The subtitle converter converts between nine subtitle formats — SRT, VTT, SBV, SUB, SSA, ASS, SMI, LRC, and JSON. Upload a subtitle file and the tool auto-detects the source format; select a target format and download the converted file. The most common use is converting YouTube SBV downloads to SRT for local media players.
When to use each format
General video subtitles
- SRT — broadest compatibility; no style information, works in virtually every player and platform
- VTT — the HTML5
<video>standard; required for embedding subtitles in web pages - SBV — YouTube's default download format; convert to SRT for local playback
- SMI — Windows Media Player format; only common in the Windows ecosystem
Styled or special-purpose
- ASS / SSA — supports fonts, colors, positioning, and karaoke effects; style tags are stripped when converting to SRT
- SUB (MicroDVD) — uses frame numbers instead of timestamps; frame rate must match the source video
- LRC — lyrics format with minute:second precision; no speaker information
- JSON — structured output for programmatic processing; cannot be loaded directly in video players
What happens to ASS styles when converting to SRT
ASS and SSA subtitles embed font names, color codes, screen position coordinates, and effect tags such as {\an8} (top-center alignment) and {\b1} (bold). Converting to SRT strips all of these. If position tags were used to separate two speakers across the top and bottom of the frame, the two lines merge into one subtitle entry after conversion and must be manually split.
MicroDVD SUB frame rate issue
The SUB format stores timing as frame numbers (for example {1234}{1567}), not as time codes. To convert to a time-based format like SRT or VTT, the tool must know the source video's frame rate to calculate the correct timestamps. Entering the wrong frame rate — the most common mistake is using 24 fps for a 23.976 fps video — shifts every subtitle in the file by a small amount that compounds over time.
File encoding and garbled text
Subtitle files are commonly encoded in UTF-8 or GBK (Windows). GBK-encoded files containing non-ASCII characters may appear as garbled text after conversion. Open the file in a text editor (VS Code, Notepad++) and resave as UTF-8 before uploading. The output file is always UTF-8.