Macross 7 Remastered w/ Subs

[technoblue]

ANYONE, please?

Doh! I'm still on this, if you don't mind waiting until I get out of work. I'll check to see if I have an invite for you then. At the very least, I can download the subtitles themselves and figure something out for you. If I remember correctly, the final size was around 300MB.

[technoblue]

Glad to see this thread resurrected! A question : Is the black subtitle coloration on the PS3 a fixable issue or am I just out of luck? I have the DVDs with subs hardcoded in (thanks again to JasonC!), but just recently donated my dedicated DVD player and started using my PS3 for everything... and noticed the coloration issue.

I can use my laptop or PS2 I suppose, but it would be mighty convenient to get this fixed up.

This is going back some years, but JasonC, russ, and Keith were having a conversation about using either IFOEdit or DVDSubEdit to fix out of range subtitle color values. Did those tips from page 7 or 8 not work for you or is your subtitle issue something new?

[Keith]

Since I have no encoding software of any kind, I just used another bluray player. I wonder if there's a way go get Sony to fix the issue on tbeir side.

[technoblue]

That's a good point, but I have no idea. I also wouldn't be able to test it (I am without a PS3). I wonder if the other knowledgable people will catch wind of this and add in their thoughts? Maybe there was a firmware update or some software that came out, although I am out of the loop. I use a dedicated Blu-ray player, myself, for playback.

[Oihan]

Doh! I'm still on this, if you don't mind waiting until I get out of work. I'll check to see if I have an invite for you then. At the very least, I can download the subtitles themselves and figure something out for you. If I remember correctly, the final size was around 300MB.

I just got your message and I replied back! I had only been able to find some subtitles for the first 26 episodes and nothing else for Macross 7. I never imagined it would be so difficult to find the subtitles themselves. Thank you SO MUCH for the help!

[technoblue]

I just got your message and I replied back! I had only been able to find some subtitles for the first 26 episodes and nothing else for Macross 7. I never imagined it would be so difficult to find the subtitles themselves. Thank you SO MUCH for the help!

You're welcome! It is odd how difficult it is to find these subtitles, isn't it? Especially given that it is an anniversary year; however, no worries. I have the same files discussed in this thread. The subtitles patch the DVDs themselves and are not softsubs. If I remember correctly, ericf used slightly different translations for the songs but everything else is based off of the Central Anime subtitles. I take no credit for any of this stuff. I'm just passing it along. There are resources buried here if you run into any issues. Apart from that, just ask if you need more help.

Oh, and I sent you a reply back!

[Dio]

This is going back some years, but JasonC, russ, and Keith were having a conversation about using either IFOEdit or DVDSubEdit to fix out of range subtitle color values. Did those tips from page 7 or 8 not work for you or is your subtitle issue something new?

It's unfortunately a locked down thing for now, as my subs are hard-coded into the DVDs with the color values out of PS3 range. It sounds like the fix would have to be made via replacing the discs with re-coded subtitles, and can't be done by changing any settings on the PS3.

Can I use my current discs to generate adjusted copies? Or would I need fresh DVDs and separate sub files to add into them?

[technoblue]

It looks like you can use the DVDs that you have to make the corrections. From all accounts IFOEdit should be the only program that you need and you should be able to make the corrections using the DVDs that you have. My Macross 7 discs are within reach, and I never did the fix, so I could go through and write up a quick "How to" and post it here. It might take a day, though.

[technoblue]

Credits and Software Requirements

This tutorial will walk you through one possible solution for fixing the Macross 7 black subtitle problem identified by PS3 users. As far as I know, only the PS3 is affected, but other players might have a similar restricted color pallet. Credit for this fix goes to russ869 who brought it to everyone's attention. If you want to read about it as it happened, then jump to page 7.

You will need the following:

• DVDDecrypter (http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/)
• IFOEdit (http://www.ifoedit.com/)
• IMGBurn (http://www.imgburn.com/)
• A PC running Windows XP or better
• A dual-layer DVD burner

How to Fix the Macross 7 Subtitle Colors for the PS3

I. Copying the patched Macross 7 DVDs to Your PC

You can copy each DVD to a unique directory from the command line, an explorer window, or by using DVD Decrypter. The patched DVDs have no copy protection, so there are a bunch of options. On my system DVD Decrypter was a little more efficient and saved some time. This "how to" starts with that program.

When using DVD Decrypter,

1. Insert your subbed Macross 7 DVD first
2. Start DVD Decrypter
3. Make sure Mode > File is checked
4. Make sure all available .VOB, .IFO, and .BUP files are highlighted
5. Optionally, you can choose a different destination directory other than the default
6. Click the Decrypt icon
7. Repeat this process for as many DVDs as need the subtitle fix.

II. Revising the Subtitle Color Values with IFOEdit

Once the files from the DVD are on your PC, you can fix them for the PS3!

To do this,

1. Start IFOEdit
2. Navigate to your working directory and open the file, VTS_01_0.IFO
3. In IFOEdit select VTS_PGCITI > VTS_PGC_1
4. In the IFOEdit Address windows scroll down until you find Color 0 through Color 15
5. Search for the following color values in that list: 255 128 128 and 0 128 128
   (both are out of range on the PS3)
6. Double-click on an out-of-range value to bring up the HexEdit Module window
   255 128 128 is FF 80 80 in the Hex editor; change this value to EA 80 80
   0 128 128 is 00 80 80 in the Hex editor; change this value to 10 80 80
7. If there is more than one entry under VTS_PGCITI, then click on each and repeat steps 4 through 6 as necessary
8. Save the file and quit when finished

III. Burn the Macross 7 DVDs with Subtitle Fixes

You should now have at least one working DVD on your PC with a patched VTS_01_0.IFO file (Yay!), if not more. Use ImgBurn to make a new dual-layer disc with the available files.

1. Create an AUDIO_TS directory for your DVD hierarchy if one does not already exist
   (It is okay if it is an empty directory)
2. Start ImgBurn
3. Choose write files/folders to disc to burn a dual-layer DVD
   or
   Choose create image file to save an ISO file to burn later
4. Add the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders as source directories
5. Add a volume label (for example, MACROSS7_01 for disc 1)
6. Click the build button when ready to create an ISO file or to burn a DVD
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each Macross 7 DVD that you fixed!

And that's the end! Enjoy proper subtitles on the PS3!

Edit: After going through this process myself, it seems only DVDs 1-7 and 9 need the fix.

Edited August 22, 2013 by technoblue

[Dio]

Thanks for putting that together! I'll have to try it out this weekend!

[technoblue]

Thanks for putting that together! I'll have to try it out this weekend!

You're welcome! I was thinking of adding some screenshots, but there are a few of IFOEdit earlier in the thread. If you need any more help or if you find that I misstated something in the "how to" and need to revise it, let me know!

[cypherxv]

Does anybody have this with correct subs on DVD? I had a bootleg copy from eBay and it was a cheap one at that. From bad picture to subs that don't make sense.

[technoblue]

Alas, there are no "official" subs for Macross 7. Everyone here is using re-timed Central Anime fansubs that are patched to the remastered DVDs. I believe these are the best for the moment. It's a simple process to add the subtitles; however, finding the files has become a little tricky nowadays. You will need the patches, the clean .iso files with no subtitles, some spare dual layer DVD +/- R discs and access to a computer (or a willing friend) to make copies.

There may also be places you can go to grab .iso files with the patches already applied, or just straight .mkv fansubs. But, as with the other stuff, it's becoming difficult to find sources.

The original DVD patches do have an issue displaying correctly on the PS3 too. The "how to" I wrote above summarizes all the steps earlier in this thread that one needs to follow to fix that issue.

Edited August 17, 2013 by technoblue

[Scream Man]

Is it possible to get some of the FB albums? I can see them anywhere to buy OR Download. i mainly just want Ultra Fire and FB7

[Gubaba]

Is it possible to get some of the FB albums? I can see them anywhere to buy OR Download. i mainly just want Ultra Fire and FB7

Here's Ultra Fire:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/マクロス7-ULTRA-FIRE-Fire-Bomber/dp/B0018BXMN2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1376778190&sr=8-3&keywords=ultra+fire+fire+bomber+best+album

And here's the FB7 single:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/「マクロスFB7-銀河流魂-オレノウタヲキケ-」主題歌-%7E突撃プラネットエクスプロージョン/dp/B00938Y11O/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1376778108&sr=1-1&keywords=バージンストーリー

Edited August 17, 2013 by Gubaba

[Scream Man]

Can I order off Amazon JP? I thought they didn't ship outside of the country?

[Gubaba]

Can I order off Amazon JP? I thought they didn't ship outside of the country?

They don't ship used stuff, but I think if you buy the CDs new, it should be fine.

[Scream Man]

oh ok, cool.

[cypherxv]

Alas, there are no "official" subs for Macross 7. Everyone here is using re-timed Central Anime fansubs that are patched to the remastered DVDs. I believe these are the best for the moment. It's a simple process to add the subtitles; however, finding the files has become a little tricky nowadays. You will need the patches, the clean .iso files with no subtitles, some spare dual layer DVD +/- R discs and access to a computer (or a willing friend) to make copies.

There may also be places you can go to grab .iso files with the patches already applied, or just straight .mkv fansubs. But, as with the other stuff, it's becoming difficult to find sources.

The original DVD patches do have an issue displaying correctly on the PS3 too. The "how to" I wrote above summarizes all the steps earlier in this thread that one needs to follow to fix that issue.

Unfortunately my computer recently crashed. If not for my tablet I'd have no Internet access. I was just asking if someone could burn me a copy with proper subs. If not I'll just get a Malaysian copy from eBay in next payday.

[technoblue]

Unfortunately my computer recently crashed. If not for my tablet I'd have no Internet access. I was just asking if someone could burn me a copy with proper subs. If not I'll just get a Malaysian copy from eBay in next payday.

Oh! Never mind all that stuff then. I can hook you up. Do you have a PS3? If so, that will give me an excuse to apply the fix too. Anyway, PM me and we can work something out.

Edited August 19, 2013 by technoblue

[cypherxv]

PM'ed

[Perrych]

Unfortunately my computer recently crashed. If not for my tablet I'd have no Internet access. I was just asking if someone could burn me a copy with proper subs. If not I'll just get a Malaysian copy from eBay in next payday.

Yeah, I would love to get a copy with proper subs on a dvd as well.

[Dio]

Many thanks to Technoblue for putting me on the right track to fix this, I just verified my first corrected disc on the PS3!

I based my fix on the process you laid out above, but due to some circumstances I had to go a different route - IMGburn appears to have bundled a ton of adware in the latest version, so I used Nero instead, and IFOEdit wouldn't download for me no matter how I tried, so I went with DVDSubEdit to make the corrections after some educational adventuring. Here's the process I used:

I. Copying the files from the DVD

1. Copy the disc to the PC. Pretty much a straightforward copy-paste in Win7, no special extraction program used.

II. Revising the Subtitle Color Values with DVDSubEdit

(note, some content is copied from russ869's post, but expanded on)

1. Open your DVD (using “Open full domain”)

2. Click on any of the colors next to 'b,' 'p,' 'e1,' or 'e2.' Now you'll see this:

Note: This set of color boxes represents the entire 16-color palette set up for the subtitle text in the IFO file - subtitles in the video can only contain these 16 colors within them, for body text, borders, background shading, etc. It's also worth noting, starting at the upper-left corner and moving to the right, row by row, the colors are assigned a number from 0 to 15 in ascending order (these are the assigned color numbers you see in the IFOEdit table).

3. Shift-click on one of the colors in the pallet which is white or black in color. This will bring up a Windows color pallet, where you can enter a new value for the color (and thus modifying the available colors in the palette - once this is modified, it applies everywhere that color is used throughout the entire subtitle data).

4. Here's where it gets trickier. The numeric values shown earlier for the IFOEdit colors are numbered per DVD standards (Y, Cr, Cb values, also known as "luminance and color difference code"). The values in DVDSubEdit, on the other hand, follow the RGB standard, with the numbers signifying amounts of primary color mixed into the final color. You'll get very different colors if you use the numbers interchangeably, but I found a conversion website to determine the RGB values (cited below). Depending on the color you're editing (white or black), input the following values in the RGB pallet to get the equivalent colors:

White = 234, 234, 234 (actually results in a very light gray) (YCrCb value = 234, 128, 128)

Black = 16, 16, 16 (results in a very dark gray) (YCrCb value = 16, 128, 128)

5. Repeat for the remaining white/black colors in the pallet. There should only be a few, no more than 16 per subtitle file (obviously).

6. Save the compilation, which will write the corrected palette into the IFO file.

III. Burn the DVDs with Subtitle Fixes

1. Burn the contents of the copied folder (roughly 6-7GB) onto a Dual-Layer DVD-R.

Color code conversion references:

http://www.dvd-replica.com/DVD/colorrgb2.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YCbCr

Many thanks also to russ869 for the IFOEdit screenshots, where I first got the idea to look up the YCrCb standard. When I tried RGB values of [0,128,128] it resulted in aquamarine instead of black, so I knew something wasn't adding up

[isamu]

Guys what about these sub files?

http://www.allsubs.org/subs-download/macross-7-tv-4-9-1994-eng-mac-0102-1314-0708-1718-0304-0506-0910-1920-1112-1516/2553357/

They cover all 49 episodes. Are these the same fansub ones from Central Anime? How accurate/good are they?

If not, then technoblue would you mind sending me an invite to the asiandvdclub.org?

I am looking for English sub files to match the blu-ray release. There's a torrent up for it but without any subs

[technoblue]

Many thanks to Technoblue for putting me on the right track to fix this, I just verified my first corrected disc on the PS3!

I based my fix on the process you laid out above, but due to some circumstances I had to go a different route - IMGburn appears to have bundled a ton of adware in the latest version, so I used Nero instead, and IFOEdit wouldn't download for me no matter how I tried, so I went with DVDSubEdit to make the corrections after some educational adventuring. Here's the process I used:

Awesome, Dio! I'm glad you were able to find a process and some software that worked for you. It's a shame that adware is getting bundled into IMGburn now. I'll keep my eyes open for it the next time I update.

Guys what about these sub files?

http://www.allsubs.org/subs-download/macross-7-tv-4-9-1994-eng-mac-0102-1314-0708-1718-0304-0506-0910-1920-1112-1516/2553357/

They may be okay? Try them out! I do know that Central Anime originally released the show hardsubbed. The remastered DVD episodes were softsubbed. If these subs are older than a few years, they may be transcripts of the originals. The patches discussed in this thread include other fixes that were not in the Central Anime release. For instance, alternate lyrics for some of Fire Bomber's songs.

[isamu]

They may be okay? Try them out! I do know that Central Anime originally released the show hardsubbed. The remastered DVD episodes were softsubbed. If these subs are older than a few years, they may be transcripts of the originals. The patches discussed in this thread include other fixes that were not in the Central Anime release. For instance, alternate lyrics for some of Fire Bomber's songs.

Thanks for the reply. I am eager to try them out, but won't be able to until I eventually finish downloading the raw Mac7 BluRay rips of BT, which unfortunately are not subbed and has only a few seeds so far.

One thing I noticed about the sub files I linked to, is that one srt file appears to cover *two* episodes each! Interesting, no?

[technoblue]

Thanks for the reply. I am eager to try them out, but won't be able to until I eventually finish downloading the raw Mac7 BluRay rips of BT, which unfortunately are not subbed and has only a few seeds so far.

One thing I noticed about the sub files I linked to, is that one srt file appears to cover *two* episodes each! Interesting, no?

Ah! The two-episode .srt files are sub rips of some sort. I don't remember Central Anime doing combined episodes, so I think they may be custom rips. Since two episose are combined into one file, the timing information will be off. You will need to separate the subs into individual files from mac7-2930.srt on, and then retime everything for your blu-ray rips.

For example, "Formula for a Love Triangle" is the title of episode 30. You can search for that and, after you find it, scroll down to find the lyrics to Planet Dance. When you find the OP to the second episode, you should be able to highlight, cut and paste the subtitles from the second episode into its own file.

I think you can use the .ass files without too much tweaking, but you may need to retime these too. When you have your files, try them out and see. And let us know how it goes!

[isamu]

Ah! The two-episode .srt files are sub rips of some sort. I don't remember Central Anime doing combined episodes, so I think they may be custom rips. Since two episose are combined into one file, the timing information will be off. You will need to separate the subs into individual files from mac7-2930.srt on, and then retime everything for your blu-ray rips.

For example, "Formula for a Love Triangle" is the title of episode 30. You can search for that and, after you find it, scroll down to find the lyrics to Planet Dance. When you find the OP to the second episode, you should be able to highlight, cut and paste the subtitles from the second episode into its own file.

I think you can use the .ass files without too much tweaking, but you may need to retime these too. When you have your files, try them out and see. And let us know how it goes!

Ouch!!!!!! Sounds like more work than it's worth. Sounds like I'm better off going with the Central Anime sub files, no? If so, can you send me a link to them?

[technoblue]

Yeah, since we don't get subtitles out of the box with these releases, it requires some wrangling and hacking. Unfortunately, since Macross 7 doesn't get as much love from the community as the other Macross series, resources are hard to come by. It makes no sense to me, but I will avoid ranting about it. The music is class! I've been listening to a couple CD imports on the way into work.

BTW, I sent you a pm.

[Dio]

Three discs in and my laptop burner quit working... think I just need to reinstall Nero since it still reads correctly, but this is quite the hassle. If I didn't love Mac7 I probably would just throw my hands in the air at this point

[Renato]

I hope it all works out. I very recently got the Laserdisc box sets, so I'm watching those right now, oldskool style!

[technoblue]

It does take a while, even when everything is working.

And that makes me wonder if there is a softsub option avialable? I was reading in the Frontier thread that some members simply re-time subtitles to whatever format they have on hand and then use their favorite player, like mpc-hc or vlc to play the video back with subtitles.

That seems like a nice way to do it when upgrading to blu-ray. Although, I have to admit that just popping in the DVDs is really convenient.

[BadTroll]

Any new FB/Chie/Fukuyama music recently?