Subtitle guides & tutorials
Plain-English answers on subtitle formats, converting between them, fixing timing, and getting captions to work everywhere — paired with the free tools that do each job in your browser.
SRT vs VTT: what's the difference and which should you use?
SRT and VTT look almost identical, but they are not interchangeable. One plays everywhere; the other is the only format a web page will accept. Here is when to reach for each.
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- SubtitlesSRT
How to convert SRT to VTT (and why HTML5 video needs it)
A browser will not play an SRT file, but converting one to the VTT it does accept is almost trivial. Here are the two changes involved, and the exact markup to load the result.
6 min read
- SubtitlesSync
How to fix out-of-sync subtitles (the complete guide)
Out-of-sync captions come in two flavours, and each has its own fix. Diagnose which one you have — a constant offset or a growing drift — and the correction is straightforward.
5 min read
- SubtitlesFormats
Subtitle formats explained: SRT, VTT, ASS, SBV and TTML
SRT, VTT, ASS, SBV and TTML all pair text with time, but they were built for different jobs. Here is what each one is good at and how to pick.
6 min read
- SubtitlesYouTube
Why won’t my subtitles work on YouTube? Common fixes
A subtitle file that plays fine on your computer can still fail on YouTube. Almost always it is one of three things — the format, the encoding, or the timing.
6 min read
- SubtitlesTiming
How to make subtitles from scratch (timing & reading speed)
A good subtitle is not just the right words — it is the right words on screen for exactly long enough to read. Here is how to build one from nothing, one pass at a time.
7 min read
- SubtitlesASS
ASS vs SRT: when you actually need subtitle styling
ASS can do things SRT cannot even describe — fonts, colour, exact positioning, karaoke timing. But most subtitles never need any of it. Here is how to tell which camp you are in.
6 min read
- SubtitlesTiming
Subtitle timing rules the pros follow (CPS, duration, gaps)
Professional subtitles obey a handful of numbers — reading speed, minimum and maximum duration, line length, and the gap between cues. Learn them once and every file you make reads cleanly.
6 min read
- SubtitlesEncoding
How to fix subtitle encoding problems (garbled characters)
When accented letters turn into é or ż, the words are fine — the file is just being read with the wrong alphabet. Here is why it happens at the byte level, and how to re-decode and save clean UTF-8.
6 min read