Softsubs
| Synonyms: | soft subtitles |
| See also: | Fansub, Fan Translation, Fansub Encoding, SubStation Alpha, SubRip |
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Softsubs or soft subtitles are a form of fansub that contain only the text and timing information, rather than the video file. Softsub distributors may make their subtitles available in the same container with the raw video file that it matches, or they may identify the raw file so leechers can find the correct file.[1] Most softsubs are distributed in .ssa (SubStation Alpha) or .srt (SubRip) format.[2] The subtitle file is placed in the same folder as the raw video file, and the video player automatically renders the subtitles on the screen.[3]
During the switch from xvid encoding in .avi containers to h.264 encoding in .mkv containers, the newer .mkv formats were often referred to as softsubs because the subtitles were not hardcoded onto the video itself but were added as separate files inside the container.[4] For many anime-only leechers who speak English, this is the only definition of softsub they have ever encountered, since separate softsubs are more popular with drama translations, film translations[5], and translations into some languages, such as Russian.[6]
It may soon be possible for Visual Novels to also be softsubbed, rather than hacked.[7]
References
- ^ Boku to Star no 99 Nichi Accessed Nov. 23, 2012.
- ^ Who prefers .srt over .ass, and why? "As a person who works in a fansub group, I'd like to know why some people prefer their subs in .srt format as opposed to .ass. It's not that I'm totally ignorant of some of the reasons, but I'd like to hear from the community about this." Accessed Nov. 23, 2012.
- ^ How to watch subtitles (softsubs) Accessed Nov. 24, 2012.
- ^ Hardsubs versus Softsubs "Some person of another fansub group said that they prefer "mkv"-softsubs with h.264 because you get a smaller filesize with the same quality (or something like that). I'm not quite sure if it is really correct but their episodes were around 100 MB." ~Anonymous, posted Oct. 23, 2012. Accessed Nov. 23, 2012.
- ^ Subscene FAQ Accessed Nov. 24, 2012.
- ^ Subtitles » Субтитры - переводы к фильмам, сериалам и аниме | скачать онлайн Accessed Nov. 24, 2012.
- ^ A Revolution for Fan Translation–it is now possible to sub any visual novel without hacking (by jichi) "No text extraction, no text re-insertion, no hacking required." Accessed Nov. 24, 2012.