Can I stop authoring programs over-riding subtitle formatting?

I've been trying to burn a DVD using an MP4 video file and an SSA sub file, which I created using SubtitleEdit. The sub file is formatted with occasional italics and some lines in different colours.

The problem I'm having is that the two authoring programs I use, DVDStyler and DVDFlick, both over-ride the formatting commands in the sub file in favour of their own built-in sub formatting, which is extremely basic: just font, size and overall colour. I've looked in both programs for an option to bypass the built-in formatting but there doesn't seem to be one.

Is there a bypass method in either program which I'm overlooking? Failing that, can anyone recommend an authoring program which will keep the sub formatting the way I want it to be?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

 

AFAIK, DVD subs are limited to a four colour palette which is fixed for all the subs in the stream and it's either all italics or non.
Try posting at the VideoHelp site - there are some people there that are expert in that department.


http://forum.videohelp.com/

 

Thanks for that. It's a pity, if you're right: I was hoping to be able to make a DVD with subs in a mixture of standard and italic lettering and at least two different colours. It seems a little odd that programs like SubtitleEdit allow relatively complex formatting if the result can't then be burned to disc.

I have actually tried the VideoHelp site, but with a related question not this exact one, so I'll try again.

 

I looked into the colour question further and found that although a subpic is four colours, they are selected from a particular sixteen colour palette.
Thus any particular subpic can have any of the colours in that palette.
Here's a link to a sample.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/9nvic3clgnl117x/sample.zip

I made the changes to the sample using DVDSubEdit.

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/audio_video/subtitle_tools/dvdsubedit.cfm

It also allows you to move the subpic location on screen.
As to Italics,the only way so far that I see, is to actually edit the subpic using a paint program.
DVDSubEdit allows individual subpics to be saved and imported (caveat, they must be saved as four-bit (sixteen colours).
Good luck.

Used a paint program to apply skew to the bitmap - looks like italic?

 

Thanks so much for that info, and for taking the trouble: I'll have a look at your example. I'm going to be away for a couple of days so I'll post any follow-up remarks or questions here on Sunday.