Subtitle guides & references
Definitive, plain-language references on how subtitle files actually work — the formats, the encodings, and the timing problems. Written to be the page you check when something breaks, and link to the tool that fixes it.
- SRT file format The structure of a SubRip cue, the rules players enforce, and the quirks that break files.
- WebVTT format Cues, positioning settings, STYLE blocks, voices and chapters — the W3C web-caption format.
- SRT vs VTT A feature-by-feature comparison table and which format to use where.
- ASS / SSA format Advanced SubStation Alpha: styles, events, override tags and what converts to SRT.
- Why subtitles go out of sync Diagnose offset vs drift vs a different cut, and apply the exact fix.
- Subtitle encoding & mojibake Why subtitles show é, Ð or � — code pages, BOMs, double-encoding, and the cure.
- Add subtitles to video Softsub vs hardsub vs embedded, with steps for VLC, the web, Plex and smart TVs.
- Subtitle reading speed CPS and WPM standards, the Netflix and BBC limits, and the accessibility case.