This wikiHow teaches you how to create and attach a subtitle file to a downloaded video. Once the subtitles have been created using a text editor, you can add them to your video using a free program like HandBrake or VLC.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Creating Subtitle Files on Windows Computer
Step 1. Click Start
Click the Windows logo in the lower left corner.
Step 2. Type in Notepad
The computer will search for the Notepad program.
Step 3. Click notepad at the top of the menu Start.
Notepad (the computer's built-in text editor) will start.
Step 4. Enter the first subtitle sequence
To start a new line, type 0, then press Enter.
Type 1 for the second subtitle, then type 2 for the third, and so on
Step 5. Create a timestamp (a sequence of characters indicating the date and/or time) for the subtitle text
Each section of the timestamp must be in the format HH:MM:SS. TT, with the beginning and end of the section separated by a space and a two-line arrow like this: HH:MM:SS. TT HH:MM:SS. TT.
For example, if you want to put the first subtitle in the video somewhere between the 6th and 9th seconds, type 00:00:06.00 00:00:09.00 here
Step 6. Press Enter key
A new line will be created, which will be used to place the subtitle text.
Step 7. Enter the subtitle text
Type in any subtitles as you wish. As long as you don't press Enter at any point until you've finished writing it, all the text will appear on one line.
You can also create a second line of text by pressing Enter once and then typing the second line of text
Step 8. Press Enter twice
It is used to place a space between the previous subtitle and the beginning of the next subtitle.
Step 9. Make the next video subtitle
Each subtitle must have a sequence number, timestamp, one line of subtitle text (at a minimum), and a blank line between that sequence and the next subtitle.
Step 10. Click File
It's in the upper-left corner of the Notepad window. A drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 11. Click Save As…
The button is located in the drop-down menu File. The Save As window will open.
Step 12. Enter the name of the video
For the subtitle file name in the " File name " text field, enter the name of the video you want to add subtitles to. The subtitle name must exactly match the name of the video that appears on the computer (including case sensitive information [pay attention to upper and lower case]).
For example, if the title of the video displayed on your computer is "How to Grow Corn," you would type How to Grow Corn here
Step 13. Click the "Save as type" drop-down box
This box is at the bottom of the window. This will bring up a drop-down menu.
Step 14. Click All Files
This option is in the drop-down menu.
Step 15. Convert the file to SRT
Type.srt at the end of the file name.
Based on the example above, the SRT file will be named How to Grow Corn.srt here
Step 16. Change the encoding option if the subtitle is not in English
If your subtitles are not in English, do the following:
- Click the " Encoding " box in the lower right corner.
- In the drop-down menu, click UTF-8.
Step 17. Click Save located at the bottom of the window
The SRT file will be saved in the specified place. Once the subtitle file has been created, you'll need to add it to the video.
Part 2 of 4: Creating Subtitle Files on Mac Komputer
Step 1. Open Spotlight
Click the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner. This will bring up a search bar (search bar).
Step 2. Type in textedit
Your Mac will search for the TextEdit program.
Step 3. Double-click TextEdit which appears at the top of the list of search results
The TextEdit program will run. This is the default text editing program on Mac computers.
Step 4. Enter the first subtitle sequence
To start a new line, type 0, then press Return.
Type 1 for the second subtitle, then type 2, for the third, and so on
Step 5. Create a timestamp for the subtitle text
Each section of the timestamp must be in the format HH:MM:SS. TT, with the beginning and end of the section separated by a space and a two-line arrow like this: HH:MM:SS. TT HH:MM:SS. TT.
For example, if you want to put the first subtitle in the video somewhere between the 6th and 9th seconds, type 00:00:06.00 00:00:09.00 here
Step 6. Press the Return key
A new line will be created, which will be used to place the subtitle text.
Step 7. Enter the subtitle text
Type in any subtitles as you wish. As long as you don't press the Return key at any point until you finish writing it, all the text will appear on one line.
You can also create a second line of text by pressing Return once and then typing the second line of text
Step 8. Press Return twice
It is used to place a space between the previous subtitle and the beginning of the next subtitle.
Step 9. Make the next video subtitle
Each subtitle must have a sequence number, timestamp, one line of subtitle text (at a minimum), and a blank line between that sequence and the next subtitle.
Step 10. Click the Format button located at the top of the screen
A drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 11. Click Make Plain Text
This option is in the drop-down menu Format.
Step 12. Click File located on the top left side of the screen
A drop-down menu will appear.
Step 13. Click Save As
This option is in the drop-down window. The Save window will open.
Step 14. Enter the name of the video
For the subtitle file name, enter the name of the video you want to add subtitles to. The subtitle name must exactly match the video title that appears on the computer (including case sensitive information).
Step 15. Add the subtitle file extension
Next to the video name, type.srt instead of the.txt tag.
Step 16. Click Save
It's at the bottom of the window. The SRT file will be saved in the location you selected. Once the subtitle file has been created, you'll need to add it to the video.
Part 3 of 4: Adding Subtitle Files with VLC
Step 1. Place the subtitle file in the same location as the video
How to do it: select the subtitle file, then copy the file by pressing Command+C (Mac computers) or Ctrl+C (Windows computers). Open the folder where the video is saved, then press Command+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows).
Step 2. Open the video in VLC
How to do this will be slightly different depending on the operating system used.
- Windows - Right click the video, select Open with, then click VLC media player in the menu that appears.
- Mac - Select the video, click File, click Open With, then click VLC in the menu that appears.
- If you don't have VLC Media Player installed on your computer, you can download and install it for free.
Step 3. Click the Subtitles tab at the top of the VLC window
A drop-down menu will be displayed.
On a Mac computer, Subtitles is at the top of the screen.
Step 4. Select Sub Tracks
This option is in the drop-down menu Subtitles. A pop-out menu will be displayed.
Step 5. Click Track 1 located in the pop-out menu
The subtitles will appear in the order you created them.
Step 6. Import the subtitle file manually
If subtitles don't appear in the video, add the file manually to the video so they will continue to appear until you close the VLC program:
- Click Sub Tracks
- Click Add Subtitle Files…
- Select the desired subtitle file.
- Click Open.
Part 4 of 4: Adding Subtitle Files with HandBrake
Step 1. Run HandBrake
The app icon is in the shape of a pineapple next to a drink.
If you don't have this program yet, you can download it for free on the HandBrake website:
Step 2. Click File when prompted
This option is in the pop-out menu on the left side of HandBrake. A Finder (Mac computer) or File Explorer (Windows computer) window will open.
If not prompted, click Open Source in the upper left of the window, then click File in the pop-out menu that appears.
Step 3. Select the desired video
Go to the location where you want to add subtitles to the video where you want to add subtitles, then click on the video.
Step 4. Click Open located at the bottom right of the window
Step 5. Click Browse
This option is in the middle of the page. Another window will be opened.
Step 6. Name the file and select a save location
Type in the name you want to use for the video that has been added with subtitles, then select the folder where you want to save the video (for example Desktop).
Step 7. Click OK
It's in the lower-right corner.
Step 8. Click Subtitles
This tab is at the bottom of the HandBrake window.
Step 9. Click Import SRT located on the left side of the window
- On Windows computers, you may need to remove the default subtitle track first by clicking X the red one on the right of the track.
- On a Mac, click the drop-down box Tracks, then click Add External SRT… in the drop-down menu that appears.
Step 10. Select your SRT file
Find the SRT file you created earlier, then click on it.
Step 11. Click Open
The SRT file will be added to HandBrake.
Step 12. Check the "Burn In" box to the right of the subtitle file name
This is to ensure that the subtitle file always plays on the video. This makes the video compatible with other video players in the future.
Step 13. Click Start Encode
This option is at the top of the HandBrake window. HandBrake will start adding subtitle files to the video.
When the encoding process is complete, the video that has been added with subtitles will appear in the specified storage area
Tips
- If you want to publish your video to the internet, you can add an SRT file to your video using YouTube.
- Creating a subtitle file is a painstaking effort, but the results are far more accurate than audio transcription performed by sites like YouTube or other third-party services.
