Subtitles : "Selection Behavior" dialog box - behavior question

[kbarb]

I'm handling the subtitles manually so far - adding an English track without burning (soft non-burn-in) to a German foreign language film - and don't have a problem yet.
But I don't really get the Subtitles >> "Selection Behavior" dialog box for when I might use it.

What happens when you configure that - what triggers it to do something ?
Is it when you start the encode ? or when you do "Add Track" in the main Subtitles panel ?
Something else ?

Specifically, for example . . . .

Subtitles >> Selection Behavior dialog box :

• Options : Add Foreign Audio Scan . . . when what ? when I do what ?
• Burn in Behavior : Foreign Audio Track . . . when what ? when I do what ?

And does any of that affect what you've arranged in the main Subtitles panel - i.e. the list of tracks you've arranged ?

Could someone clarify ?

Thanks !

• Steps to reproduce the problem (If Applicable):
• HandBrake version 1.3.3 (e.g., 1.0.0):
• Win10 Pro
• HandBrake Activity Log - N/A

[Deleted User 11865]

Foreign Audio Scan is an extra pass that runs before the encode and scans subtitle tracks matching the first audio language to look for subtitles covering foreign language segments. When you burn-in behavior is the Foreign Audio Track and the Foreign Audio Scan actually finds a track, it gets burned-in.

[kbarb]

So what you're saying is, it happens as soon as you hit Encode ?
You set up behavior in Selection Behavior dialog box, hit Encode, then subtitle behavior automatically happens according to your settings in the dialog box ?

What happens if it conflicts with what you've already manually set in the main Subtitles panel ?

Like if in the main Subtitles panel you have "Foreign Audio Scan" Burn-in unchecked, but in the Selection Behavior dialog box you have chosen Burn-In : "Foreign Audio Scan"

[Woodstock]

The behaviors are only applied when you load the file. If enabled, FAS will show up as the first "subtitle" in the list. It's simple to delete it if you do not want it. Disabling it saves a mouse click or two when you make selections.

If you are manually selecting subtitles, it does not affect things. Once you have made your (manual) selections, the behavior won't be "added in" when you submit the job.

You can also set the "burn in behavior" to "none" if you want NO subtitle burned in by default. Saves accidentally burning in something.

[kbarb]

The behaviors are only applied when you load the file.

Load what file ? A source file/folder ?

It seems what happens is, if you choose the Option in the Selection Behavior dialog box of "Add Foreign Audio Scan", then it adds that in the main Subtitles panel. If you hit "Reload" with that option checked, it also re-enters that line in the main Subtitles panel, saving a click as you say.

If you are manually selecting subtitles, it does not affect things. Once you have made your (manual) selections, the behavior won't be "added in" when you submit the job.

For the "it does not affect things, what does not affect things ?
You mean nothing you've done in the Selection Behavior dialog box will do anything anymore ?
Like if you'd chosen there, Burn-in Behavior >> First track, now that won't happen ?
But you imply, alternatively, that you can choose "None" for nothing to happen.
Confusing !

I don't mean to be a pain, but I wish someone could explain what and which choices have hierarchical control over downstream behavior, so it's a little more obvious.

[Woodstock]

"When you load a file" means "select a source". The "behaviors" are then used to pre-select tracks according to the rules. At that point, they stop doing anything, EXCEPT if you chose a different preset that has different behavior rules.

If you are manually setting your subtitles (like I do), the behavior screen only affects what you see when you go to the subtitle tab. If you do not go to that tab, well, what is auto-selected is what will go into the output.

Default burn-in behavior is just that - the DEFAULT. If you change it on the subtitle tab, it doesn't switch back to burn-in. [caveat: if the type subtitle selected is not compatible with the type output file you are using, you aren't given a choice on burning in. You can't pass Bluray PGS subtitles through to an MP4 file, for example.]

[kbarb]

Ok, thanks Woodstock, I think I'm getting it . . .

"When you load a file" means "select a source". The "behaviors" are then used to pre-select tracks according to the rules. At that point, they stop doing anything, . . . .

and

what is auto-selected is what will go into the output

Ok so the behavior dialog box is what automatically happens (and is setup to happen at the point of Encode, I guess) when you load a source file.

If you are manually setting your subtitles (like I do), the behavior screen only affects what you see when you go to the subtitle tab.

Hmm, the only thing I see in the Subtitle Tab is a line put there if you check "Add Foreign Audio Scan" in the Behavior dialog box.
Nothing else ever seems to show up there as a result of choices in the Behavior dialog box.
(thus part of my confusion)

Default burn-in behavior is just that - the DEFAULT. If you change it on the subtitle tab, it doesn't switch back to burn-in.

Hmm, not sure what's going on with that.

.
What constitutes "Default" ?
Some internal default of Handbrake ?
Something you've set in the Behavior dialog box ?
Or, that choice sets a default ?

Anyway, overall I'm getting that the Behavior dialog box is what happens and is set up to automatically happen when you load a source file and hit Encode, which was my main question.

By the way, thanks very much (!) everyone for helping me get a handle on how all the settings work in the Subtitles tab.
I really appreciate it !

[Woodstock]

To me, the most useful part of the behavior box is selecting the languages portion. For me, English, "select all matching", and burn-in "none". It just makes it easier to move things around and delete the ones I don't want... like when there are 5 different English subtitles, some of which look an awful lot like Chinese or Malay...

The default, no-preset settings on handbrake won't select any subtitles OR audio. The factory presets, like "Fast 1080p30", go for the Foreign Audio Scan, burned in, because that's good enough for most people who only encode a few DVDs or BDs a month, and aren't doing a lot with actual non-dubbed movies and TV shows. And that is where custom presets, with possibly different rules for different types of encodes, come in to play.

And then I'll throw this out - when you get to the point where you're processing a dozen or more episodes of a TV series, you're GOING to want to know how to use the command line interface and batch/shell scripts. Setting up 7 seasons worth of Star Trek The Next Generation using the GUI is too much of a pain.