[I use this](https://sourceforge.net/projects/mkvextractgui-2/), but mp4 will take up no less space than mkv unless you plan on reencoding your videos in which case you could just use mkv as the container anyway. Hope this helps.
Subtitle Edit is the best free program for this. It can not only extract an SRT but it can convert image based subs such as PGS, SSA & ASS to SRT as well. All for free.
https://www.videohelp.com/software/Subtitle-Edit
Ok so I think I should clarify why I thought MP4 would take up less space. I’m somewhat of a noob at this, but I was going to use handbrake to compress the approx. 25GB MKV file to approx. 5GB MP4 file. I would prefer to not burn the subtitles in, so I would need some way to extract the SRT files first before converting to MP4. Sorry hopefully I’m explaining myself better this time.
I would like you to understand something that has been a misconception in this forum for a very long time.
MP4 and MKV are just containers, that much is true!
But by this forums own admission and Plex, MP4 is the preferred container.
[Read myth 5 throughly please.](https://amp.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/5miq8s/top_10_plex_myths_debunked_6_will_blow_your_mind/)
[Plex support direct link.](https://support.plex.tv/articles/203810286-what-media-formats-are-supported/)
Bottom line, Plex clients and servers work better with MP4 then MKV as stated by a moderator of this forum and Plex.
If you need to use external subs for Plex then this is an example of how you should name everything:
Star Wars (1977).MP4
Star Wars (1977).eng.srt
If you need forced subs then they should be named:
Star Wars (1977).eng.forced.srt
This is is how Plex works with MP4 and and if you want it to work then follow this format.
Good luck my friend!
😂 I have not a single MP4 on my server, nothing but MKV, subtitles work perfectly fine and clients direct play whenever they want to. Seek and rewind work well. I see nothing in those links that says MKV isn’t supported well other than omission of mention in the first link which I note isn’t dated. I see zero advantage to an MP4 container.
And I didn’t say that you had said it wasn’t supported. You stated it wasn’t supported well, I’m saying it’s supported perfectly fine and that there’s no advantage to using MP4 as you’ve asserted.
Have a lovely day!
Oh noes, AppleTV can’t handle MKV! Let me switch my entire library to support that client! 🙄 Dig hard enough and you’ll find other things AppleTV doesn’t support either, you going to conform to that too? I’ll stick to the better container thanks. 😂
In Handbrake you can pass through the subtitle track(s) you want without burning them in, just uncheck the burn in box on the subtitles tab. You can use ~~mp4 or~~ mkv as the container ~~it doesn't really make a difference.~~ because that supports srt subtitles, and as /u/Plex_Master so helpfully pointed out, mp4, does not.
MP4 does not support SRT subtitles within an mp4 container.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_container_formats
Please show me a MediaInfo file of a MP4 container including an SRT.
My thoughts exactly ;) Unless he is talking about just pulling out a whole bunch of unwanted subs that are subs vs just srt. I mean like a whole bunch ;)
Not sure where he gets the idea that mp4 is smaller than mkv either?
ffmpeg -i some_movie.mkv -map 0:s:0 sub.srt
Will extract the subtitle stream in the container (assuming it is an srt). If there are multiple subs just map them to another output file
Worked perfectly and in seconds. Thank you so much!
@MacOS users: you can use [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) to install `ffmpeg` with `brew install ffmpeg`.
Why do you think these mp4 are going to be smaller? Are you lowering the bit rate of the video when you transcode it? You can do what while still keeping the mkv container.
I have recently just finished converted my whole library to mkv.. Its just so much easier to work with, adding subs, extracting stuff you don't want - setting language on the audio, etc. etc..
MKVtoolnix, gMKVextractGUI, handbrake are really the 3 tools you need to do pretty much anything you want with video files. Takes only seconds to say convert mp4/avi to mkv container.. only keeping the stuff you want in the file - setting the lang to show up in your plex vs "unknown" ;) If you do want to transcode the video or audio, you can do that with handbrake.. And then insert the srt into the mkv
As others already said, Matroska (MKV) or MP4 are just the type of container that keeps the video, audio and subtitle streams together in the correct order. They have no impact on the file size. What matters is the bitrate of the video stream inside the container. A 1:1 copy af a Blu-ray video stream will be quite big no matter if it's stored inside an MKV or an MP4 file.
Handbrake or Xmedia Recode can help you lower the bitrate of the video considerably while the keeping visual quality loss - almost - unnoticeable.
In Handbrake you can use the HQ 1080p30 preset (assuming your source video is full HD and 30 FPS). On the Video tab you will find the RF slider. After choosing a preset, you can increase the default setting to reduce the output filesize even more. Just be aware that if you increase it too much, your output video will become grainy/pixelated, so don't increase the default setting by more than 2 points or so.
Encoding speed "slow" or "slower" will also give you better quality than "fast".
As for the Subtitles, you simply add them to you output on the Subtitles tab (just un-check the "burn-in" option). Should it turn out that the embedded subtitles are in a graphics format (normal on commercial DVD and Blu-ray rips), you might as well find a matching SRT file on [Subscene.com](https://Subscene.com) or [Opensubtitles.org](https://Opensubtitles.org). SRT files can be embedded inside both MKV and MP4 files. But not all software players support embedded subtitles.
I cannot copy a SubRip SRT file into an MP4 container. The conversion program will modify the subtitle format. When I do this in Xmedia Recode with an SRT downloaded from [subscene.com](https://subscene.com) muxed with Xmedia Recode (video and audio passthrough), this is my MediaArea/Info output:
General
Complete name : E:\MP4\KUNG FURY Official Movie [HD].mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 325 MiB
Duration : 31 min 2 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 1 465 kb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Writing application : Lavf58.33.100
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : [email protected]
Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 31 min 2 s
Bit rate : 1 334 kb/s
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 25.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.058
Stream size : 296 MiB (91%)
Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : avcC
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 31 min 2 s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 126 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 27.9 MiB (9%)
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1
Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Text
ID : 3
Format : Timed Text
Muxing mode : sbtl
Codec ID : tx3g
Duration : 28 min 50 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 38 b/s
Stream size : 8.12 KiB (0%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Alternate group : 3
Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02
The embedded subtitle displays nicely when I load the MP4 in VLC.
Thank you! You proved my point! SRT is not supported within an MP4 as i previously stated.
Timed text aka TXT, is similar to SRT but obviously different since it couldn’t be simply muxed into an MP4.
I’m just trying to educate people that’s all! Thank you for your efforts.
[I use this](https://sourceforge.net/projects/mkvextractgui-2/), but mp4 will take up no less space than mkv unless you plan on reencoding your videos in which case you could just use mkv as the container anyway. Hope this helps.
The main advantage of MP4 is that its metadata and subtitles formats are wider supported than MKV.
The main advantage of Plex is that it handles everything so you don't have to worry about it.
Not everything - Plex reads MP4 metadata, but not MKV for example. But the main advantage with MP4 is with other players than Plex, yes.
Subtitle Edit is the best free program for this. It can not only extract an SRT but it can convert image based subs such as PGS, SSA & ASS to SRT as well. All for free. https://www.videohelp.com/software/Subtitle-Edit
Does it do a good job at conversion?
I never had a problem
Ok so I think I should clarify why I thought MP4 would take up less space. I’m somewhat of a noob at this, but I was going to use handbrake to compress the approx. 25GB MKV file to approx. 5GB MP4 file. I would prefer to not burn the subtitles in, so I would need some way to extract the SRT files first before converting to MP4. Sorry hopefully I’m explaining myself better this time.
I would like you to understand something that has been a misconception in this forum for a very long time. MP4 and MKV are just containers, that much is true! But by this forums own admission and Plex, MP4 is the preferred container. [Read myth 5 throughly please.](https://amp.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/5miq8s/top_10_plex_myths_debunked_6_will_blow_your_mind/) [Plex support direct link.](https://support.plex.tv/articles/203810286-what-media-formats-are-supported/) Bottom line, Plex clients and servers work better with MP4 then MKV as stated by a moderator of this forum and Plex. If you need to use external subs for Plex then this is an example of how you should name everything: Star Wars (1977).MP4 Star Wars (1977).eng.srt If you need forced subs then they should be named: Star Wars (1977).eng.forced.srt This is is how Plex works with MP4 and and if you want it to work then follow this format. Good luck my friend!
😂 I have not a single MP4 on my server, nothing but MKV, subtitles work perfectly fine and clients direct play whenever they want to. Seek and rewind work well. I see nothing in those links that says MKV isn’t supported well other than omission of mention in the first link which I note isn’t dated. I see zero advantage to an MP4 container.
I never said MKV is not supported or doesn’t work. I simply stated that it’s preferred as stated by Plex themselves. Have a great day!
And I didn’t say that you had said it wasn’t supported. You stated it wasn’t supported well, I’m saying it’s supported perfectly fine and that there’s no advantage to using MP4 as you’ve asserted. Have a lovely day!
https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/esewuw/help_anybody_know_how_to_solve_this_issue/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf https://youtu.be/8EwcYwax4Oo
Oh noes, AppleTV can’t handle MKV! Let me switch my entire library to support that client! 🙄 Dig hard enough and you’ll find other things AppleTV doesn’t support either, you going to conform to that too? I’ll stick to the better container thanks. 😂
In Handbrake you can pass through the subtitle track(s) you want without burning them in, just uncheck the burn in box on the subtitles tab. You can use ~~mp4 or~~ mkv as the container ~~it doesn't really make a difference.~~ because that supports srt subtitles, and as /u/Plex_Master so helpfully pointed out, mp4, does not.
MP4 does not support SRT subtitles within an mp4 container. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_container_formats Please show me a MediaInfo file of a MP4 container including an SRT.
I had a felling it didn't when I wrote that, I neglected to check though. At least I know for sure now, thanks for letting me know.
it does now, mp4 with srt is normal
SRT subtitle files should be less than 1MB, why do you think this is saving you space?
My thoughts exactly ;) Unless he is talking about just pulling out a whole bunch of unwanted subs that are subs vs just srt. I mean like a whole bunch ;) Not sure where he gets the idea that mp4 is smaller than mkv either?
My only guess is he’s re-encoding them from h264 to h264 at a lower bitrate and doesn’t realize that’s going to hurt quality
ffmpeg -i some_movie.mkv -map 0:s:0 sub.srt Will extract the subtitle stream in the container (assuming it is an srt). If there are multiple subs just map them to another output file
Afaik your command will also handle ASS/SSA and convert to srt upon extraction.
This worked perfect!
Worked perfectly and in seconds. Thank you so much! @MacOS users: you can use [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) to install `ffmpeg` with `brew install ffmpeg`.
Why do you think these mp4 are going to be smaller? Are you lowering the bit rate of the video when you transcode it? You can do what while still keeping the mkv container. I have recently just finished converted my whole library to mkv.. Its just so much easier to work with, adding subs, extracting stuff you don't want - setting language on the audio, etc. etc.. MKVtoolnix, gMKVextractGUI, handbrake are really the 3 tools you need to do pretty much anything you want with video files. Takes only seconds to say convert mp4/avi to mkv container.. only keeping the stuff you want in the file - setting the lang to show up in your plex vs "unknown" ;) If you do want to transcode the video or audio, you can do that with handbrake.. And then insert the srt into the mkv
As others already said, Matroska (MKV) or MP4 are just the type of container that keeps the video, audio and subtitle streams together in the correct order. They have no impact on the file size. What matters is the bitrate of the video stream inside the container. A 1:1 copy af a Blu-ray video stream will be quite big no matter if it's stored inside an MKV or an MP4 file. Handbrake or Xmedia Recode can help you lower the bitrate of the video considerably while the keeping visual quality loss - almost - unnoticeable. In Handbrake you can use the HQ 1080p30 preset (assuming your source video is full HD and 30 FPS). On the Video tab you will find the RF slider. After choosing a preset, you can increase the default setting to reduce the output filesize even more. Just be aware that if you increase it too much, your output video will become grainy/pixelated, so don't increase the default setting by more than 2 points or so. Encoding speed "slow" or "slower" will also give you better quality than "fast". As for the Subtitles, you simply add them to you output on the Subtitles tab (just un-check the "burn-in" option). Should it turn out that the embedded subtitles are in a graphics format (normal on commercial DVD and Blu-ray rips), you might as well find a matching SRT file on [Subscene.com](https://Subscene.com) or [Opensubtitles.org](https://Opensubtitles.org). SRT files can be embedded inside both MKV and MP4 files. But not all software players support embedded subtitles.
Please provide MediaInfo of an MP4 container with an SRT within it.
I cannot copy a SubRip SRT file into an MP4 container. The conversion program will modify the subtitle format. When I do this in Xmedia Recode with an SRT downloaded from [subscene.com](https://subscene.com) muxed with Xmedia Recode (video and audio passthrough), this is my MediaArea/Info output: General Complete name : E:\MP4\KUNG FURY Official Movie [HD].mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41) File size : 325 MiB Duration : 31 min 2 s Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 1 465 kb/s Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Writing application : Lavf58.33.100 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : [email protected] Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 31 min 2 s Bit rate : 1 334 kb/s Width : 1 280 pixels Height : 720 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 25.000 FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.058 Stream size : 296 MiB (91%) Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Color range : Limited Color primaries : BT.709 Transfer characteristics : BT.709 Matrix coefficients : BT.709 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 31 min 2 s Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 126 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 27.9 MiB (9%) Default : Yes Alternate group : 1 Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Text ID : 3 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 28 min 50 s Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 38 b/s Stream size : 8.12 KiB (0%) Default : Yes Forced : No Alternate group : 3 Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-28 04:01:02 The embedded subtitle displays nicely when I load the MP4 in VLC.
Thank you! You proved my point! SRT is not supported within an MP4 as i previously stated. Timed text aka TXT, is similar to SRT but obviously different since it couldn’t be simply muxed into an MP4. I’m just trying to educate people that’s all! Thank you for your efforts.