Serviio

I've been using Serviio for a about 5 years, but I am no expert, so I need some help please.

I was using an LG HD3D TV (can't remember the model). It wouldn't play H265 encoded files, nor could it display subtitles embedded in the MKV container. If I needed subs (forced, for example, for foreign language sequences in an otherwise English film), and they weren't hardcoded, I would have to have them as a separate SRT file.

Got my new Samsung XXMU6500 at the weekend... works a treat, lovely picture, plays H265, even handles DTS audio (used to have to remove or convert it to DD5.1). However, if there is a subtitle file in the MKV container, it will display it. Always. And I can't find any way of turning them off. Subtitles are off in Serviio, and they are off on the TV, but they still appear.

Am I missing something blindingly obvious? Or am I going to have to use MKVToolNix to strip out the subtitles from films where I don't want them?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

You need to work out if the file is being transcoded or not (see viewtopic.php?f=10&t=24557&p=117800#p117800.

If it’s not, which I suspect is the case, then Serviio is sending the file as-is.... it’s up to the TV to turn on/off the subtitles. I haven’t got your TV (or a Sumsung for that matter) but there will be an option to turn them on/off; your TV will likely remember the last setting. Ps. A lot of TVs have a different means for turning subtitles on/off for their media player vs tv broadcasts ie. it may be a different button/ menu item.

If it is transcoded, turn off burned in subtitles in Serviio Console, Delivery, Subtitles (which you’ve done so likely not transcoded).

Thanks for the reply.

Transcoding is definitely off in Serviio, and I have unchecked the "Enable Subtitles" options as well. Subtitles are also off on the TV. It seems that if there is an embedded subtitle file in the MKV container, then the TV will display it regardless of any settings (it seems that the TV subtitle options only affect broadcast TV, not external content).

Guess I will have to get used to them, or start stipping them out where they exist.

Use MediaInfo (or FFMPEG from the command line) and see if there is a separate captions track. If it only shows audio and video tracks, the captions have been burned into the video and there's nothing you can do about that.

But if there's a captions track (or more than one), then the TV is retrieving the captions and playing them. With my Samsung (JU7100) I can open the info page while it's playing and see if it shows a captions option. If it does, the TV is doing it, and I can turn them on or off from that menu. At least with my set there's never been captions displayed unless I turn them on.

Ah - thanks for that! I have already been using mediainfo to check for subs (or forced subs, which I would want to keep for foreign language scenes in an otherwise English film). But I haven't so far checked the info page when the file is playing on the TV. I'll give that a go tomorrow evening and see if there is an option there to turn subs on/off or select a particular subtitle file.

Thanks for the information.

Don't know if your Samsung will have the same UI as mine, but to get the info drop-down you click what looks like a gear in the upper right corner of the screen, after clicking the OK button on the remote to open the display bar.

Thanks for the suggestion - it works!

My Samsung has it's info bar come from the bottom (complete with play/pause/forward/rewind). Far right is the Gear icon, where subtitles can be set to which ever option is offered in the MKV file. The file I just tested offerred the following: Off; English1; Language; English2.

Off is obvious! It had defaulted to English1, and in this case 'Language' offered English subs for scenes in a foreign Language. (I didn't check English2).

Thanks again - I can now watch happily without having to be forced to have the subs on!