How to add subtitles to a video

Deze inhoud is in het Engels.

Subtitles make a video easier to follow for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, for people watching without sound and for anyone whose first language is not the one being spoken. Adding them takes three steps: create a transcript, export it as a subtitle file, and attach that file to the video. This guide explains how to do each step with the Video Transcriber on Valtrinity, the difference between sidecar and burned-in subtitles, and how to check the timing before you publish.

Door Valtrinity. Bijgewerkt op 18 oktober 2026.

Start with a transcript

Subtitles are only as good as the text underneath them. Upload your own video to the Video Transcriber and let it produce a transcript with timestamps. Video files can be up to 500 MB. A single file pass covers up to 90 minutes for £0.99, and the Unlimited plan includes 600 minutes a month.

Read the transcript against the video before you export it. Correct spelling of names and technical words, and remove filler words if the style calls for it. Fixing text now is much quicker than correcting dozens of subtitle cues later.

• Upload your own video file.
• Correct names and technical terms before exporting.
• Decide whether to keep filler words.

Export SRT or VTT

The Video Transcriber can export TXT, SRT and VTT. For subtitles, choose SRT or VTT. SRT is the most widely accepted format and is the best choice when you do not know where the video will be shown. VTT is the natural choice for a video on a web page, and it supports styling and positioning.

Export a subtitle file and keep it with the original video. Use the same base name for both, such as launch-talk.mp4 and launch-talk.srt, so the player can match them.

• SRT: widest acceptance.
• VTT: web pages and styling.
• Keep the subtitle file next to the video with the same base name.

Sidecar or burned-in: choose the right approach

A sidecar subtitle is a separate file that the video player loads alongside the video. Viewers can turn it on or off, change its size where the player allows, and you can replace it later without re-encoding the video. Most video platforms and players support sidecar files.

Burned-in subtitles are drawn into the picture itself. They always appear, look the same on every device and work where sidecar files are not accepted, such as some social feeds. The downside is that the text can never be turned off or corrected without making a new video. Use burned-in captions only when the destination needs them.

• Sidecar: viewers can switch them off, and they are easy to replace.
• Burned-in: always visible, but permanent.
• Use sidecar where the platform accepts it.

Worked example: a 12-minute talk

Suppose you have a 12-minute talk recorded for your website. Transcribe it, correct the names and the two technical terms, and export VTT because the video sits on a web page. Upload the video and the VTT file to the page, and check that the captions appear when the captions option is on.

The same talk going to a video-sharing platform would normally use SRT, since most platforms accept it. You can export both from the same transcript so you do not need to convert between them.

• Web page: VTT sidecar.
• Platform upload: SRT sidecar.
• Export both from one transcript.

Check the timing before you publish

Play the video with subtitles on, and watch the first minute, the middle and the end. Look for captions that appear too early or stay on screen after the speaker has moved on, and for lines that are too long to read in the time available. Adjust the cues in a text editor if needed, keeping the timestamp format correct.

Check the captions on the device you expect most viewers to use. A phone and a large screen can show the same caption very differently, and a line that fits on one may wrap on the other.

• Watch the start, middle and end.
• Look for captions that are too early, late or too long.
• Check on a phone as well as a larger screen.

Publish and keep the files together

Upload the video and the subtitle file to the platform, following its instructions for adding captions. Keep the original video, the final subtitle file and the transcript in one folder. If you correct a mistake later, you can update the subtitle file and re-upload it without starting again.

• Keep the video, subtitle file and transcript together.
• Update the subtitle file rather than re-making the video.

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