What is an Srt file?
The .srt file format is probably the most common subtitle format in the world. Unfortunately, it’s bad. Incredibly inflexible and difficult to change on the fly, it’s a format from a bygone era that persists partly because of its simplicity and partly because everyone is used to it. Luckily, these days, some excellent software has been developed that makes working with this ubiquitous file type much easier.
Why is the .srt bad? Common problems with Srt files.
Looking at the format, it’s clear that .srt files were never meant to be edited. These files are supposed to be outputs generated by a computer program, not something humans created or fiddled with.
Each subtitle entry in a .srt file requires 29 characters just for the time code. That’s before counting the characters used in any of the actual subtitles.
Example of an SRT file:
00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:00,000
Imagine 90 minutes of video footage with 1000 subtitle entries; that’s 29,000 characters just for the time codes. Now, computers are good at doing something 29,000 times with no errors. People are not. Luckily if you make a mistake while typing out a .srt, your video editing software will skip to the next subtitle and keep going. Just kidding. One character is out of place, and the entire file will fail. Skip a comma? That’s a fail. Forget a leading zero? Fail. Accidentally insert an extra space? Believe it or not, that’s ok. Kidding again. Complete fail.
Now almost all subtitle formats are annoyingly specific when it comes to time codes. The special madness of the .srt lies in its mandatory sequential numbering.
1
00:00:05,612 –> 00:00:07,390
Here’s the first subtitle.
2
00:00:10,482 –> 00:00:13,609
This is the second subtitle.
3
00:00:16,940 –> 00:00:19,167
And here’s the third subtitle.
You can see that each subtitle entry has a number assigned to it. It’s not a particular problem unless you realize you’ve made a mistake, particularly an omission. Let’s add a new subtitle #2 to our example.
1
00:00:05,612 –> 00:00:07,390
Here’s the first subtitle.
2
00:00:07,612 –> 00:00:10,390
Oops! Here’s some extra dialogue that was missed!
2
00:00:10,482 –> 00:00:13,609
This is the second subtitle.
3
00:00:16,940 –> 00:00:19,167
And here’s the third subtitle.
There’s enough space in the time codes to fit in the extra subtitle, but now our sequential numbering is no longer sequential. As you may have guessed, that will cause the entire file to fail. To make this .srt work, every subtitle after the new number 2 must be changed. If you have 1000 subtitle entries, I hope you have some spare time. And don’t forget to make zero mistakes as you update the next 999 entries.
Now for the good news. People other than me realized that the .srt format is bad! A Danish guy by the name of Nikolaj Lynge Olsson (currently a candidate for sainthood as the international patron of all subtitlers) wrote a subtitle editing utility with the exciting name of Subtitle Edit, and I’m pretty sure this program alone makes international Netflix possible.
The amazing qualities of Subtitle Edit are myriad but let’s start with the top 5.
1) Automatically Insert/Delete subtitle entries
Subtitle Edit will handle the sequential numbering of your .srt subtitle entries automatically. You can insert or delete any number of subtitle entries without having to renumber every subsequent subtitle manually. That alone makes the program worthwhile.
2) SRT Input/Output
I’ve yet to find a subtitle format that Subtitle Edit can’t read or can’t output. If you do need something that’s not available (or, more likely, you find yourself unsure which of the 100+ subtitle formats is the one you need), you can write your own custom export formats.
3) Automatic SRT formatting
You have a great deal of control over the timing and character count of your subtitles and can change the settings for a large number of those subtitles all at once. Split, merge, sort, it’s all there. While rarely perfect, the results from a single-pass machine merge/split are often impressively close to the final product.
4) Video Sync/Drift correction
If you’re dealing with footage that has a burned-in time code, you’ll probably notice that the video player runtime tends to drift away from the time code (particularly with common compressed video formats like .mp4 or .mov). Subtitle Edit has multiple options that will allow you to re-sync your subtitles and correct for drift without having to make dozens or hundreds of manual changes.
4) The Best Free SRT software. SRT Fault tolerance and error correction.
Subtitle Edit is a bastion of adaptability in a world of incredibly persnickety video editors. Where other editors will refuse to even look at an imperfect .srt file, Subtitle Edit can successfully import subtitle files with a wide range of errors. Subtitle Edit will also help you identify where errors exist and will let you know upon saving a file if there are critical issues like overlapping/out-of-order/negative-duration time codes. No other software that I’ve seen comes close.
5) Free SRT software
Subtitle Edit is entirely free. Not even a “please pay” screen.
Despite Subtitle Edit’s incredible utility, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. For one thing, there’s no version of Subtitle Edit for the Apple ecosystem, so Mac users will be stuck using Aegisub (which works fine if you’re subtitling finished footage but is far inferior for raw footage). Additionally, Subtitle Edit’s large array of options and features can be intimidating for new users.
With or without the help of Subtitle Edit, a large-scale translation and subtitling project can feel arcane and interminable. If you find yourself facing a mountain of video footage with a deadline that is too short, it may be time to call in the professionals. At Strommen Inc., we have the knowledge and experience to create subtitles for projects in dozens of languages.
If you have a project that requires professional help with SRT files contact us now.
Joe Darden is the Translation Department Director at Strommen Inc. in Los Angeles, California. Over the past 5 years, he’s used Subtitle Edit to create and edit 100s of hours of subtitles in .srt format as well as other, less-bad formats like Advanced Substation Alpha files, Avid-formatted .txt files, and numerous custom formats.