SRT (SubRip Text)

The SubRip text file format is a very common caption/subtitle format. SubRip files are named with the extension .srt, and are therefore also referred to as SRT files. The file contents are simple and easy to read.


Each subtitle group consists of three parts:

  1. the subtitle number (a sequential number beginning with 1)
  2. two timecodes indicating when the subtitle should appear and disappear (start and end times)
  3. the text of the subtitle

A blank line separates each subtitle group.

Timecodes have the following format:


Note that a comma is used instead of a period to separate the seconds and milliseconds. This is because the SubRib format originated in France. The first three components (hours, minutes, and seconds) each consist of two zero-padded digits, and the last component (milliseconds) is three zero-padded digits. For example, 01:07:32,053 indicates a time that is one hour, seven minutes, 32 seconds, and 53 milliseconds after the beginning of the media. The start and end timecodes are separated by “–>” as shown in the example below.

01:07:32,053 -> 01:07:35,500

The subtitle text can be divided into one or more lines. The subtitle lines will be shown on the video the same way they are divided in the SRT file. For example, if a subtitle is divided into two lines, with 32 characters on the first line and 36 characters on the second line, it will be shown on the video the same way.

The following excerpt shows an example of a typical SRT file.

- Here's what I love most
about food and diet.

We all eat several times a day,
and we're totally in charge

of what goes on our plate
and what stays off.


The following video shows an example of what you would get if you ordered Speechpad’s Standard Captions. After you begin playing the video, click the “CC” on the video player to turn the captions on. The text box below the video shows you the SRT file for those same captions. SRT is just one of many formats you can download once the captions have been created. You could then use the SRT file to allow various players and video hosting services to present captions with your video (see compatibility list below).

00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,177
In this lesson, we're going to
be talking about finance. And

00:00:06,177 --> 00:00:10,009
one of the most important aspects
of finance is interest.

00:00:10,009 --> 00:00:13,655
When I go to a bank or some
other lending institution

00:00:13,655 --> 00:00:17,720
to borrow money, the bank is happy
to give me that money. But then I'm

00:00:17,900 --> 00:00:21,480
going to be paying the bank for the
privilege of using their money. And that

00:00:21,660 --> 00:00:26,440
amount of money that I pay the bank is
called interest. Likewise, if I put money

00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:31,220
in a savings account or I purchase a
certificate of deposit, the bank just

00:00:31,300 --> 00:00:35,800
doesn't put my money in a little box
and leave it there until later. They take

00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,822
my money and lend it to someone
else. So they are using my money.

00:00:40,822 --> 00:00:44,400
The bank has to pay me for the privilege
of using my money.

00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,700
Now what makes banks
profitable is the rate

00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:53,330
that they charge people to use the bank's
money is higher than the rate that they

00:00:53,510 --> 00:01:00,720
pay people like me to use my money. The
amount of interest that a person pays or

00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:06,640
earns is dependent on three things. It's
dependent on how much money is involved.

00:01:06,820 --> 00:01:11,300
It's dependent upon the rate of interest
being paid or the rate of interest being

00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:17,898
charged. And it's also dependent upon
how much time is involved. If I have

00:01:17,898 --> 00:01:22,730
a loan and I want to decrease the amount
of interest that I'm going to pay, then

00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:28,040
I'm either going to have to decrease how
much money I borrow, I'm going to have

00:01:28,220 --> 00:01:32,420
to borrow the money over a shorter period
of time, or I'm going to have to find a

00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:37,279
lending institution that charges a lower
interest rate. On the other hand, if I

00:01:37,279 --> 00:01:41,480
want to earn more interest on my
investment, I'm going to have to invest

00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:46,860
more money, leave the money in the
account for a longer period of time, or

00:01:46,860 --> 00:01:49,970
find an institution that will pay
me a higher interest rate.


The SRT file format is supported by most video players, streaming platforms, authoring tools, editing software, including:

  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Windows Media Player
  • VLC
  • Brightcove
  • Vimeo
  • Wistia
  • Dailymotion
  • Metacafe
  • Slideshare
  • Adobe Presenter
  • Camtasia
  • Kaltura MediaSpace
  • Panopto
  • Viddler
  • Flowplayer
  • thePlatform
  • MediaCore
  • Mediasite
  • Desire2Learn
  • Vidyard

SubRip/SRT captions are available with either of Speechpad’s captioning services: Standard Captions or Premium Captions.