Consistent Error In .srt Files: Lines 42 & 43 Missing

[KhunRoger]

I've just noticed this error and wondered if anyone else had - or maybe it is a known problem.

The error is in all the Fringe season 4 subtitles that have as their last subtitle line: "Sync and corrections by n17t01 www.addic7ed.com".

All of these .srt files have subtitle lines 42 and 43 missing.

This same error is present in Fringe season 3 where the last line is:
"== sync, corrected by <font color="#00ff00">elderman</font> ==", or
"Sync by n17t01 Corrected by icephoenix"

Anyone know what's going on?

I've attached Fringe Season 4, Ep. 22 .srt file as an example.

Fringe.S04E22.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.srt

[alex28]

Hey,
Thanks for your report.
This affects some older files as well, we're aware of it.
Unfortunately the fix is harder than expected (still trying to get to the bottom of it).
I'll update the tread when I'll know more.

Please try using the contact page on Addic7ed in the future, if you want a fast response :-)

[KhunRoger]

Hey,
Thanks for your report.
This affects some older files as well, we're aware of it.
Unfortunately the fix is harder than expected (still trying to get to the bottom of it).
I'll update the tread when I'll know more.

Please try using the contact page on Addic7ed in the future, if you want a fast response :-)

Thanks for your reply alex28.

It is an interesting bug, and if I knew what processes the subtitles went through before they appeared as .srt files I would gladly experiment to see when lines 42 & 43 get deleted - or if they were originally present.

My initial thought was that it was caused by a "cleanup" function - such as the "Fix common errors" command in the "Subtitle Edit" program. I thought that maybe it was incorrectly treating lines 42 and 43 as "blank", and therefore deleting them.

Bet of luck with your investigations!

[webtraweller]

I've been using Divxland Media subtitler for years to fix all kind of errors in subtitles. http://www.digital-digest.com/software/divxland_media_subtitler_history.html#9
Just load and accept the report of fixed items then save again.

[KhunRoger]

I've been using Divxland Media subtitler for years to fix all kind of errors in subtitles. http://www.digital-d..._history.html#9
Just load and accept the report of fixed items then save again.

Yes, but that won't add the missing two lines - usually 42 and 43 - to the subtitles.

I use "Subtitle Edit v3.3 rev. 1487" which has a "Fix Common Errors" function which sounds similar to Divxland's.

It's easy to scroll down to line 41 and, if there is no 42 and 43, play the video and add the missing lines.

I'm still intrigued by this problem though. I can't believe it's so hard to find out where these lines go missing. There should be an original source of the subtitles that has these lines present. Then you just have to trace what happens to this source as it is processed to end up on a web site.

Has anyone asked the "re-syncers" - i.e. the people who kindly adjust the subtitles to fit the different encodings of a video? Maybe they can say whether the original source that they worked on had lines 42 and 43 present. And, if they uploaded a version with the lines present, did it appear on the relevant web site with the lines present?

If there's any way I can help track this problem, please let me know.

[webtraweller]

I see what you mean. I just checked my archive and there is indeed dialogue missing.

42
00:02:02,114 --> 00:02:04,649
that the circumstances
that brought you here

43
00:02:04,733 --> 00:02:07,285
to witness this with me,
my trusted colleague,

[KhunRoger]

Will this error ever be fixed? Especially older stuff is heavily affected by thus bug, i.e. I just noticed it while watching the 720p.WEB-DL.LP-releases of first episodes of "Veronica Mars".

 

Well, if it's old stuff then the bug has already removed the two lines and there's not much that can be done.

 

I'd like to know if the problem is present in new .srt files because then we may be able to find out what programs the sub-titlers are using.

 

I should say that I haven't noticed any problems in new .srt files.

[alex28]

Hey,

 

Sorry about that. Yes, it's an old bug. Long story short:

 

- Lines 42-43 missing from old subtitles (there's the exact moment written somewhere, but I can't find it).

- We have a (few) backup(s) but it's pretty hard to merge them. 

- Lately we focused on other issues and kinda left this on the side, for the moment.

- The good thing is new subtitles aren't affected. 

 

I'll try something related to this this week. Maybe a partial or quick fix can be done. 

 

(And no, it's not subtitle software related. Lines are actually missing!)

[KhunRoger]

I thought it had been fixed.

 

Old subtitles have not been re-worked, I believe, so you will still get the problem if you download old subtitles.

 

Have you seen any new subtitles with this problem?

[KhunRoger]

That's what I meant.
So subtitles with these lines missing won't be fixed at all?

 

You can always modify them at http://www.addic7ed.com , which would allow other people to download your corrected ones.

 

And you can use tools like Subtitle Edit to edit .srt files: http://www.nikse.dk .

[KhunRoger]

I mean fixed on addic7ed's side, as I assume initially the subtitles weren't uploaded to the site with these lines missing already.

 

I think it would be a massive job for the site Admins to find the files with the lines missing and fix them. I tended to add the missing lines myself using Subtitle Edit while I watched the program as it wasn't that hard to do.

 

I don't know whether the problem was caused as or after the subtitles were uploaded to this site, but I don't think so because whenever I found a version with the lines missing, I could never find another version on any other site with the lines intact.

 

I would like to know exactly where the problem occurred simply because - as an ex-software engineer - I find bug-hunting interesting.

[KhunRoger]

Finding the affected subs should be rather easy, considering it's always two consecutive lines missing. Should be a nice little database-query.

The problem, as you said, is fixing them, as I found that the errors are spread over more than two years of subtitle-uploads. That's gotta come down to a couple thousand subtitles. Yikes.

 

The subs with missing lines on other sites probably were just downloaded from addic7ed in the first place.

 

EDIT:

And then there's the issue of subtitles being marked as "Corrected" but actually missing lines, i.e. the first English sub for LOL by "uploaded by n17t01 581 days ago" on http://www.addic7ed.com/serie/Fringe/5/1/Transilience_Thought_Unifier_Model_11

 

That's a bit misleading.

 

re. "Corrected" - depends when the lines went missing. "n17t01" is one of the best, hardest working subtitlers, and maybe the lines got deleted after he uploaded the file.

 

I personally have nothing but praise for this site and I hope they keep up the great work.