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ContentsSubtitles

  1. Getting started

    1. What Kryspal Media is
    2. System requirements
    3. Install with Docker
    4. First-time setup
    5. Upgrade and back up

  2. Libraries

    1. Create and manage libraries
    2. File and folder naming
    3. Flexible file layout
    4. Metadata and NFO
    5. Tags
    6. Images
    7. strm and cloud drives
    8. StrmTool settings
    9. Subtitles
    10. Intro and outro
    11. Search tips
    12. Actors and people
    13. Duplicate videos

  3. Playback

    1. Web player
    2. Third-party players
    3. Remote access

  4. Members and devices

    1. Members
    2. Parental controls
    3. Devices and simultaneous streams

  5. Plugins

    1. Plugin center
    2. Plugins
    3. Third-party plugins

  6. Move from another server

    1. Move from Emby
    2. Move from Jellyfin

  7. Licenses and plans

    1. Compare plans
    2. PRO features in detail
    3. MAX features in detail
    4. Buy, activate and move a license
    5. Offline grace and expiry

  8. Troubleshooting

    1. Logs and reporting a problem

Subtitles

Subtitles can sit next to the video, be embedded in it, or be downloaded for you. This page explains how to name subtitle files, which formats work, how to search and download subtitles, and how to fill in missing ones automatically.

On this page
  1. Subtitle files next to the video
  2. Subtitle mode
  3. Encoding and formats
  4. Search and download subtitles PRO · MAX
  5. How results are matched
  6. Limits
  7. Fill in missing subtitles automatically PRO · MAX

Subtitle files next to the video#

Put the subtitle file beside the video and name it video name + language + extension. The scan pairs it automatically:

  • Movie Name (2019).zh-TW.srt
  • Movie Name (2019).en.ass

Supported text subtitles: srt, ass/ssa, vtt. Supported picture subtitles: sup and sub (idx/sub).

Subtitle tracks embedded in the video can be used too. srt, ass/ssa and WebVTT are extracted directly. PGS picture subtitles are drawn over the picture by the web player. This works for PGS inside an MKV (fetched from the position you are playing) and for the PGS of a Blu-ray ISO (see Blu-ray ISO in the browser). VobSub and DVB embedded subtitles cannot be shown in the web player.

Subtitles embedded in a remote .strm video cannot be extracted. Put the subtitle file next to the .strm file instead.

Subtitle mode#

Each member chooses a Subtitle mode in their playback settings. It decides which subtitle turns on by itself when you start a video:

  • Smart (the default): a foreign-language title gets a subtitle in your preferred language. When the audio is already in your own language, only forced subtitles turn on (for example for a foreign phrase in the middle of the film). When the audio has no language tag, the file's default subtitle is used.
  • Default: the subtitle the file marks as default.
  • Always on: turns on a matching subtitle whenever there is one.
  • Forced only: only forced subtitles, for the foreign-language parts.
  • Off: no subtitle by default.

An audio track or subtitle you pick by hand in the web player is remembered, including Off: a movie remembers per film, a series per show. Choices made in Emby-compatible apps are not written back.

Encoding and formats#

  • Text subtitle encodings (for example GBK or Big5) are detected and converted to UTF-8 by the server. You do not need to convert them. A file that is already UTF-8 is left unchanged. If the encoding cannot be detected, the file is passed to the player as it is.
  • The server converts between srt and vtt, and from ass to srt or vtt (styling is dropped).
  • Picture subtitles are not converted and not burned into the video. They are delivered unchanged. The server never transcodes video.

Search and download subtitles PRO · MAX#

  1. Open Plugins and set up one or both subtitle plugins:
    • OpenSubtitles: the largest subtitle library, with many languages. Enter your OpenSubtitles username (not your email address) and password. A free account has a daily download limit; the plugin shows how many downloads are left today.
    • ASSRT (assrt.net): especially strong for Chinese and bilingual subtitles. It does not come with the server; install it from the plugin marketplace first. Paste the token you get from assrt.net. There is no download quota.
  2. Open the item in the admin console and press Search subtitles. Optionally enter languages (comma separated, for example en,zh-TW); empty uses the server preference.
  3. Press Search, then Download on the subtitle you want.

The subtitle is saved next to the video as video name.language.extension, and the item is rescanned so the subtitle list updates right away. If the name is taken, a number is added (.2, .3); your existing files are never overwritten. The format is kept as it is.

A subtitle plugin can still be installed, set up and enabled without PRO, but searching and downloading are not used until you have PRO. Subtitles you already downloaded keep working.

How results are matched#

Results are matched by file hash first (sure to be the same file), then by IMDb or TMDB ID with season and episode, then by title and year. Better matches rank higher. All enabled subtitle plugins are searched at once and results are merged. If one plugin fails, the others still work and the page tells you which one failed.

Limits#

  • The folder holding the video must be writable. Read-only mounts, disc folders and remote videos with no place beside them to save to cannot be downloaded to. The page explains the reason.
  • If you enter your email address as the OpenSubtitles username, it is rejected with a hint. With a wrong name or password the plugin shows Invalid account or key; fix the settings.
  • OpenSubtitles results leave out machine-translated and AI-translated subtitles by default, because they are less accurate. To include them, turn on Include machine and AI translations in the plugin settings.

Fill in missing subtitles automatically PRO · MAX#

For videos with no subtitle in a language you want, the server can download one in the background.

  1. Open Libraries, choose the library, and fill in Languages to download subtitles for (for example en, zh-TW). Empty means off.
  2. Make sure a subtitle plugin and the Subtitle auto-fill plugin are set up and enabled.

To protect your download quota:

  • Only videos with no subtitle at all in that language are filled. A forced-subtitle track does not count; the full subtitle is still fetched.
  • It works slowly, in small batches per library. At most 10 subtitles are downloaded automatically per day. You can change this with Daily limit (1 to 200) in the Subtitle auto-fill plugin settings.
  • Once the subtitle service reports fewer than 5 downloads left today, auto-fill stops and keeps the rest for you. Change this with Keep for manual downloads (0 to 100).
  • While you search or download by hand, auto-fill pauses for 2 minutes.
  • Only reliable matches are used (a matching hash or ID, or a very close title), and hearing-impaired versions are avoided. A video that finds nothing is not searched again for 7 days.
  • Without PRO the whole feature sleeps and the plugin page says it needs PRO. It continues on its own when a license is present.

About quotas: an OpenSubtitles account has a limited number of downloads per day, and a free account has very few. The plugin page and the search results show how many remain today. When it runs out you can still search, but downloads wait for the reset, about 24 hours later.