What is an .srt file?

An .srt file is used for displaying subtitles and captions for video. Although there are many different file formats and extensions for

creating subtitles, the .srt file is one of the most simple yet widely used formats for creating subtitles and captions for video files. These files are also accepted by virtually all media players and you can edit them on a simple text editor. Other subtitle formats that are similar are .ssa or .vtt (are used for adding captions, subtitles and chapters to html5 video).
An .srt file or SubRip text file is essentially a file containing a transcript (with or without descriptions) along with detailed time codes for the video. Accurate time coding is important in an .srt file as it tells your media player when to display your subtitles and for how long. The time format should be written using ‘hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds’. Both the formatting and dialogue transcription on a .srt file needs to be precise, so that there are no overlaps or errors. It is always best to both proofread and play your video with your accompanying .srt file to ensure it is working correctly and is perfectly in sync with what is happening in your video.

How to add a .srt file to a video

As most media players recognise .srt files, it is usually simply a case of naming your .srt file with the same title as your media file and saving them together in the same folder. If you have subtitles in different languages for the same film, for example, you can name them film.en.srt (for English) or film.ger.srt (for German).
Being able to offer subtitles to your viewers is a great way of gaining a wider and more diverse audience for your films, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing and those who speak in a foreign language, to name a few. If you would like more information about our video transcription services, subtitling services or captioning services, please get in touch.