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I've read some occasional posts on this forum and some others where people mention that they don't like yellow subtitles on DVDs. Some posts seem to also give the impression that it would affect the purchase of the DVD. Madman/Directors Suite/Eastern Eye labels in Australia do employ yellow subtitles for the reasons of both readability and the fact that people in Australia are generally accustomed to yellow subtitles through it being the standard used on SBS TV.

Incidentally, I'm referring only to cases where the features films are in colour.

I'm curious, what are people's general feelings about this issue? Yellow? White? Is it important and does it bother people? Any feedback would be appreciated.

ChrisW, you should have asked the question prior to releasing films with yello subtitles. The answer is obvious. White.

But not wimpy white subtitles but with a slight dark outline or shadow that can be easily read against a white background. I think Accent has the best subtitling using white in virtually all of their DVDs. The font type and size are also pleasing. Whereas Hopscotch have YELLOW subtitles on their Bergman films. Criminal!

Also, subtitles should always be removable. I find it amazing that local distributors still have burnt-in subtitles on their new DVDs.

Yellow subtitles have been in use long before my time. White or grey is used on b&w features. We don't do burnt-in however; always removable.

Having watched a lot of SBS I don't find yellow subs distracting, but I can understand why people not used to them would. Having said that, I also prefer white subs with black borders.

Yellow subs are so gaudy, even in a colour film! White is so much better in that they are readable but also, more importantly, discreet.

davidhare wrote:Yes - Marty you shouldnt have posted that as a blanket statement. Virtually all the R4 DVD's I own have removeable subs.

This a beyond spanking/whipping offence. If not VERY SEVERE discipline!

Siren has burnt-in subtitles on some of their films especially their early ones.

White or grey is the obvious choice. Preferably small. In Portugal, we always watched foreign films on TV with white subs on them. It was a bit startling when I started buying DVDs from other regions (mostly R1) and encountered those ugly, hideous, obnoxious, intrusive, attention-calling yellow subtitles! Damn them TO HELL!

Yes, it would definitely influence my buying decision. Just go over to the Beaver and compare the yellow subs (R1) with the white ones (R2) on Bergman's "Saraband", for example. Which ones are less intrusive? The answer is obvious, I think.
I want WHITE subtitles, not just on b&w movies (where yellow is really distracting), but also on colour films. They are less intrusive and a lot easier to read. What is also important is the size of them. There is absolutely no need to fill the whole breadth of the screen with them. Criterion and MoC, as always, are the best in this respect.

I must agree, white all the way.

I remember reading on michaeldvd that Siren released a DVD with burnt-in red subtitles. Does anybody know which DVD this is?

Solaris wrote:I remember reading on michaeldvd that Siren released a DVD with burnt-in red subtitles. Does anybody know which DVD this is?

Thanks, Solaris. Can you let davidhare know before he flies off with one of his rants again? They are becoming tiresome, of late. You can disagree without being vindictive.

I wouldn't be so dogmatic about it. White may be preferable for 95% of all films -- but there is the occasional film where adding a color is important -- generally where the bottom of the screen is often light and the white subtitles end up impossible to read.

In other words, all subtitling should be reviewed before finalizing to make sure they are usable.

numediaman2 wrote:I wouldn't be so dogmatic about it. White may be preferable for 95% of all films -- but there is the occasional film where adding a color is important -- generally where the bottom of the screen is often light and the white subtitles end up impossible to read.

In other words, all subtitling should be reviewed before finalizing to make sure they are usable.

Yup. Eskimo flicks. Don't let's forget about them. Sometimes yellow in the snow is good.

Actually, I prefer mauve.

white is better. and one other thing, this goes for any company, when their is the opportunity to use three subtitle lines on a 2.35:1 picture, DON'T. Just be more creative about how to put it into two, because if you can keep the subs from touching the frame for the entire picture, everyone will be happy.

I like pink subs in bold and italics. Wingdings are also cool.

But if I can't have either of those, white or grey (but not too dark!) with a black border.

off-topic part of post:

ah...the wingdings font.
if anyone understands what the hell it means, im impressed.

on-topic part of post:

white subtitles, with the black borders. isnt this obviously the best choice to everyone?

footnote: always make sure the off-topic part of your post comes first.

I find that Universal's subtitling - especially on their classic titles - is particularly well done. Thinnish white with a black border and even the placement distinguishes which character is speaking. They also have subs for song lyrics which is something not a lot of other companies do.
I never thought I'd say that many nice things about Universal all at once...

I agree except I hate it when subs touch the frame, and universals are all over the place on 1:85 and 1.33 releases.

davidhare wrote:Marty do us all a favor and list all the R4 discs with burnt in subs. And save the anti ranting rave for someone who also works in the industry. Im merely a spectator of this train crash.

Umbrella's 8 1/2 is one I can think of right now. I'm sure there are others.

It's sounding like white so far. For argument's sake would this hold consistently true if the feature isn't letterboxed (ie. the white subtitles are on the image)?

Thanks to people for giving examples too, that's a good idea. So Accent and Universal; any other examples of good subtitling?

numediaman2 wrote:I wouldn't be so dogmatic about it. White may be preferable for 95% of all films -- but there is the occasional film where adding a color is important -- generally where the bottom of the screen is often light and the white subtitles end up impossible to read.

In other words, all subtitling should be reviewed before finalizing to make sure they are usable.

I totally agree with this -- not being able to read the subtitles is worse than yellow, as are garish borders on white subs. Do it case by case, please.

The only "must" is removable subs.

Was just watching Fists in the Pocket, and the sub-titles are yellow. A truly terrible choice for a b&w film.
What I did was to simply turn down the color on my Tv, in order to have white sub-titles.
I live in China, so my copy is less than perfectly respectable.
Was wondering if the Criterion Dvd has yellow or white sub-titles?

As for the comments above, a good solution is to have a greyish transparent shadow around white sub-titles that would otherwise be bleached out.

Yes you must have a boot. China-- say no more. The rarity is when you get an authorized edition, and I mean that factually and without sarcasm.

The english subs on the CC Bellochio are white. They've never used anything but. The only thing that varies is size, and occasional italicization i e when 2 translations-- THRONE OF BLOOD-- are available.

Thanks HS.
I couldn't imagine that Criterion put out yellow subbies on that.

Surprised that it was copied differently here, but they tend to make strange choices. Some goofball probably thought yellow subtitles would be easier to read, or looked cool, or discovered the coloring feature for the first time. But perhaps it was the same guy who decided to include the extras on my Chinese disc, so who am I to complain?

Anyway, I really enjoyed Fists, and now plan to watch Good Morning, Night which was otherwise buried in a pile of not-soon-to-be-watched dvd's.

White with black border, no exceptions, please.