The meaning is more or less the same, but the wording and word number differs a lot in some cases.
Sometimes, the used words donāt make so much sense at all because they are used in a quite strange way/context.
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The subtitles on NETFLIX are NOT perfect but they are 10 times better than here at viki bc they are more proficient in the English language, so the subs always make sense, sound better bc they always use the correct past/present tense etcā¦ something here at viki, is forever RARELY done. Instead of writing CAN they write COULD which makes a lot of difference in a subtitle, and this is always mainly done by the same person here at viki.
Right now, I went to this drama on air (but not popular with viewers) the CM posted on the page has been inactive here at viki for 2 years and there are 2 moderators for the same Language but guess what? These 2 moderators, are the same person, that years back used one of the name, and now with her new name is also the moderator for the same language in that drama (but in her/his page (with the old name) has been inactive for 4 years! (but now is the moderator in this new drama?) I did an investigative work, and have evidence of all this I state here, but will only show it to the CEO (unless he is already aware of whatās going on in here).
This moderator (playing 2 different ppl), use all the TIME translator for her English messages/comments etcā¦and doesnāt even make an effort to find someone to help/him/her out, to fix the terrible PMās/comments she/he writes/sends to others.
I ask myself, is the CEO aware of this happening here? How can this person that lacks so much, be in so many dramas? To take over a drama and have so much control is kind of scary in my opinion. Besides the fact that she/he will damage the quality of the subs in that drama.
I guess the restriction āāthingāā in the dramas now, will help in a way to control these type of things going on here at RAKUTENVIKI. I wonder if thatās the reason why so many are panicking bc they no longer can be with their 2/3/4? different names, in so many dramas, at the same time. I hope this stops already so the site can continue to be #1 for viewers/future subscribers.
Maybe now, others that are proficient in both language and can give better quality subtitles here at viki can be working in many of these dramas, too. Finally viewers can have subtitles in a decent amount of time, and not be begging for subtitles or getting insulted by moderators like so many of them do, in the comment section. BUT best of ALL, the quality of the subtitles here at the site that has been going down lately, will finally improve for the pleasure and satisfaction of the now and future paying subscribers.
I am a paid subscriber to Netflix and became a paid subscriber of Dramafever in 2009 until it's demise in 2018. Whoever says that Dramafever and Netflix subtitles are better than viki's does not know Korean and is not aware of the amount of skipped complex terms and sentences which were skipped and are being skipped in Dramafever and Netflix. Because Dramafever subs were often ripped by the pirate sites, looking at the Dramafever subs was a must for me. Whenever a new subber suddenly had a huge volume of Korean to English subs with some "off" translations, the first place I would look for the source of the subs was dramafever and more often than not the new subber with the "off" translations was plagiarizing dramafever subs -- mistakes in grammar, spelling, and translation, and skipping of complex terms and sentences included. It's the "off" translations which started me on the hunt. Often the subber did not have access to dramafever but the same subs had been ripped to a pirate site available to the subber.
With the demise of dramafever, the amount of plagiarizing in K drama has dramatically dropped. There was also a lack of editing of the Korean to English subs and inconsistency from episode to episode in dramafever in the past and Netflix in the present. Also, even up through 2017, Netflix was buying viki subs from time to time, for example Descendants of the Sun. So how can one categorically say that Netflix is "better." If you mean by better, that the credit in the last episode to team members and removing the OST lyrics somehow made the Netflix subs "better."
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I think that subtitles on Viki vary greatly, depending on the team and especially on the English Editors present (ehm ehmā¦)
There are many which are exemplary (again, I donāt want to name any names, but we know which ones Iām referring to) and others less so.
The people saying that Viki subs are lacking may have happened to watch those shows which are not well done.
Just imagine the shows weāve worked on, but without the English editing?
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I too was a Drama Fever and at the same time a VIKI subscriber. I taught English as a second language for many years. The translations at Drama Fever were often not as good as Vikiās - lacked historical and cultural references that made simple translation unfulfilling. There have been so many complaints about the wait for translation at VIKi, that I think many talented volunteer subbers just quit.
The corporation that bought Drama Fever treated its clients like dirt - shutting down with no notice. Iām very afraid that Viki may end up that way - big corporations know that Asian drams lovers are passionate - they think we will pay more - every corporation now wants streaming rights - Disney, etc. Please appreciate what we have -
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@bleubirdmist and @logan. Thank you for the affirmation of why I continue to volunteer at viki
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Ever since I started watching NETFLIX Iāve noticed a big improvement in Spanish and English subtitles. I canāt speak for other [Language] since I only know those two. The reason I complain about the subtitles here at Rviki is because lately, Iāve seen very little to no editing done in many dramas, and thatās annoying to see because thereās no need for that to be happening here.
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Well written. I agree with most of your post. Just want to add that it is not just an Asian sub thing but a general sub thing on Netflix (and other similar providers), no matter if you watch something with Asian culture/history aspects or European or Middle Eastā¦etc. If one is interested itās still possible to do some research to learn and find the infos one wants without turning a film into a diashow (bc it becomes impossible to read and watch at same time/ so many lines in few seconds. Thatās probably the main reason why professional subs are often different from fan subs).
Another aspect is that in some cases detailed sub info destroys the immersion of watching something, e.g. a character within a story with real-life relation wonāt say in every case a poem plus author plus lifetime plus written year and book from where it is. That destroys the imagination of being part of that visual story. Detailed infos are part of educational or documental film.
So for me itās not a Netflix vs VIKI combat, but more a question of
- am I in the mood for diashow mode?
- is the setting (story, costumes etc.) interesting enough to watch sometimes ~60+ episodes with subs?
- is a certain content Iām interested in available at different places (Netflix has very few fantasy and almost no historical films)
- is a synced version available and do the synced voices fit?
- do I like the sound of the origin language?
- is it possible to read (look at screen) or does a film include too many violent/bloody/cruel scenes so I either have to look at these scenes or donāt know whatās going on? (e.g. detective/crime thrill story, when I miss the speculations itās bad for the story but often in these stories the characters talk with corpsein the background or photos of murdered people on the wall/tableā¦)
A while ago I started watching an interesting 3 season series with many, many episodes. Somewhere in early season 2 I stopped because the reading + origin voice aspect was too annoying to watch for another 100 episodesā¦
It was not an Asian series. I probably would have watched all 3 seasons when a synced version would have been available like our TV stations do and how Netflix does with US shows (I canāt remember a single US show without synced version. amazon prime often offers only the synced versions).
I know for a fact that if you live in Europe NETFLIX doesnāt offer much to see but Iām in USA and I have no complains whatsoever. Subtitles, no buffering (like it does constantly here on viki), drama, movies, documentaries, varieties galore from every country you can think of.
I have seen dramas from Russia, Mongolia, Philippine, Greek, Hindu, Germany Spain etcā¦ and the subtitles are decent enough in English, so no complains on my part. They tend to modernize the subs too much but it doesnāt bother me anymore bc I just want to know what they are talking about, and so far so good.
Do you also get Chinese fantasy & historical dramas for Netflix USA?
We (in Europe) have lots ok K drama mostly romance or crime/thrill but very few Chinese (largest part of Chineses dramas is also romance/crime and not fantasy/historical).
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Yes, in US we have TONS of Chinese historical dramas but ironically I like only a few.of those, and I know many wouldāve been so happy to watch all those available in hereā¦
I pray that this change in Europe and that you get to see a variety of dramas (Chinese fantasy/historical) etcā¦
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