ok, People have shown me the error of my ways some months ago about complaining about some of the dramas and subbers. Must kinda vent here. theres a drama that I really do like and well I need to ask not really complain. the drama has about 20 of its episodes showing, and about 5 episodes are subbed, but with the 15 rest showing they are not subbed. am I missing something? this is not one of those fan channels either. so why do they show the episodes and they aren’t subbed. ? I do know now and realize the subbers do have a life and time and volunterring so what is the story here? and yeah beforehand I do apologize, I am not impatient, just want to know. thanks.
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It depends on which drama you’re talking about. Sometimes, it’s a late license, meaning that the drama got the license after it has finished airing, and Viki just decides to immediately upload all the episodes at once. Maybe it’s just that the team is going at a slower pace.
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Well, it depends.
For example, if it’s a new-ish Chinese drama, it’s likely that the team just can’t keep up with the broadcast schedule. Who could blame them though, since Chinese dramas usually air 1-3 episodes every single day.
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What drama is it?
Probably Mine! The other scenario is the license is late by a week and 1-3 episodes per day are already piling up and the team is learning to work together and how to communicate. It makes for slow subs. You’re already overwhelmed before you even start.
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wow! thanks all… so license being late and 1-3 episodes a day? the drama is Chinese( I think) its called medalist lawyers, heirs. see its good to know! Now I understand, I know this probably has been explained before, I didn’t see it. so subbers, and others thanks for this info. 1-3 episodes per ? wow, thats a bit too much even for the actors, and they look like some new ones on the scene. and subers, I apologize, thanks again for this info.
Medalist is actually one of the dramas under Gone with the Shirt and the main reasons why the subs are not delivered 5 minutes after the video is being uploaded are the same in every case:
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the videos are generally released one hour after they have aired in China; when they are 30 - 40+ long, they normally release 2 episodes per day on weekdays and 1 episode per day on wekends. it means 12 episodes per week.
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in order to release the video to the subbers it must be segmented. segmenters appointed to the channel by channel managers come from different time zones therefore there is a slight chance only that they will appear the moment the video is uploaded ( most of them are very busy with their school, work, daily lives, etc. and they can only drop by in their time zone’s evening hours). segmenting one part of the video (and each video is normally divided into 4 parts) takes averagely 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the skills and experience of the segmenter and the difficulty of the language used (slow paced, fast paced, mumbling, screaming etc.). We can generally assume that new episodes are released to the subbers up to 2 to 3 hours after they were uploaded.
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subbers also come from different time zones and have different skills and competences - as the Chinese dramas are not aired in Mainland China we can only reply on the subbers living in other countries. It is very dificult to find fluent Chinese to English subbers that have the time to tackle a 30+ episodes drama on a daily basis so the subbing process is sometimes slower and sometimes faster, depending on how mnay subbers are free in the very moment. we also need to take into consideration that not everyone possesses the same level of fluency in Chinese or English so tsometimes they are only able to add 50% of the subs to the show and they move to another episode and the rest of the subs is later being added by someone more fluent or more grammar-oriented in this aspect. this can take up to a week of time because it is easy to add first 50% of the subs (as they normally cover the basic and simple conversation) but adding the little niuances to the speech is where the mighty magic is needed and it is only wielded by few on Viki
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adding subs does not end our work as then the editors are starting to hon and polish the subtitles so they are spelling- and grammar-correct. only then the subtitles are released to other language groups so other Vikians can enjoy them.
working on the drama is a long and time-consuming process and considering that we are all coming from different countries and continents we often get appaled by the number of pleas for faster subs. with the decreasing number of idle Chinese-English subbers and the access restrictions as well as taking into consideration that we are all doing what we do for free and in our free time (which we are robbing from the time we should actually spend with the family or friends or to cultivate our skills or other interests) I believe the subbing process on Viki is fast-paced and the viewers should be a little bit more patient and understanding before they write another comment such as “English subs pliiiiiissss” on the message board. the team already knows there are none.
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thanks so much for your response!! yes I do understand about the time and volunteering, and as for being patient, I have learned to do so in these past few months . Yes you , all of you subbers do a fantastic job, I sure couldnt do it, mine is language , so yes you folks do a fantastic job. now i do understand more fully. I hoped I am not the only one that does understand the plight of the subbers. I did make a promise to other subbers I wouldn’t complain and I have kept that promise till now. I thank you for clearing this up for me. I think gone with the shirt was the ones months ago. so again thank you for clearing this up, I will keep this response so I can read it again later. subbers do keep up the good work!!
yes we can barely keep up segmenting that at this point the CM’s and chief segmenters have resorted to Public Service Announcement-type pm’s for ANY help to segment.
Across the Ocean to See You we just finished segmenting then two more came up (also airing 2 eps per day April Star + Surgeons). The CM’s are my friends so I help on those. There are also other chinese dramas that got licensed AT THE SAME TIME. So those need help too. Across the Ocean to See You had 3 eps PER DAY.
So if you can hear and can press a spacebar, you are well qualified as a candidate for Ninja Segging and Subbing Academy. I think Seg 101 is currently not taking any students.
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Suggesting to her taking the Ninja training is not fair since she’s a paying customer and pays for her services. Is not only pressing the space bars or if you can hear well what makes a good segmenter.
It takes more than that and you know it very well bc you have a lot of experience here already. If we go by what you’re saying here then, anyone can be a segmenter and a crappy one too, if I may say so like we have so many here already. We have great seggers I know that but we also have really bad seggers too and they say they are ninja graduates and have their badges too in their profile.
Not only seg 101 is not taking students but the trainers available are so few.The one’s willing to do it are very busy with all their other projects too. Viki needs to get their videos not only uploaded but segmented too and have volunteers doing the subtitles only so more work in a timely manner can be done here too.
Something has to give and paying viewers deserve to be able to watch the dramas they want to see in a normal set of time. I hope viki site is aware of the growing problem in regards to the segment issues here.
Mrs. marygrether1_gmail_c my apologies on behalf of the Rviki site and know this is a problem that hopefully the viki staff is aware now and can be resolved so paying viewers like you can enjoy the dramas in a considerate decent amount of time.
Thank you for your patronage here and give them some time if not you can address this to the HELP CENTER at this link is easy and they are now responding to people’s complaint.
https://support.viki.com/hc/en-us
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Of course - just mentioning it just in case - we all know that viki pass has nothing to do with subtitles, right?
It only pays for 1) no ads 2) HD 3) premium exclusive content. Period.
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Ninja Subbing and Segging Academy is for everyone and it helped me meet people who weren’t just native speakers of English. It is a keep doing it until you pass system. Anyone can be a segmenter if they want to. I am quoting co-CM, amypun.
I only suggested it because Mary seemed to want to get involved as in doing other things than just watch. By your logic I only should volunteer since I do not pay, and with that logic I’d just go to another site where there are no ads and I can watch in HDTV. (every illegal site designed for overseas Koreans ever). I create subtitles because I want those specific shows to have really good ones and I enjoy working on a team.
As for Chinese language or other language shows, I’d have to start learning how to use aegisubs and download other programs to sync them to video. Korean subtitles are available for most popular Chinese shows if you know where to look.
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VIKI site has to be more clear on that bc if people knew that was the only thing they would receive as customer [NO ADS] no one would ever bother to pay here bc if dramas in the Original language is not their native language what difference having ADS or not would make?
So having segments or subtitles won’t make a difference here and sophie 2 you suggestion of margaret becoming a segmenter would not help in any way either. I still feel the shortage of segmenter needs to be addressed here but they need to be well trained too and not everyone can be a segmenter much less like she said press the tab bar and have good hearing like she stated. We have enough bad segmenters as it is just saying…
ON that note: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: TO PAID STAFF PERSONNEL OF R VIKI ONLY WITH KNOWLEDGE ON R VIKI CONTRACT OFFER. PLEASE LET US KNOW CLEARLY.
According to your contract paying subscribers of THIS site are paying only not to get ADS on the drama?
Thank you for your response.
No, you misunderstood I was talking about the segment part bc I see so many bad segments with gaps, wrong timing, conversation not segmented and I go to the person’s page and they are ninja graduate so I was wondering as to why this is happening. In my opinion, not everyone can be a segmenter no matter how eager they want to help here. It takes way more than that.
Candidates for segmenting should be as good seggers, subber like you are. You provide great subtitles and manage your channels very well and your team always have the best seggers, editors, subbers (and we have a few others that are great here too).
Why can’t we have more people like you working in here? Why people with your quality work is restricted here? is not like they are paying and need to cut cost of personnel or something like that.
Right now the new system of managing channels exclude newcomers/newbies (unless they are QC;'s) That means you guys are going to be overworked bc uploading a drama is no big deal segmenting them and all the rest it requires to have many hands available.
I had time to analyze the changes and although I felt the new system eliminated the sick control over channels some had here it won’t resolve the bigger issues bc they took away the opportunity for others to create new teams and have more hands volunteering so paying customers have the dramas at least subbed in English (all other language should fall into the premium rate if you want an specific language then you should pay for that luxury).
Like you said they can go to other sites I have cable, roku and netflix so I can see dramas in korean, Chinese and even Japanese with English subtitles. I hardly watch dramas here anyway I haven’t even finish defendant and is already completely done. But for many others like margaret viki site is their source of entertainment and ‘‘friends’’ I also have a special bond with viki for a personal reason i won’t discuss here. I have faith they will come to their senses and realize they can be #1 worldwide if they push a little more the options they have and ppl willing to work for free for them.
irmar posted a screenshot of the Viki Pass page, which pretty clearly states what it is offering. You get to watch videos in HD without ads and priority viewing on certain titles. The whole subtitle thing is a different matter, because that has to do with the basic model of the Viki site: crowdsourced subtitles. Now, that ought to be emphasized more on the site, sure.
Ratatouille, the movie, suddenly popped into my head. “Anyone can cook.” It’s not that anyone can become a great cook (or segmenter, in this case), but that you can find great cooks in unexpected places. So, if a person is truly interested in investing time into Viki, even if all they have are a pair of good ears and a keyboard, they should try it out and they could become a great segmenter.
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But… Why are you surprised? Why ask official people, when it is obvious by reading what they write on the site? It’s clear:
- no ads
- HD
- exclusive content (those shows labeled “vikipass only”
You can go on the page for viki pass and see for yourself. They don’t mention subtitles anywhere!
And it makes sense. Please think about it.
Viki has no power over when and how and how much any show will be subtitled since it depends on volunteers who, being unpaid, cannot be pressured or obliged to take up a show and/or complete it.
So, when it has no control over the existence of subtitles, how could it guarantee subtitles to vikipass buyers?
Moreover, vikipass buyers might be non-English, so how could it guarantee that their language would be available?
Why the contract doesn’t say “Viki pass does not guarantee the existence of subtitles”? Have you ever seen anyone advertising what its product DOESN’T do?
I also wish they did state it more clearly (would save us from lots of insults and pressure by viewers), but I’m sure it’s not gonna happen.
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wow! I didn’t mean to get anyone upset!! angellight313_168 you are so right,but there are some dramas here that aren’t shown on say drama fever,netflix,hulu, even you tube, maybe dramafire,(maybe subbed) thats why I like watching on here subbed or not… so why do they put those dramas on before they get licensed or subbed, if thats the case.like one of you said, hey I don’t want to make it any worse than it is., yeah maybe I should try it. I’d rather someone that knows what they are doing than a stumblebum like me.to cause damage. three no four places that have “boys over flowers” and they all have different subs in some of the places. that isn’t the only drama the other thing is yes meet people, and yes I am beginning to wonder if it is worth it paying for Viki… but again no ads, premium, and HD,
Again sorry for upsetting everyone. the subbers does do a fantastic job, they are being overworked in what they do. whats that old saying… about driving a horse into the ground?? yeah that last one from angel, we can cook we can do a lot of thing but we do need the training to be that French chef, or the pastry chef, same for the subbing stuff, . I would really feel like a sore thumb out there, to me I believe I would need the training to be one of those segmenters or subbers.and irmar, sorry for being one of the complainers too. it was this one drama is all.
Don’t worry. At least you are the person who asks questions and seeks answers, and is always willing to learn new things with an open mind. We all appreciate and welcome such people.
They put them before they get licensed so that people can ask for the license and they can see how many people are interested, to help them decide whether it’s worth buying a license or not.
They put them on before they are subbed because we English-speakers are not the only people in the world! There are many people who understand Korean and Chinese and don’t need the subs: either Koreans in Korea (who for some reason were unable to watch the show when it aired on TV, because they had other things to do, or because there are two dramas airing at the same time), Koreans abroad, foreigners who have learned or are learning Korean… and the same for Chinese etc. There are even the crazy ones who are so impatient to watch the new episode that are willing to watch it only half-subbed or even completely unsubbed (who of us hasn’t done this at least once?)
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xomachi… Ratatouille, the movie, suddenly popped into my head. “Anyone can cook.”
YOU understood what I meant then: anyone can cook it doesn’t guarantee you won’t eat something that taste like crap. Some people can try to learn to cook/seg and never learn to be a good one. We have a lot of those here too with 3 wonderful ninja graduates badges, no less.
I have a cousin that for 30 something years she cooks and her food is the nastiest crap you can ever eat. She puts the pots and ingredients but she still a horrible cook.No matter how much we try helping her is not in her to do a halfway decent meal so it ends up in the garbage where it belongs. You got my point very well, I see. I never said margaret or anyone can’t try it, did I?
IF you see imar’s screenshot you also can see THE SCREENSHOT SHOWN IS WRITTEN --’‘ALL’’ IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TOO.(Excuse the caps I feel some ppl see what they want to see) Why wouldn’t I assumed the dramas would be offered in English since what I’m reading is Not IN KOREAN, CHINESE OR JAPANESE BUT ENGLISH…ENGLISH you understand me now?
Why translate the MEMBER’S BENEFITS CONTRACT? Why not leave it in Korean and then I would get the message the dramas will not guarantee English subtitles? I hope you understand what I was trying to convey here. Hope this is the end of this bc I want the upper ppl to answer me not volunteers like me. I want the Facts from the upper one’s who really know what’s the deal in the contract. Is not like I’m going to sue them for misleading clauses in a contract or anything like that. The more honest we are in life the more blessings we receive in life. I can assure you that.
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WHY write it in English then? I didn’t had to use a translator to see what the contract offered. Once I read the contract in English and they ‘‘spoke/wrote to me in my language’’ I assumed the subtitles were going to be provided in English too.
Although the saying goes ‘‘when you assume you make an ass of you and me’’ (excuse my french) I did assume bc I understood when I read what was written in the contract in the English language the ‘‘subtitle/words’’ in your screenshot as I see them written in English, right?
I thought about it and is still not clear enough for me until a paid staff with knowledge in the contract clauses explains it to me bc then they can help me understand what no one else here can. Does the contract offers for paying subscribers dramas with no ADS only and does not guarantee subtitles in the English language?
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