How to burn non-English subtitles into mkv using a mac application?

my smart TV app (samsung UE55F8000) doesn't render non-latin subtitles correctly and there is no option to configure it.

The only way to show non-latin subtitles as far as I understand is to burn subtitles into mkv itself on my mac and then transfer this mkv to TV set.

Can you please recommend a software to do this hard burning?

Best regards,


Handbrake a great application for dealing with video on the Mac. Handbrake can burn in subtitles and create both MKV and MPEG-4 files.

The Handbrake wiki contains more information about what is possible with subtitling:

HandBrake can use subtitles tracks as INPUT from the following sources:

  • From DVD’s – Either embedded VOBSUB or CC tracks.
  • From Bluray - PGS Subtitles.
  • User supplied SRT files.
  • From Files (such as mkv or mp4)
  • Embedded subtitle tracks.

HandBrake has two methods of subtitle OUTPUT:

  • Hard Burn: This means the subtitles are written on top of the image permanently. They cannot be turned on or off like on the DVD.
  • Soft Subtitles: This means the subtitles will appear as separate selectable tracks in your output file. With the correct playback software, you’ll be able to enable / disable these subtitles as required.

my smart TV app (samsung UE55F8000) doesn't render non-latin subtitles correctly

I am assuming this is from your experience, and not a "published feature" ;-)

If you haven't already tried it, Subler is a utility designed specifically for adding subtitles, however it will losslessly convert the mkv wrapper into an mp4. It will not only rewrap, and not transcode, the video to an iOS/iTunes friendly format, it will transcode the audio from ACC to AAC if necessary, and it will optimize the location of the mpeg-4 atom in the resulting file for iTunes friendly use. It uses a friendly drag and drop paradigm. Download Subler, unzip into your Applications folder and launch Subler. Type command-n to begin, and drag your mkv file into the window, as well as your subtitles file, and choose from the simple available options. These will not be hardcoded subtitles, but perhaps having a properly soft-coded subtitled mp4 will allow your non-latin subtitles to appear without hard-coding them. Again, it does not transcode video, only audio.