[MEncoder-users] mencoder + subtitles programming

[D Richard Felker III]

On Thu, Jan 13, 2005 at 01:06:55AM -0500, Joshua Shriver wrote:
> Are there any plans for mencoder to have support for a scriptable 
> subtitle system?
> I'm a big fan of mencoder, but after talking to a lot of anime 
> fansubbers I've noticed none use mencoder because of the lack of a 
> scriptable subtitling system. The most common type used is SubStation 
> Alpha which you can use for everything down to effects, karaoke, etc.
> 
> If something like this could be incorporated, I think it would make 
> mencoder more attractive to people who need to do subtitling beyond a 
> basic .txt timed file, (effects, karaoke, text movement (rotation, 
> compression, stretching, etc)

what's to keep you from making a .ssa file to distribute with the
movie, or mux in .mkv with it? hard-burning subtitles onto a movie
does nothing but waste space/quality (and yes, it wastes a lot by
making motion estimation ineffective and adding sharp edges) and annoy
people who would rather be able to turn the subs on/off at their
leisure..

rich