I’ve been recording my OTA through my HDHomerun Quatro to Plex. It works fine but we want subtitles and the shows are recorded in .ts files that Plex doesn't support as far as subtitles go. If I want subtitles I have to re-encode the files and it’s a big hassle.
If I record in channels, will I get subtitles with my OTA recordings without having to re-encode?
Yes. Channels has no problems decoding and displaying closed captions.
OTA sub-titles are actually called closed captions. They are encoded as part of the video stream itself, not a separate stream as you are probably used to with SubRip (.SRT) and SubStation Alpha (.SSA/.ASS) subtitles embedded in movie container files, or sideloaded.
I wouldn't survive without subtitles (CC) and Channels handles them excellently from any source. The only source that has been hit or miss is Pluto... I get them on some channels and not others. All OTA seems to be fine, as well as from paid providers via TVE.
With no buffering? I have a Nvidia shield TV Pro 2019 that I use as my server. When I tried the unknown subtitles on Plex, I got CC from the .ts file but Plex was transcoding them on-the-fly and my Shield I guess is not stout enough to do that and so it was buffering to the point that it's unwatchable. I just want to make sure before I pay that those of you who use it on a consistent basis are happy with it?
Channels has no problem with CCs, even when transcoding. Perhaps Plex's transcoder does not properly handle CCs when transcoding. But in general, Channels does not transcode by default, so buffering shouldn't be an issue.
How do I turn closed captions on? The recorded OTA show shows that is available but in playback, no option to turn it on?
Press down in the player
Thanks!!
I got CC to work but they are way behind the audio/video. Is there a way to adjust?
Are you watching a live broadcast? For news programs and live events, CCs are transcribed live, so they are always behind and not synced with the A/V streams.
No...these are recorded shows.
Are they recordings of a news programs or live event?
News program.
That's the reason. News broadcasts usually have their CCs delayed by a couple seconds, because they are typed in as they're first said.
So there's nothing wrong with your CCs/recordings, just the reality of dealing with live broadcasts—time–delayed or otherwise.