The meaning is more or less the same, but the wording and word number differs a lot in some cases.
Sometimes, the used words don’t make so much sense at all because they are used in a quite strange way/context.
1 Like
The subtitles on ■■■■■■■ 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 etc… 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 what’s going on in here).
This moderator (playing 2 different ppl), use all the TIME translator for her English messages/comments etc…and doesn’t even make an effort to find someone to help/him/her out, to fix the terrible PM’s/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 ‘‘thing’’ in the dramas now, will help in a way to control these type of things going on here at RAKUTENVIKI. I wonder if that’s 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 ■■■■■■■ and became a paid subscriber of ■■■■■■■■■■ in 2009 until it's demise in 2018. Whoever says that ■■■■■■■■■■ and ■■■■■■■ 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 ■■■■■■■■■■ and ■■■■■■■. Because ■■■■■■■■■■ subs were often ripped by the pirate sites, looking at the ■■■■■■■■■■ 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 ■■■■■■■■■■ and more often than not the new subber with the "off" translations was plagiarizing ■■■■■■■■■■ 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 ■■■■■■■■■■ but the same subs had been ripped to a pirate site available to the subber.
With the demise of ■■■■■■■■■■, 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 ■■■■■■■■■■ in the past and ■■■■■■■ in the present. Also, even up through 2017, ■■■■■■■ was buying viki subs from time to time, for example Descendants of the Sun. So how can one categorically say that ■■■■■■■ 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 ■■■■■■■ subs "better."
4 Likes
I think that subtitles on Viki vary greatly, depending on the team and especially on the English Editors present (ehm ehm…)
There are many which are exemplary (again, I don’t want to name any names, but we know which ones I’m 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 we’ve worked on, but without the English editing?
3 Likes
I too was a ■■■■■■■■■■■ and at the same time a VIKI subscriber. I taught English as a second language for many years. The translations at ■■■■■■■■■■■ were often not as good as Viki’s - 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 ■■■■■■■■■■■ treated its clients like dirt - shutting down with no notice. I’m 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 -
4 Likes
@bleubirdmist and @logan. Thank you for the affirmation of why I continue to volunteer at viki
1 Like
Ever since I started watching ■■■■■■■ I’ve noticed a big improvement in Spanish and English subtitles. I can’t speak for other [Language] since I only know those two. The reason I complain about the subtitles here at Rviki is because lately, I’ve seen very little to no editing done in many dramas, and that’s annoying to see because there’s no need for that to be happening here.
1 Like
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 ■■■■■■■ (and other similar providers), no matter if you watch something with Asian culture/history aspects or European or Middle East…etc. If one is interested it’s 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. That’s 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 won’t 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 it’s not a ■■■■■■■ 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 I’m interested in available at different places (■■■■■■■ 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 don’t know what’s going on? (e.g. detective/crime thrill story, when I miss the speculations it’s bad for the story but often in these stories the characters talk with corpsein the background or photos of murdered people on the wall/table…)
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 episodes…
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 ■■■■■■■ does with US shows (I can’t remember a single US show without synced version. ■■■■■■■■■■■■ often offers only the synced versions).
I know for a fact that if you live in Europe ■■■■■■■ doesn’t offer much to see but I’m 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 etc… and the subtitles are decent enough in English, so no complains on my part. They tend to modernize the subs too much but it doesn’t 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 ■■■■■■■ 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).
1 Like
Yes, in US we have TONS of Chinese historical dramas but ironically I like only a few.of those, and I know many would’ve been so happy to watch all those available in here…
I pray that this change in Europe and that you get to see a variety of dramas (Chinese fantasy/historical) etc…
1 Like