Hello all,
I have linuxmint.
I want to be able to add subtitles on existing videos. For example I download a video from telegram, so the format of the video can be anything, fpr example the speaker speaks in English, I want to translate this video by adding subtitles in French.

Which software is most appropriate ?
Please make sure that tutos/videos exist so I can learn.

If you were to send explanation in writing, please do explain the technical words used as if you were speaking to a child (I am not a computer geek) and English is not my mother tongue.
The video that I will "create" with the subtitles must be in a format that can be read by anyone on computers and mobile phones, and not too heavy so it loads quickly.

Thank you very much

Joelle

Hello, Joelle.

Subtitles in videos can be achieved in two principal ways:

1. The subtitles are contained within a text file (normally with a .srt file suffix) that's read by the video player alongside the video file.
2. The subtitles are directly embedded into the video file - as much a part of the video as anything else like the background or people captured in the video.

Where you can toggle the subtitles on and off (like for a DVD or YouTube video), this will mean the subtitles aren't hardcoded directly into the video but instead are contained as a separate file or track. For this purpose, you might want to take a look at some of the options in this article. Aegisub is also meant to be very good.

However, it seems like you want to have the subtitles directly embedded as part of the video (which means that as long as the video player supports the file format and codec, it will show the subtitles). In this case, if you don't want to make any significant other edits to the video, then you may be best looking at this article on how to directly embed subtitles from a .srt file into a video using VLC. You could also look at HandBrake, which I believe can do the same. Both assume you've already created such a subtitles file, probably using one of the methods already mentioned above.

Alternatively, and particularly if you need to make more edits to the video, you will probably need to use a fully-fledged video editor. The latest versions of Kdenlive have a dedicated captions tool that allows you to type in and time your subtitles directly and is easier than handling traditional title overlays. The tool is still being developed by the Kdenlive developers so its features are limited at the moment, but it might just be what you're looking for.

I hope that helps.

Hello Valeoak
I will look deeply at what you wrote this afternoon.

The subtitles are contained within a text file (normally with a .srt file suffix) that's read by the video player alongside the video file.
The subtitles are directly embedded into the video file - as much a part of the video as anything else like the background or people captured in the video.

I DO NOT KNOW IF WE CAN USE COLOR OR BOLD TEXT SO I USE CAPS TO ANSWER (NOT TO BE RUDE)
IF PEOPLE DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO USING VIDEO DOWNLOADHELPER, THEY MUST HAVE THE SUBTITLE WITH THE VIDEO

Where you can toggle the subtitles on and off (like for a DVD or YouTube video), this will mean the subtitles aren't hardcoded directly into the video but instead are contained as a separate file or track. For this purpose, you might want to take a look at some of the options in this article. Aegisub is also meant to be very good.

However, it seems like you want to have the subtitles directly embedded as part of the video (which means that as long as the video player supports the file format and codec, it will show the subtitles) YES CORRECT
In this case, if you don't want to make any significant other edits to the video: NO, NO EDITS OF THE VIDEOS AT ALL
, then you may be best looking at this article on how to directly embed subtitles from a .srt file into a video using VLC.
OK I WILL LOOK
You could also look at HandBrake, I ALREADY HAVE THIS SOFTWARE BUT I MUST LEAR HOW TO USE IT
which I believe can do the same. Both assume you've already created such a subtitles file, probably using one of the methods already mentioned above. OK

Alternatively, and particularly if you need to make more edits to the video, you will probably need to use a fully-fledged video editor. The latest versions of Kdenlive have a dedicated captions tool that allows you to type in and time your subtitles directly and is easier than handling traditional title overlays. OK I WILL LOOK, I HAVE THAT SOFTWARE ALREADY INSTALLED
The tool is still being developed by the Kdenlive developers so its features are limited at the moment, but it might just be what you're looking for.
I WANT SOMETHING SIMPLE (DOHHH!!!)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH
I will probably come back with more questions later
Have a nice day where ever you are, here the weather is as sad as people (From the dictatorial former republic of France - Europe)

You've not offended me! But just for your future reference you can use bold and italics using the usual forum tags:
More usefully, you can also enclose quoted text in quote tags:
Of course, if you click the quote button in the bottom-right corner of the post you're replying to, it will embed in the quote tag the name of the user who wrote it and a link to the post in which they wrote the text.

Let us know how you get on.

I'm from Britain, so it's a rare day in August or September when it's not overcast or raining. Today is not one of those days.

Let us know how you get on.
Yes I will. Here is one video that I will try to add subtitles to it (I have added it as an attachment, I hope it is there). I hope to have finished before midnight tonight otherwise my PC turns into a pumpkin .... and I also have real things to do

I'm from Britain, Yes it is written on the left next to your name that you are in the UK, it is funny, it is not written for me

Hi again valeoak

I have translated a short 2 min video, the text is in libreoffice writer.
I also opened the links you sent, one of the link says . You also said about the .SRT format .

1- How do I convert my text file from libreoffice writter into a .SRT file ??
In libreoffice writer, when I do save as I do get many file extension choices but not .SRT
If I do export, it can export as PDF or EPUB, but not SRT.

2- How will I do so the text is shown at the correct moment when the guy talks .... ???

Thanks again for your time.

BTW, I lived in GB for 10 years (2 in Cardiff-Wales, then 7 in Somerset, Hertfordshire and Kent).

Joelle (yeah I know, this is not great security to use ones name )

You can't save it as srt, you need to convert it (and I think you need a special software or you need to do it manually).
https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...-to-srt-format

give me a cord, I will hung myself ..... I go eat a slab of chocolate and I come back
Have you looked at the link you sent to me ???? what do I do with that ????
I am sorry, I am only learning to walk, I am not ready for ice-skating !
...brain overload .... the system has crashed .... please reboot ....

I found a free tool on the internet, I try ...
https://toolslick.com/conversion/subtitle/txt-to-srt

Hi, Joelle.

I can't advise on software to convert a .odt file (or similar) to .srt file as I don't know of any. As per my original post regarding the VLC / HandBrake embedding options:
The good news is that .srt files are simple text files with a specified format. You could just copy your caption text from LibreOffice Writer into a text editor and follow the format to produce your subtitles. Save the file as a .srt file. (I'd advise against doing it directly in LibreOffice Writer as it might embed extra data in the file, unlike a simple text editor).

Then you have lived in a place I've lived most of my life (thus far, anyway)

Hope the above helps.

The conversion tools all seem to assume that the source file is .txt and the destination will be made into .srt. It seems fairly simple to me for you to write the subtitle file in libre office, then save it (export it) to a .txt file before attempting to do the conversion.

I am back. I did not go for a slab of chocolate (I do not have any), I made apple pies ....
And in between I also looked at what is happening here and I discovered that for once a law was passed during daylight and not between 5 people between midnight and 3 AM. Anyway, this is not the matter at hand. ha ha ha ...

Thank you also pan64 for your answer and I apologies for my rude answer but I think you and I are not on the same computing level, you are with Edward Snowden whilst I am with Snow White .... so you should have seen the look on my face when I opened your link ... sorry ....

I used the link I posted before and it magically created a SRT file but since I did not add the time lines, it does things that are bizarre, and I am not sure I can repeat the thing so I will try what you guys (savy, valeo) say, save the ODT as TXT and bla bla bla ... I get on with it ...

If you don't hear from me for 1 hour it is because I either killed myself with apple pies or I am on the phone with people losing their job ....

Speak to you later

Valeo: thanks for your answer on the other post, my other question. yes it will help, thanks.

I send you my video when it is done !

Does anyone know how safe VK is ? It is not owned by Bill and his friends, apparently it is from Russia ? Telegram is Russian I think. I normally do not care about nationalities because this is how you divide people ....

It does not wooooooorrrrrkkkkk!!!! Arg

I have the mp4 video, I have the SRT file, I follow what is written on the link (obviously not well!) but is does not work.
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/vlc-subtitles.html

Normally I have attached 3 files, it is funny I can upload an ODT file but not the SRT file onto this conversation ... strange ....

I have killed my computer. I have done something stupid and now I am in deeeeeep troubles: I have lost the bottom bar (the bar with all the icons at the bottom of the screen) and also the start button on the bottom left corner of the screen so I can not start any software at all .... I am searching on how to recover the start button to recover all the apps..... aaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggg

Hi, Joelle. I'm sorry to hear about the problems with your desktop environment. I hope you manage to revert it to normal. (This is just a guess, but it might be that the software for your desktop bar crashed and hasn't restarted properly. Rebooting your computer might resolve it).

Just so you're aware, I've not been able to see any of your uploaded files. The only valid file uploads are those with the following extensions: .gif, .jpeg / .jpg, .log, .pdf, .png and .txt. There are also strict file limits which would rule out uploading most video files in any case.

It's going to be difficult to diagnose the exact problem you're having with the subtitles without more information, but having now experimented with .srt files and VLC, I might have some suggestions:

1. The guide doesn't make it clear, but VLC will only pick up your .srt file automatically if it has the same name (excluding the file extension) as the source video file. E.g., if your source video is called video01.mp4, then your .srt file should be named video01.srt. Otherwise, you will need to tick the "Use a subtitle file" option and select the .srt file at the start.
2. Make sure your .srt file conforms to the format and pay particular attention to all the timestamps: they should be in the format hh:mm:ss,xxx --> hh:mm:ss,xxx where xxx are milliseconds. When I quickly rushed the creation of a sample .srt file to experiment with, I mistyped the first timestamp and it meant the subtitles came in a minute later than I expected (and so, at first, it seemed like they hadn't been included).
3. I think it's worth double-checking you've got the transcoding options correct (including the necessary check boxes), have selected the corresponding encapsulation and video and audio codecs correctly. If you're not sure what you're doing, select something like "Video for Youtube HD", click the edit icon (the spanner), go to the "Subtitles" tab and tick "Subtitles" and "Overlay subtitles on the video" and don't touch anything else - just click "Save".

I'm sorry that I cannot be of more help in the circumstances.