Hello everyone my annual Viki Pass was renew today, I upgrade annually to VIKI PLUS.
I hope I am not disappointed in what it will offer. One thing I can not understand is with the Plus no one should have to wait for subtitles it should already be there and ready.
I notice with some of the dramas the subtitles are not at all finish.To me it make no sense since the Plus cost more, well I will wait and see I can always go back to standard Viki. I never look at any dramas where the subtitles are half done, I make it a point to watch all episodes after “all” is done.no matter if it take a while.
You’re not paying for subtitles. You’re paying for ad-free, HD content with extra shows available to you.
Viki is a site older than you can imagine, older than DF, and it’s still going strong. This proves that Viki’s model, where the community volunteers subtitle the shows, is sustainable and should be embraced and even respected by the newcomers.
Here you can find a brief overview of the subbing process. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, but please keep an open mind.
@bozoli Thanks for your reply, I totally understand what I am paying for I been an annually customer here on Viki for more than 5 years I have always had Viki Standard, and decided to upgrade to Plus. I am aware that subtitles are by the fans, who take their own personal time to give us all subtitles.
I have no problem with the Chinese subtitles because I know Chinese Mandarin without the subtitles, so the subers help is very appreciated by me and others for those members who do not know the Koreans language or Chinese. I do notice that some drama ( not all ) are under KOCOWA which is mainly Korean dramas. My point is with the Plus it should not be a long waiting period I think the once Drama Fever had the right idea of paying subers but than again this is not DF.
All streaming websites, including those with paid, professional subbers and the pirate ones who steal from elsewhere, are of two kinds:
The ones which wait until the subs are ready to upload the video - and this means of course that uploading is delayed. This may be annoying for those who know the language and don’t need subs. They do what you want, “already be there and ready”, but with a delay.
The ones which upload it raw for those who already know the language - and then wait for the subs to be done. Whether they are done very quickly or a little later, or very much later, still there is some waiting time because even paid professionals are not machines.
DF was the first kind, because it catered mainly to American audiences, with very few viewers knowing the source language. Viki is the second kind, because it caters to a more international audience, including many Asian viewers. You said yourself that you understand Chinese so you don’t mind unsubbed C-dramas. The same goes for those who understand Korean and prefer the videos to be uploaded quickly so that they can watch them, instead of waiting for subs just because of us mere mortals who rely on subs.
So, whatever the speed, Viki will never upload the videos with ready subs, because it chooses to upload each episode as quickly as possible after airing.
Except for Kocowa shows which are delayed on purpose because Kocowa wants to be the first to have them on their website. And also except for some older dramas and films, which come already subbed and only have to be edited (a recent example is “The Package”).
Kocowa sometimes gives its own subs as well, which may be editable or non-editable and non-translateable (yes, I know, this sucks big time for all Other Language viewers)
The Plus subscription is the one which gives you Kocowian dramas. Those mere mortals like us Europeans can’t even imagine watching because we simply live on the wrong continent, no matter if you contribute to the site or not.
Ultimately, I don’t think there should be any difference between the Plus and the Standard or no subscription at all when it comes to the subtitling. All the shows are subtitled using the same principle, no matter their availability via subscription. Why? Well, for one thing the shows which are better and more popular will get translated a bit faster (not weeks, mind you). So, you get the best content the quickest possible.
Also, way in the beginning when I first came across Viki, if it had catered so heavily to the subscription audience, I would have never started translating here. The fact that Viki (still) has a lot of free content makes me want to continue to participate in this volunteer subbing idea. It’s a completely different mindset (and thereby business model) to the other streaming sites.
As I already mentioned, the DF subtitling model was not sustainable. The company had to rely heavily on the investment funding, which in the end made it vulnerable to the currents of the stock market, not to mention random desires of a few CEOs in WB.
And besides, it’s only a matter of the viewer waiting for the subs usually not more than a week. We shouldn’t really have to consider to change the essence of Viki just because of that.
I realize it may be hard for you to wait for the subs or what ever. , but heres an example, Firey Priest, isnt all subbed and yes I do live in america, but look, when the subbers are trying their best to do the subbing on “any” of these dramas, there are others to watch before the subs come on.
Sure its a pain to wait, but I believe its a good thing. waiting patiently? you are joking, right, but I do and go to other dramas, even the older ones till my "drama " is subbed.
I used to be on DF and they were good, But like what the others said, they lost. those other “pirate” places, yeah you do get the subbs, and some aren’t.
I would rather stick to Viki. problems and all than go anywhere else,
Hulu used to have a bunch of international dramas, subbed too. but not like they used to, Netflix, really doing good in their international stuff. oh and their sibs are qiestionable. so as for Viki? I’d rather stick to this than go anywhere else. oh and yes I used to complain too.
But with some of these folks here helped me to understand the whys and wherefors(Imar, for one) so ggo with the flow, be patient, you will get it soon. I also have Viki pass, ok off my soapbox!
I think a lot of people forget two main points:
1 Not everyone who comes to Viki NEEDS subtitles.
2 This site was originally developed as a language learning website for users all over the world to come and practice/learn/grow in the language of their choice using popular videos. It was not built as a primarily “entertainment” website like DF.
You still have to wait for subtitles with Viki Plus, Kocowa site has them already subtitled. I have Viki Plus and Kocowa.
I prefer Viki because frankly Kocowas website is buggy especially their video player . So. there it is.
You’re also speaking entirely from an English-language point of view. Viki caters mostly to the non-English speaking audience, although the English-speaking chunk of it is substantial. The so-called other languages (anything besides English) have to wait even longer, since we are translating from English to our target language. That’s why I think most people who complain about English subs are coming from DF or similar sites, and simply don’t know the system here.
For example, Netflix shows two episodes of a drama per week, with subtitles at 100%. The quality of subs there is debatable. They take far too much liberty to shorten the sub, loosing the finesse of the expression in Korean/Chinese etc. We don’t do that on Viki, we want to preserve the cultural heritage that seeps out of the language through its phrases, proverbs and other cute quirks.
However, Netflix also posts these two episodes ONE WEEK after they’ve been boadcasted in their home country. This means that their translators are doing same as we here on Viki, except that their work progress is not public, while ours is. On Viki you can track the translating process one percentage at a time.
Don’t know, or don’t want to - it comes down to the point, that they don’t want to accept the system. They think they pay the same price, so Viki should include subtitles like DF did. And if they shout long and hard enough they will get their so called right.
The only thing is, they actually do get the same thing. It’s just that on Viki the video is visible for them from the beginning and on other sites it is not.
@bozoli
For us it’s the same. For them uploading a video without subs is equal to cheat them. Not all channels can offer subtitles in less than a week. It’s a society thing, you need to have all and right now and …
I can’t tell how I feel about it, since I feel the world has bigger problems, than waiting for subtitles, the “relation” is off, if I may say so.
I thougth Kocowa provided at least English Subs for all their dramas licensed by Viki… I mean if Viki is paying for the content shouldn’t they also provide the subs? I have recetly noticed a slowdown in the subs of the “on air” Kocowa shows. For example, the subs for Fellow Citizens are taking over a week to be completed in Viki in English.
The default has always been that Viki buys off the licence for streaming the video, and then the volunteers take over and do their magic.
Volunteers don’t exactly like subs coming from Kocowa, because they can be too truncated and they don’t follow certain cultural rules in translating established here. Also, editing a sub is far worse than creating one anew.
The speed of subbing depends on the interest and availability of volunteers. I’ve never heard of this show “Fellow Citizens”, which means it’s probably not in let’s say top 5 most viewed shows on Viki. Volunteers are also human and they translate stuff based on their own affinities and likes. So, chances are the show is not getting enough manpower to be translated within a few days after the video was uploaded.
Now a few months ago, after DF’s death, Viki took over some of her children, aka more popular shows, where DF held exclusive rights. This meant all these shows came to Viki in a short span of time without subs. On top of the regular on-air dramas. That created a bit of a lag, bit now that should be resolved.
I am on that team (English editor) and you’re right, subbing is super slow. Because of regional restrictions, the subbing team is often just one or two people doing the work of ten.
Pity because this show is excellent.
I do know and realize its a hard this and especially people that complain ( like I used to) and learned a lot from you and others, I know the hassel of waiting too. BUT I just go to another drama to watch and when the drama comes on I do watch it. so I have learned, and I thank you all for showing me this a year or so ago. you subbers do a fantastic job anyway,slow or not!
