14 DAY TRIAL // Movies and TV shows have been available from the iTunes Store for quite a long time now and with the help of other devices such as Apple TV, it is easier than ever to enjoy them on TV. Unfortunately, Apple's offerings leave something to be desired. Not just the video quality that is not up to high definition standards, but something else that passes unseen to the general population. That something is subtitles. Normally, subtitles are only used when you are watching something that is in a language that you don't know; since the iTunes Store only sells in the US and it is all in English, this should be a non-issue. However, the Apple TV lets you watch movies that you ripped from DVDs or other sources and these movies could very well be in another language. Since Apple TV doesn't do subtitles out of the box, watching foreign movies can become an adventure in itself. Last but not least, people with hearing disabilities cannot fully enjoy the video content of the iTunes Store or Apple TV because of this total lack of subtitle support. Fortunately, for all of these problems, there is one simple solution? Submerge.
What it does Submerge does several things, but first and foremost is adding subtitle support to movies that can then be played in iTunes and Apple TV. Subtitles can be previewed live and adjusted before they are saved into the movie, the program can also merge files and convert video files that are in unsupported formats so that they will play in iTunes and Apple TV.
Working with it Working with Submerge is very easy and can be learned in just about three minutes, by watching the video that automatically opens when you first start the program. This video takes you through all the major steps of adding subtitle support to a movie and getting it to play in iTunes.
Submerge can open any movie that you can open with QuickTime, including WMVs and AVIs if you have the appropriate plugins installed. In terms of subtitles files, it only works with SRT format, but this shouldn't be a problem since it is popular and also used by other media players such as VLC.
Once you've loaded everything you need, you can preview the subtitles as they will be rendered in the Submerge window. You can resize the window to the desired size, and you can also turn on full screen mode to get a better feel for the final result. At this point, you can open up the subtitles drawer where you will find all the subtitles related settings. From here you can change everything you want about the subtitles, starting with the encoding and the font that you want to use. Care should be taken when choosing the font because the bold and italic options do not function unless the font has an appropriate variation in the font family. Last but not least, you can choose the size of the subtitle and the positioning of the text, which might also be more properly called alignment. Though not present in the drawer, you also have the option to nudge the subtitles up or down, from the menus.
Once everything is set up right and you have previewed the final results, it is time to save everything you've done. If the movie file was good to begin with, you can just use the save function. You can either make movies standalone, meaning that everything will be copied into a new file, or make a reference movie, that will take up next to no pace whatsoever, but will require all the files you used in order to play properly. If the initial movie file was inappropriate for your end use, either because of the wrong format or the wrong size, you can choose to export it. From the conversion menu you can choose several formats, including Apple TV and iPod.
Extras While Submerge's main function is to add subtitles to movies, it also has some nice options that are not as advertised.
The first of these is the ability to force the aspect ratio of a movie. This option may not get used on every movie you have, but when you need it, having it there is just great. The second is the ability to merge several movie files into one. This is done by making use of the copy and paste functions. The individual files can be outfitted with subtitles beforehand and they can both have different settings. When you are ready to make the merge, just select the clip that needs to be moved and copy it. When pasting, care needs to be exercised because what you paste will be placed at the current point in time. Go to either the beginning or the end of the file and paste it there, unless you want the piece you are pasting somewhere in the middle of the movie.
The Good Perfect for foreign film fans or people with disabilities, easy to use and very customizable.
The Bad It could use the ability to specify font size using numbers, as well as the option to customize the color of the subtitle plate.
The Truth Apple really needs to add support for subtitles in iTunes. Unfortunately, this support has been missing for some time and there is no telling how long it will be until it arrives. Fortunately, Submerge does a great job and can be used in the meantime.
Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge:
