Introduction and bases

Summary

Using .srt files

The .srt files are designed to store subtitles.

Good video players, such as VLC, allow to read .srt files while playing a video. Subtitles are then superimposed on the video. To play subtitles with this application, just play the video, and then drop the subtitles file on the video window. It will then be taken into account. You can also open the video with the "File"/"Open a file in advanced mode...", check the box "Subtitles file" and select the latter.

Other video players, as well as TV boxes, also allow to read those files. To be taken into account, they will need to have exactly the same name as the video file (except for the extension).

Even YouTube allows .srt files upload.

.srt file format

.srt files are, as a matter of fact, text files respecting a particular format. Let's open a .srt file with a simple text editor, and take a look at its contents :

1
00:03:44,564 --> 00:03:47,119
Toute cette agitation et ces cris.
Qu'est ce qui s'est passé?

2
00:03:47,370 --> 00:03:48,692
Je l'avais.

3
00:03:48,727 --> 00:03:51,539
Le marin est entré, je sais.
Je les ai vu courir tous les deux dans les escaliers.
Et cetera... We can notice several line groups, separated with an empty line. Each group represents one subtitle.

Let's look closer at one group.

Time representation

In order to locate subtitles in time, the format described hereafter is used. A "timing" is, as a matter of fact, the time since the beginning of the video.

A timing is written as follows : XX:XX:XX,XXX , where the X are digits. The first group of digits represents the number of hours since the beginning of the video, then are then minutes, the seconds and the milliseconds. For example, 01:23:45,678 represents the time of one hour, twenty-three minutes, fourty-five seconds and six hundred and seventy-eight milliseconds after the video’s beginning.

This time representation system is also used to represent the duration of events. In this case, it does not refer to the video's start.

When using Subs Factory, you can also use other time representation systems. To know how to do that, please refer to the Preferences section.