Reference
Plain-language references for SRT and WebVTT files: how they are structured, how timecodes and text encoding work, and how to translate subtitles without shifting a single timing.
Last updated: 2026-06-11
How SubRip (.srt) subtitle files are structured: cue numbers, HH:MM:SS,mmm timecodes, and text blocks.
The WebVTT subtitle format: the WEBVTT header, dot-millisecond timecodes, cue settings, and how it differs from SRT.
SRT and WebVTT compared: timecode punctuation, styling, metadata, browser support, and which to use when.
How subtitle timecodes work, the HH:MM:SS,mmm vs HH:MM:SS.mmm formats, frame rates, and why translation must never change them.
Why subtitles show garbled characters, how UTF-8 and the byte-order mark (BOM) affect .srt/.vtt files, and how to fix encoding.
Step-by-step: translate an .srt subtitle file into another language online while keeping every timecode intact.