How to Generate Subtitles from a Video
Turn any video into timed SRT subtitles. Upload the file or paste a link, transcribe the audio, and export an SRT you can load into your editor or player.
To generate subtitles from a video, upload the file to LiteScribe or paste a link, and it transcribes the audio into timed text with speaker labels. Export the result as an SRT subtitle file aligned to the speech, ready to load into your video editor, player, or upload alongside the original. Free to start on web, desktop, mobile, and Chrome.
What you get when you subtitle a video
A subtitle file is a list of timed cues: each line of dialogue paired with a start and end timestamp so the words appear on screen exactly when they are spoken. LiteScribe builds these cues automatically by transcribing the audio track inside your video and keeping the timing of every segment, then writes them out as an SRT file you can download.
SRT (SubRip) is the most widely supported subtitle format. It is plain text with numbered cues and timestamps in the form 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,500, so it loads into virtually every video editor, media player, and upload form, from DaVinci Resolve and Premiere to VLC and YouTube. Because it is the universal format, generating an SRT first gives you the broadest compatibility, and you can convert it to other formats later if a specific tool needs them.
Only the audio track is transcribed
For subtitles, only the audio inside the video matters; the picture is along for the ride. LiteScribe reads the audio track from common video containers (MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI) and transcribes the speech. On the desktop app you can extract just the audio locally before uploading, so a multi-gigabyte 1080p video becomes a small audio file and the upload is quick even on a modest connection.
Speaker diarization runs on that audio, so a multi-person video, an interview, a panel, or a webinar, comes back with each speaker separated. That makes it easy to produce subtitles that credit the right person, and you can rename Speaker A and Speaker B to real names before exporting.
From transcript to a polished caption file
Auto-generated subtitles are a strong first draft, not a final cut. After transcription you can fix any misheard names, jargon, or numbers in the editor, then export a clean SRT. If a caption appears slightly early or late against the picture, the free subtitle timing shifter nudges every cue by a fixed offset without re-transcribing. If a tool you use needs WebVTT instead of SRT, the free subtitle converter turns your exported SRT into VTT in the browser.
Why use LiteScribe for subtitles
Timed SRT export
Every transcript exports to an SRT subtitle file with timestamps aligned to the speech, ready for any editor or player.
Audio from video
LiteScribe transcribes the audio track inside MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, and AVI, so you do not pre-extract anything.
Speaker labels
Diarization separates each voice, so interview and panel videos produce subtitles that credit the right speaker.
100+ languages
Subtitle videos in over 100 languages with automatic detection, then refine the text in the editor before export.
How to Generate Subtitles from a Video
- 1
Add your video
Upload the video file, paste a link, connect cloud storage, or record live. Common containers like MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, and AVI all work, and large files use resumable upload.
- 2
Transcribe the audio
LiteScribe reads the audio track inside the video and transcribes the speech with timestamps and speaker labels in 100+ languages, with automatic language detection.
- 3
Review and fix the text
Read the transcript with each line timestamped, correct any misheard names or terms, and rename speakers so the captions credit the right person.
- 4
Export the SRT
Download an SRT subtitle file aligned to the speech, then load it into your editor or player. Convert it to VTT or TXT with the free subtitle converter if a tool needs another format.
SRT out of the box, VTT in a click
LiteScribe generates subtitles by transcribing your media and exporting an SRT file, the most widely supported caption format, aligned to the speech. When you need WebVTT for a web player, run the exported SRT through the free in-browser subtitle converter to produce a valid VTT with no upload. If the captions sit slightly ahead of or behind the picture, the free timing shifter nudges every cue by a fixed offset. Transcribe once, then convert and retime for each destination.
Frequently Asked Questions
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