Subtitles Embedding - General Advice

[Exceptions]

HI all. Not getting into the technical bits here; at least not yet.

I have a massive library of Handbrake-encoded mp4s with embedded soft subtitles. All the software I use (VLC, iTunes/Movies, any odd player etc) recognize the subs just fine. Ditto for tools like MediaInfo (GUI & CLI), FFMpeg, and all the usual suspects. I have yet to find a tool that identifies a problem with the files.

I have one client-server app, Air Video Server, that is unable to read a small number of files with soft subs. It sees the file is there, but can't complete the "analysis" of the contents. Removing the subs solves the problem. Remuxing or re-encoding doesn't solve the problem. In addition, Air Video Server will behave just fine if I leave the appropriate-titled SRT with the mp4. Thus I don''t think it's a Handbrake issue. My guess is that the app has a bug with interpreting the mp4 file, and the files themselves are fine. I haven't seen this issue mentioned by anyone else.

BTW I've been using it for years but their support stream has dried up.

So my question is do I strip the embedded soft subs from my files and keep them with the mp4s? Do people often do that with large libraries? Do most media servers search for nearby SRTs? Or do I just ignore the few problem files?

[rollin_eng]

Personally I would look for new software with a support option.