subtitles
Latest
Netflix: 30 percent of Watch Instantly titles subbed with more on the way, plus Xbox & Roku support
It's been a slow climb since Netflix first announced it was adding closed captioning to the PC and Mac in early 2010, but today's blog post indicates its reached 30% of the available titles. So far platforms on the second revision of its streaming frontend like the PS3, Boxee Box, Google TV and Nintendo Wii support optional captions while the Xbox 360 and Roku players should "later this year." Of course, while its per-episode count is significantly higher, it's still only a few hundred of Netflix's available series, and deaf/hard of hearing users face problems like having some episodes subbed while others aren't. Netflix's new page breaking out supported titles should help, while nc-mac-asl's blog or InstantWatcher.com also can provide a filter. The plan is apparently to have subtitles on 80% of content by the end of the year and here's hoping it gets to 100% soon -- makes our quibbling over 5.1 surround sound seem sort of trivial doesn't it? (But, while we're on the subject, Netflix, where's 5.1 on non-PS3 clients?)
Netflix on PS3 goes disc-free, gets 1080p streaming and 5.1 surround sound (update)
Rejoice, PS3 owners, your Netflix streaming experience just got vastly better than anything else on the market. Starting October 18 Netflix on the PS3 will no longer require a disc, and it'll stream some content with 1080i 1080p resolution and / or 5.1-channel surround audio, while everyone else will be stuck with a max of 720p stereo for the time being. Oh, and you'll get subtitles on some content as well. Netflix is partnering with Dolby on the audio side, and the surround format will be Dolby Digital Plus, which is the same codec used by the VUDU HDX streaming service -- we're guessing it'll require a tiny bit more bandwidth but the results should sound pretty great. Netflix says 5.1 will come to other platforms "over time," so we'll see how long that takes -- and given that the PS3 is now disc-free and the company's eschewed the SRS surround features baked into its Silverlight-based platform, we're guessing Microsoft's exclusivity period has now completely run its course. Video and PR after the break. Update: Though the official PlayStation Blog originally reported the service would display streaming video at 1080i resolution, they've since struck that out -- they say it'll do 1080p now. Much better.
Japanese gamers split on subtitles vs. dubs for Western games
Hong Kong action aficionados and anime fans have long debated over subtitles and dubs. While some prefer the ease (and comedy) of listening to English dubs, purists believe original language tracks should be preserved. The debate rages on with video games, as evidenced by the complaints of many Final Fantasy XIII fans, upset by the lack of the game's original Japanese track. The debate seems to garner the same kind of division across the Pacific, where Japanese gamers are equally conflicted about the use of subs and dubs. In fact, according to a poll conducted by games publisher Spike, the opinion amongst gamers is essentially split. The poll quizzed over six thousand individuals over the course of two years, and 49% of respondents said they prefer subtitles while 47% said they prefer dubs. With such a divided opinion regarding the subject, it seems like the best bet for publishers would be to find a way to squeeze multiple audio and subtitle options into their games. That way, gamers on both sides of the fence can be appeased -- and our sick dream of playing Gears of War 3 in Finnish with Chinese subtitles can finally come true. [Via Andriasang]
Modern Warfare 2's poor translation, censorship in Japan draws ire
When Square Enix enlisted to localize Modern Warfare 2 for Japan, the publisher went above and beyond the call of duty. The game would be issued a complete Japanese-dialog makeover -- whereas the first Modern Warfare localization was simply subtitled -- in response to a "strong desire from Activision to widen the entrance for beginning FPS players," as Square Enix told Famitsu. However, some gamers are reporting that the extra effort has fallen short, citing numerous translation errors in the localized game. [Insert your Bill Murray joke here.] Additionally, Japanese site My Game Flash has rounded up other complaints about the localization, most notably an alteration to the sensationalized "No Russian" mission. Rather than delete the mission (as in the censored Russian version), Square Enix had the Japanese version of the mission adjusted to restrict the player from participating in a terrorist assault on an airport. If the player does engage civilian targets, it's game over. Square Enix has posted an update on the Modern Warfare 2 Japanese site describing the full Japanese language and subtitle tracks and warning of the "No Russian" edits, but has not announced plans to patch the translation errors or change the limitations on the censored mission. The publisher has cited technical limitations, which prevent selectable English and Japanese language tracks. Head past the break to see some footage of the Japanese version of MW2, courtesy of andriasang. [Via andriasang] Source - My Game Flash [machine translation] Source - Famitsu [machine translation] Source - Modern Warfare 2 Japanese site
Ubisoft to add subtitles to in-house games
Ubisoft has announced (in text format on gamesindustry.biz, appropriately enough) that it plans to begin supporting subtitles to its internally developed games, beginning with Far Cry 2, Prince of Persia, and Shaun White Snowboarding. The addition is being made in order to make the company's games more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. According to Ubisoft, this will require modifications to game engines already in use and also "inclusion of subtitles in the conception phase of game development."Frankly, we can't live without subtitles (some people have to sleep at night, after all) and we're surprised that Ubisoft iis only now catching on to their necessity for many gamers. Still, it's a good move and we're sure many gamers will be happier as a result.[Via Joystiq]
Ubisoft in-house titles to receive subtitles
Ubisoft has announced plans to add subtitles to all of the company's internally developed games and thus make them more accessible. The first games to include the subtitles are Far Cry 2, Prince of Persia and Shaun White Snowboarding (most of which will be covered by various iterations of "Woah!"). With any luck, the subtitles will extend to a game's sound effects and other audio cues.The first title to boast this feature will be Far Cry 2, due on Oct. 21.
Muxo adds soft subtitle support for iPhone
Over on the Handbrake forums a contributor has released an interesting tool called Muxo that allows adding soft subtitles to MP4 that are supported on the iPhone. Soft subtitles are those that can be turned on and off, rather than being actually encoded into the video with tools we've mentioned before like Submerge and RoadMovie. Entropic designed Muxo as an accessory to Handbrake, allowing you to add SRT subtitles to a fresh DVD rip. Once you load them on your iPhone you'll get a menu button that lets you turn the subtitles on and off.Muxio is a free download here (download link).Thanks Matam!
RoadMovie: batch encode movies with subtitles
If you've been looking for a way to get subtitled movies onto your iPod, Apple TV, or web server, then RoadMovie may be for you. RoadMovie has subtitle support from SubRip (.srt), SubViewer 1 & 2 (.sub), and MicroDVD. It has built-in presets for Apple TV, Cellphone, iPhone, iPod, PSP and Web. You can also use Elgato's Turbo.264 hardware for encoding at higher speeds. Some of the main features in RoadMovie include: Batch encode a list of movies Use presets to encode or create your own Batch upload to FTP, SFTP, .Mac, WebDav or Amazon S3 Add to iTunes after encode To get subtitle files, you will need an application like Submerge (from the same company). Doom9.net has a guide for getting subtitles in sync with your movies. With RoadMovie's beautiful looks and strong feature list, this could be the bridge for no subtitles in iTunes. RoadMovie is available from Bitfield's website and costs $19.95 (US); a demo is also available.%Poll-11382%
Submerge: subtitles for your Apple TV, iPod, iPhone
I've been looking for a good way to get a subtitled movie – with a SubRip (srt) file – into iTunes, my Apple TV and my iPod. I hadn't found much joy before this morning. Then I stumbled upon Submerge. I need to do some tweaking in the detailed preferences yet, but it seems to do the trick quite well. Submerge supports most video formats, including mov, avi, and mp4. In addition to SubRip, it also supports the SubViewer 1 & 2 (sub) and MicroDVD subtitle formats. By allowing the aspect ratio to be forced in the conversion, Suberge can make better use of screen real estate on various devices. And if you want to speed things up, there's also support for the Elgato Turbo.264. Overall, it seems to be a great solution. Of course, if there's a better program for doing this for under $10, I'm looking forward to hearing about it in the comments. Submerge is $9 and has a free trial available for download.
Deaf gamer seeks subtitles support
Kotaku has reprinted an interesting letter from a deaf gamer asking the ESA to support subtitling in video games. The lack of subtitling means a game's story is often incomprehensible to roughly one percent of the population. Not only that, but audio-only cues are sometimes important to the gameplay itself, such as the beeping bomb-detection device in Metal Gear Solid 2.What's worse, deaf and hard of hearing gamers often have no idea whether a game will cater to them going into a purchase. Game packaging rarely notes the availability of subtitles, and game reviews rarely mention audio accessibility (GameCritics is a notable exception, including a deaf and hard of hearing section in its consumer guides).Game accessibility doesn't stop at hearing loss. Developers are working on audio-only games for the blind and The Switch Project supports simple, one-button games that "can be played by anyone, no matter the disability."
