I have a mkv file that was made from a DVD. That file has several audio tracks containing subtitle information. When I open the file in VLC, the subtitle tracks show as Codec: DVD Subtitles (spu)
My goal with MCEBuddy is to convert the video file into MP4 (currently using MP4 Normal but also tried MP4 Unprocessed) and have MCEBuddy create an external srt file for subtitles. Converting to MP4 is not an issue, however I never receive the srt file. I have went ahead and installed the OCR Add on, but that doesn’t seem to work either. Attaching the conversion log. MKVExtract is detecting the subtitle track as “‘S_VOBSUB”, so I would assume OCR would be needed here.
I’ve tried setting the audio track language, enabling all subtitle and caption options, to no avail.
Some items of note in the conversion log: 2025-10-09T13:12:55 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.MKVExtract → Writing the VobSub index file ‘C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\working0\Twilight (2008).eng.srt_mkv.idx’.
2025-10-09T13:12:55 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.MKVExtract → Progress: 100%
→ Process exited with code 0
WARNING> → Error trying to process subtitle files
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file ‘C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\working0\Twilight (2008).eng.srt_mkv.tmp’.
File name: ‘C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\working0\Twilight (2008).eng.srt_mkv.tmp’
at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy, Boolean useLongPath, Boolean checkHost)
at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share)
at MCEBuddy.Transcode.CCandSubtitles.ParseAndConvertSubtitleToSRT(String inputSubtitleFile, String outputSRTFile, Log jobLog)
WARNING> 2025-10-09T13:12:58 MCEBuddy.Transcode.CCandSubtitles → Empty Subtitle file C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\working0\Twilight (2008).eng.srt extracted, deleting it
It looks like you’re having trouble getting MCEBuddy to extract VobSub subtitles from your MKV file and convert them to an SRT format, even with the OCR add-on installed. The log shows that MKVExtract is able to create an IDX file, but then MCEBuddy reports a FileNotFoundException for a .tmp file and ends up deleting an “empty subtitle file.”
VobSub subtitles are image-based, so OCR is indeed necessary to convert them into text-based SRT files. The FileNotFoundException and the “Empty Subtitle file” message suggest that either the OCR process isn’t successfully creating the temporary file or there’s an issue with MCEBuddy reading or processing it.
Let’s try to troubleshoot this.
First, could you confirm a few things:
OCR Add-on Installation: You mentioned you installed the OCR add-on. Can you confirm which OCR add-on you installed (e.g., specific version or where you downloaded it from)? Sometimes there can be different versions or configurations.
MCEBuddy Version: What version of MCEBuddy are you currently using? This information is usually at the top of your conversion log.
Subtitle Track Selection: In your MCEBuddy conversion task, under the “Subtitles” tab, have you selected “Extract Closed Captions/Subtitles”? And also, under “Subtitle Language (OCR),” is the correct language (e.g., English) selected for OCR processing?
In the meantime, let’s look for similar issues or solutions on the forum. I’ll search for “VobSub” and “OCR” to see if other users have encountered this.
Hi Joe,
It looks like you’re encountering a common issue when trying to extract VobSub (DVD) subtitles as SRT files with MCEBuddy. The log indicates that MCEBuddy is detecting the VobSub track and attempting to create an index file, but then it’s failing to find a temporary file, leading to an “Empty Subtitle file” warning and deletion. This suggests an issue with the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) process that’s needed to convert VobSub images into readable text for SRT.
Since you’ve already installed the OCR add-on, let’s explore a few possibilities:
OCR Engine Issues: Sometimes, the OCR engine might struggle with the specific font or quality of the VobSub images.
Permissions: Ensure MCEBuddy has full read/write permissions to the C:\\Program Files\\MCEBuddy2x\\working0\\ directory.
Temporary File Deletion: It’s possible an antivirus or other system process is prematurely deleting the temporary file that MCEBuddy creates during the OCR process.
Corrupt VobSub Track: While less common, a corrupt VobSub track in the MKV could cause issues during extraction and OCR.
To help diagnose this further, could you try the following:
Try another MKV file with VobSub subtitles (if you have one): This would help determine if the issue is specific to your “Twilight” file or a more general problem with VobSub OCR.
Manually extract the VobSub track: You can use a tool like MKVExtractGUI (a graphical interface for MKVToolNix) to manually extract the VobSub track from your MKV file as an .idx and .sub pair. Then, you can try using a standalone OCR tool (like SubRip) to convert those into an SRT to see if the VobSub data itself is parsable. This would help isolate if the problem is with MCEBuddy’s internal OCR process or the subtitle data itself.
Check MCEBuddy’s OCR settings: Double-check your MCEBuddy settings related to subtitles and OCR. Make sure OCR is explicitly enabled for VobSub tracks if there’s a specific option for it.
I’m linking a few related topics that might offer additional insights, although they may not directly address the FileNotFoundException you’re seeing:
Try the latest 2.7.1 beta, the whole subtitle extracting has been revamped and full OCR detection and extraction capabilities have been added to it (you’re on 2.6.6 which doesn’t support all types of OCR).
Thanks! With the latest 2.7.1 beta, I am getting further. I enabled the “Extract burned in subtitles” setting. Note I still have Audio Language set to Default.
I do now get an srt file (and an idx file in the destinaton directory), but it is unreadable. See attached.
Hmm, I don’t see any obvious errors in the logs but I see the file has some issues. Will need to replicate it to see what’s going on. Can you upload the entire original file to the server so we can analyze it to see what’s going on.
Just got around to installing the latest beta. I redownloaded the OCR files and ran the converstion again. Now, instead of getting a scrambled srt file, I get a few .idx and .sub files, and no .srt files.
I can process these via a program like Subtitle Edit, but not sure if this is intended? To me it doesn’t look like any OCR was used to actually convert it to text. Attaching log of conversion.
That’s the output expected. If it’s has a sub and idx file then it’s kept as is. Those are image based subtitles since most players can play back sub / idx subtitles.
If you have a hard burnt in subtitles then MCEBuddy will perform an OCR to convert those into SRT files or for some reason if it’s unable to extract image based subtitle tracks into a idx / sub format then it’ll also convert them into SRT files.