) be expected to hand them everything they want on a silver platter. Answering honest questions from beginners is one thing, but catering to the lowest common denominator is another.
I think there does need to be relevant READ FIRST stickies in the new forums like there are in General AMV and AMV Announcements - I don't have a clue why they weren't created when the Video Software Help section was split into three a couple years ago. Not that I think it would help considering the number of already-answered questions we get in the various sections anyway, but at least it would provide something to point to (and a better justification for closing redundant threads). Links to the Tech Guides can be included inside those stickies, along with other resource links.