Queries on subtitle files

[kirby]

There are srt subtitle file.
There are also idx and sub subtitle files. Usually the sub file is compressed into a rar file. Why is it done so?

To play with a media player in computer, do I need to un-rar the rar file into sub file first?
What about playing in stand alone divx/xvid DVD player? Do I need to decompressed the rar file back into sub file first?

Also there is another observation here. I have read that the subtitle file should be in the same folder and the same name as the avi file. Very often the idx and rar files are the same name as the avi file. However when the rar file (eg myvideo.rar) is decompressed into sub file, the file name of the sub file is slightly different (eg myv.sub). So if the rar file could be utilised directly by the media player of the computer or the divx player, does it matter if the sub file inside the rar file has a different name?

Thanks

[andw]

Some PC based players can read the .sub out of a .rar file.
For standalone, (only the z330 supports .idx/sub that I am aware of) you will need the .idx and .sub (not the .rar) and they will need to be the same name as the avi and in the same folder.
e.g. yourmovie.avi yourmovie.idx yourmovie.sub
I'm not sure if on the PC the file inside the rar needs to have the same name or not, never used a .rar version.

[rookie]

..if there are tools that sync audio and video, are there tools that sync subtitle files with avi/mpeg files into one file? Sorta like if you have a vhs recording on tape that contains some foreign languge, well it's all on one tape, not separate files. Just wondering, as it might be the only way to watch a doco I have in a foreign language on my 989 :cool: