Subtitles serve as an invaluable tool, rendering dialogue and sounds into on-screen text for those with hearing impairments or for language translation purposes. For YouTube users, integrating subtitles is a breeze; simply upload an SRT subtitle file or input subtitles manually. Meanwhile, for local video files, craft an SRT file and merge it with your video via HandBrake. This tutorial will walk you through adding subtitles to both YouTube and local videos on your PC or Mac.
Quick Guide
- Generate an SRT file using Clideo SRT Editor, Notepad, or TextEdit.
- Install Handbrake, a versatile video transcoder tool, on your device.
- Access your video in Handbrake and navigate to the Subtitles section.
- Import your previously crafted SRT file by selecting Import Subtitles.
- Save your video, then initiate Encode to seamlessly embed your subtitles.
Detailed Procedure
Incorporating Subtitles into Video Files

Download and Install Handbrake: Handbrake, a free video transcoder tool, facilitates subtitle embedding. Obtain Handbrake from
https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php.
- To embed subtitles, you require an external SRT file. If absent, utilize Clideo SRT Editor or manually create one in Notepad or TextEdit.

Launch Handbrake: Upon installation, access Handbrake via the Windows Start Menu or the Applications folder on a Mac.

Access File Option: Located as the second option in the left menu, this initiates a file browser.
- Alternatively, drag and drop your video into the designated box.

Select and Open Video: Choose your desired video to embed subtitles, then click Open to load it into Handbrake.

Navigate to Subtitles: This tab is located centrally below the video source information.

Access Import SRT: Found atop the box under the 'Subtitles' tab.

Select the corresponding SRT file for the video and click Open: This action imports the SRT file into Handbrake.

Locate and Click Browse: This button, colored grey, is situated in the lower-right corner.

Enter a name for the new file and Click Save: This action creates a save file and specifies the destination for the final video with embedded subtitles.

Initiate Start Encode: Located at the top of Handbrake, adjacent to the green Play triangle icon. This action encodes the video with embedded subtitles. You can activate subtitles in your media player by navigating to the subtitle menu and enabling them.
Adding Subtitles on YouTube


Upload your video to YouTube: If not yet done, employ the standard methods to upload your video to YouTube from your computer.
- If your video is in Dutch, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, or Vietnamese, YouTube will automatically include captions once processing is complete. You can edit them if necessary.

Click on your profile picture and choose YouTube Studio. Your profile picture is located at the top-right corner of the page. If you haven't set a profile picture, you'll see your initial instead.

Access Subtitles: Found in the left panel, where a list of your videos will be displayed.

Select the desired video for editing. If a language hasn't been set for the video, you'll be prompted to do so now. Choose a language and click CONFIRM if necessary.

Click Add: Located to the right of the video.
- If automatic subtitles are available, you'll see DUPLICATE AND EDIT instead. Opting for this allows manual changes to the subtitles or uploading a transcript for replacement.
- To adjust the timing of automatic captions, click EDIT TIMINGS at the top.

Choose the method to add subtitles:
- Click Upload file to upload a subtitle file containing time codes. YouTube supports various subtitle formats. If editing an auto-subtitled video, click the three dots near 'EDIT TIMINGS' and choose Upload file.
- If a caption file isn't available, you can create one with Clideo SRT Editor or manually in Notepad or TextEdit. Upon selection, choose With timing or Without timing, then click Continue. Select your file and click Save to proceed.
- Click Auto-sync to paste a transcript and let YouTube sync it to the video. After adding the transcript, click ASSIGN TIMINGS, then CLOSE.
- Click Type manually to enter captions as you watch the video. YouTube syncs the captions as long as at least 5 lines are entered.

Click PUBLISH to save the captions. This action adds the new or edited captions to your YouTube video.
Crafting Subtitle Files with Clideo SRT Editor

Navigate to https://clideo.com/create-srt-file in your web browser. Utilize the Clideo SRT Editor, a free online tool, to generate subtitle files for your videos. Simply access the website via your preferred desktop or mobile browser.
- This approach also yields a watermarked subtitled version of the video, available for download.

Choose a video file. If the video is on your device, click
Choose file, select it, and then click
Open. For online videos, click the down-arrow beside the 'Choose file' button and paste the URL into the provided field.
- You can alternatively select a video from Google Drive or Dropbox in the menu.

Opt for Add manually. This directs you to the SRT editor interface.

Introduce your initial subtitle. Hit the Play button to locate the desired section in the video. Then, input your first subtitle into the 'New Subtitle' field positioned in the upper-right section of the page. A preview will be displayed on screen.

Adjust the subtitle timing as desired on the screen. Customize how long the subtitle remains visible.
- For instance, if you want the first line to display from 7 seconds to 14 seconds, drag the box to 7 seconds and adjust its size to reach the 14-second mark.

Tap +Add subtitle for the next line. Repeat the process for subsequent subtitles.
- Continue adding and adjusting subtitles as necessary, generating timestamps for the SRT file.
- Overlap subtitles to display multiple captions simultaneously by dragging one over another at the desired time.

Hit Download SRT. Located at the bottom-right of the page. If the download doesn't initiate immediately, opt to
Save or similar to store the file on your computer. With a proper SRT file, proceed to upload it to YouTube.
- Alternatively, choose Export to preserve a version of the video with embedded subtitles. This free service adds a 'Clideo' watermark to the video. If acceptable, select this option and click Download to save it on your device.
Manual Subtitle File Creation

Launch a text editor. Utilize Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on macOS, or any preferred text editing software.
-
Windows 10: Access it via the Windows Start menu, under Windows Accessories, and select Notepad.
-
Mac:
- Click the magnifying glass icon at the top-right.
- Type TextEdit.app and press Return.
- Choose TextEdit.app.
- Open a New Document.

Enter the number for your initial subtitle and press ↵ Enter. Each subtitle in the SRT file is numbered sequentially according to its appearance. Input '1' for the first subtitle, '2' for the second, and so forth.

Enter the start time for the subtitle. This marks the beginning of the subtitle's display in the video. Start times should be in the format '[hours]:[minutes]:[seconds],[milliseconds]'.
- For instance, the start time for the first subtitle, beginning at the video's outset, might read 00:00:01,000.

Input --> immediately following the start time. Use two dashes and an arrow to separate the start and end times for the subtitle.

Enter the end time for the subtitle. This indicates when the subtitle should cease displaying. End times should adhere to the format '[hours]:[minutes]:[seconds],[milliseconds]'. The entire line, including the timestamp, might resemble 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,040.

Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. After entering the subtitle timestamp, use the Enter key to add a new line.

Enter the subtitle. The third line consists of the actual text that will be displayed as the subtitle on the screen.

Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return twice. Once you've finished typing the subtitle, press the Enter key twice to create space between this subtitle and the next. Repeat these steps for each subtitle in the video.

Follow these steps for every subtitle in the video.

Go to File and then select Save As. Once you've finished typing your subtitles, save the file as a '.srt' file.
- In TextEdit on Mac, click Save instead of 'Save as'.

Locate the folder containing the video. Save the SRT file in the same location as the video to which the subtitles correspond.

Assign the text file the identical name as the video. In Windows, input the desired name in the 'Filename' box, or use 'Save As' on Mac to rename the SRT document. Ensure both the video and SRT files share the same name. For instance, if the video file is named 'Introduction.mp4', name the SRT file 'Introduction.srt'.
- To test the subtitles using VLC, ensure the SRT file is saved in the same directory and has the same name as the video file. Then, click on Subtitles and select a subtitle track.

Save the document as an SRT file. Follow these steps:
-
Windows: When saving the file in Notepad, remove the '.txt' extension from the filename and replace it with '.srt'. Click Save.
-
Mac: Save the file as a '.rtf' file. In Finder, locate the file, click once to select it, then click File and Rename. Replace the '.rtf' extension with '.srt'. Click Use .srt when prompted to keep the extension.
Here's an example of properly formatted subtitle text within an SRT file:
1
00:00:01,001 --> 00:00:05,040
Welcome to our instructional video.
2
00:00:07,075 --> 00:00:12,132
In this tutorial, we'll cover subtitles.
3
00:00:14,013 --> 00:00:18,021
Let's begin by creating an SRT file.
Helpful Hints