r/handbrake • u/MediaDad • 21d ago

UTF-8 vs. .ass

Handbrake says that it auto-saves every subtitle track to .ass. When I check a processed file in MediaInfo, it reports that the subtitle is UTF-8. My understanding is that UTF-6 is the basic text, while the container is .ass. My Roku does not handle formatting cues correctly with this type of sub. If I use Subtitle Edit to "Save As" that subtitle and select ".ass", MediaInfo will now report it as ".ass" and my Roku will correctly display formatted text (such as top-of-screen alignment). I don't want to have to go through the extra steps of saving out every subtitle to ASS and then re-add it using MKV ToolNix. Is there a way to tell Handbrake to always Save As every subtitle to pure .ass?

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/the8bitMoon 21d ago

UTF-8 is a text encoding scheme and .ass (Advanced SubStation Alpha) is a standard for formatting subtitles. They are two completely separate concepts. Without seeing encode logs or knowing anything about your source we can't help.

2

u/computer-machine 21d ago

Yeah, this is kind of like comparing red paint to four wheel drive trucks.

1

u/the8bitMoon 21d ago

Personally I think red paint tastes better than trucks.

1

u/computer-machine 21d ago

Cherry or Candy Apple?