.sfv subs work on mac vlc but not windows vlc, why?

[kimcheewarrior]

the subtitles wont load right on the windows version. the video is in mkv format and works fine, it shows an option under the subtitles menu as if it knows theres a subtitles file somewhere but doesnt know how to process it. i use an intel mac with both mac os x and windows xp installed. ive watched these videos before on my mac partition but this was the first time i tried to play them on my windows partition. besides the mkv files, the sfv file is the only other file present in the folder. the subs obviously arent hardcoded or else they wouldve been displayed when i tried to play them on windows vlc. the subtitles play fine in mac vlc but there is a huge initial lag when you try to open the first file in the folder. im not sure if its trying to load a tremendous amount of subtitle data but it takes about a minute. when i switch to the next episode in the list, sometimes it loads it instantly and sometimes i have to wait about 15 seconds while vlc is "thinking". but once the video is playing, the subtitles work perfectly without a hitch. this was the first time that ive ever had a file not work properly in one os version and work properly in another. seeing as how its the same program (despite the os barrier), i was surprised to find this outcome. as fascinating as it was, i primarily use windows xp on my intelmac so its a huge bother to have to reboot in mac os just to watch a few foreign videos with subtitles. why is it they work on the mac version but not the windows version?

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

sfv aren't subtitles files.

[kimcheewarrior]

i now understand that sfv files arent sub-files but that still doesnt change the fact that the subtitles for these videos dont work on the pc version of vlc but do work on the mac version. there is no other files present in the folder other than the mkv files and the one sfv file. im just trying to find a solution other than having to reboot into mac everytime i wanna watch these movies with subtitles, its a huge pain. im not being delusional here. when i play the videos on win vlc, there's no subtitles. when i play the videos on mac vlc, there is. plain and simple. i dont understand how the subtitles could appear in one version of vlc and not in another if there's no external subtitles file.