This document deals with text subtitles, as the graphic subtitles can't be changed.
The text subtitles can be displayed in two different ways. The first one displays the subtitles as white (and semi-transparent) text. These are the old/traditional subtitles in MPlayer. The font and size can be changed but not the colors.
- 300px-White_subs.jpg (29.62 KiB) Viewed 4505 times
A new (and recommended) way to display the subtitles is by enabling the SSA/ASS library. This can be done in the Subtitles menu or in the preferences dialog, in the Subtitles section, under the "Font and colors" tab.
- 300px-Ass_subs.jpg (29.39 KiB) Viewed 4505 times
This allows you to customize many aspects of the subtitles, like font, size, colors, alignment...
- 299px-Conf_subs.png (36.96 KiB) Viewed 4505 times
Usually these settings apply only to *.srt and *.sub files, the actual *.ass files (often included in mkv videos) are not affected. The reason is that *.ass subtitles already provide nice styles for the subtitles, so it may not be a good idea to modify them. Anyway, if you really want to override the ass styles, you can do it by checking the option "Apply style to ass files too". The "Customize" button on the right of this option allows to manually edit the style, and it's intended for advanced users.