Solving playback issues

[pbassett]

The same folder contains MyVideo.mp4 and MyVideo.srt

Shouldn't the subtitles automatically appear when I play the video?

[renojim]

If you have captions enabled and if there's nothing wrong with the SRT file.

[pbassett]

I have Captions Mode On Always and Language is English. Note that the SRT file does not have "en" in the the name. I read that if there is only 1 SRT file then it reads it and you don't need to have the language in the name.

I am using a PC with Windows and Media Streaming to get the file, not a USB stick.

Also note that when I am playing the video, under

* -> TV Settings -> Accessibility & captions -> Captioning track

it says "Track 1 " and when I scroll down to it, it says "Only Track 1 is available"

I'm not sure what Track 1 is. All my Captions settings are default and I have seen them before so they can't be hidden.

[renojim]

I would bet Windows is your problem.  I don't know if it supports serving the SRT file to RMP.  @atc98092 may know more.

[atc98092]

It is seeing your SRT file, and since there's only one that is why you get the only track available message. 

I have had issues at times with SRT files if the name of the video file and the SRT file differ in any way. There can't be an extra space or anything else, must be a perfect match. It's supposed to work if you add an EN in there for the language, but recently I had one that wouldn't work until I removed the extra text to make them identical. 

It should not matter if you're playing from a USB drive or from a DLNA server, but the names must match perfectly. 

[pmahoney1959]

I have same problem - mp4 and srt files have exact same name except for the extension.  Says captions not available on Roku screen.  Same files work fine when playing  on VLC media on laptop.  Roku just can't seem to see them.

[jmp1xxxx]

My background is 35+ years writing programs for main frame computers, so I have seen it all when it comes to something suddenly not working. Like others who have this problem, the subtitles were working fine the last time I needed them. Let me warn you....the solution is not something you would expect.

I tested it on two movies. Both were >MP4 format. The movies are on a USB drive. The .srt files are saved in the same folder as the video, and have the same name as the video. And yes, I went to Settings > Accessibility > Captions mode on my Roku TV and verified that the "Captions mode" was set to "On always."

You can tell you have a problem by starting the movie, pressing the asterisk (*) button and selecting "Accessibility". Here you can verify that the "Captions mode" is set to "On always." However, if you look at "Captioning track" directly beneath it, it will show "not available." This indicates the .srt file is not being recognized.

Both movies were sequels. As a result, both names had the number "2" in the title. Someone before me (...only one person) suggested removing all numbers from the name. Stupid I know, but it worked. I tested two (...no pun intended) different ways.

For the first movie, I simply removed the number "2" from the movie and .srt names. For the other, I changed the number "2" to the word "Two". In each case the movies played with subtitles. To see what this changed, press the asterisk (*) button and select "Accessibility". Again you will see that "Captions mode" is still set to "On always." However, if you look at "Captioning track" directly beneath it, it will now show "Single track." This indicates the .srt file is recognized.

That's what worked for me. See if it applies in your case.