In this article I explain how to add a subtitle service or what to do if your Kodi install hangs when you try to browse for subtitles.
Issue:
I have had this issue an have seen that many others with the issue and not able to figure out why. When you attempt to load subtitles for a video, your Kodi simply hangs. The likely issue is that your Kodi install cannot load the path to the default subtitles or is not properly configured.
The Fix:
To fix the hanging - you should try a couple steps.
Firstly add a default location to store your subtitles:
1 - Set Default Subtitle Location
Set up a default directory for where Kodi should look for your subtitles to search in a local "accessible" directory. In my case I set it to an "smb" mounted drive on my NAS. Here are the instructions how to set a default directory. Go to System - Player - Language and under:
- Subtitle Storage Location select "Custom"
Now in Subtitle Storage Location set it to the directory that is "accessible" - I also set look "next to file" for the subtitle location.
- Update: also you can turn off “pause while loading subtitles” as well to speed up the starting of your movie/video
2 - Add a Subtile Service
Another thing for consideration is to add a default subtitle service so that you can search for subtitles and potentially save them for later use. To do this simply go to the Addons section and add a free subtitles service such as “Opensubtitles.org” or "Super Subtitles". You can then search for subtitles and try to load them. At times you may get an error (maybe because it finds a zip file for a whole season of shows, etc.) and be told to check the error log file. What I have found is that the addon still downloaded the subtitle file in a temp directory. For example, you can search for a subtitle file in ".kodi/userdata/addon_data/service.subtitles.supersubtitles/temp".
Gujal (OpenSubtitles service)
The Gujal repository contains opensubtitles in the Subtitles service section that will look up subtitles for any TV show or Movie. I use this in combination with “Local Subtitles” (see below) and use the “download” option but select opensubtitles.org to get the subtitles on the fly. Here is the repository that you can use to load the Addon:
Recommended Optional Addon
(use this Addon to download or play previously downloaded subtitles “srt” files):
Install the "Local Subtitles" addon and use it instead of Kodi’s default subtitles capability. This plugin addon allows you to download subtitles on the fly and/or play already downloaded local subtitle files (I.e. “srt” files).
The Addon can be found on GitHub: https://github.com/peno64/service.subtitles.localsubtitle
Step 1:
Install the addon from Github: https://peno64.github.io/repository.peno64/
Step 2:
In Kodi, change the default Subtitle service to LocalSubtitles
- In Settings, Player, Language
Change the Movies option
After selecting LocalSubtitles your screen should look like this
Step 3:
In Kodi, set a default location of subtitles is defined in Kodi:
- Settings, Player, Language, Custom subtitle folder, then the addon searches by default in that location.
Now when in a movie or tv show - use the subtitle icon to popup the subtitle screen and make sure to use “Download subtitle…” and the screen will popup allowing you to select the local file that you have previously downloaded or select a subtitle service (e.g. opensubtitles.org) to load subtitles on the fly…
For Ghost:
If you are using Ghost - make sure that you enable Subtitles or else playback will hang when you attempt to use local subtitles. Simply go to "Settings" in the Ghost addon and enable subtitles (optionally you should also disable auto download of subtitles).
Sorting Your Kodi Favourites? Be Sure to Check This Out!
Check out this article on how to organize your Favourites. My custom addon allows you to easily manage your Kodi Favourites!
HowTo? - Install "Insert/Swap Kodi Favourites" - a Kodi - GitHub Program Addon