An SRT file is a plain-text subtitle file. It stores each caption as a number, a start and end time, and the words that should appear on screen. Because the timing is built in, the same file can be imported into most video editors and players without placing every line by hand.

You do not need to extract the audio before you begin. A video-to-text tool can read the video's audio track directly, transcribe the speech, and turn the timestamped result into SRT.

The quickest workflow

  1. Open Speech to Text and choose your video.
  2. Select the main spoken language when you know it. Language detection is useful, but an explicit choice often handles names and short clips better.
  3. Start transcription and wait for the timestamped segments.
  4. Listen through the result once, correcting names, numbers, and specialist terms.
  5. Export SRT and import it into your editor or player.

If you only need searchable notes, export TXT instead. SRT is the right choice when the text must stay synchronized with the video.

What a valid SRT block looks like

1
00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,200
Welcome to this short product walkthrough.

The comma before the milliseconds matters. So does the arrow between the two timestamps. Editing the words is safe, but avoid changing the time format unless you know the new values are valid.

Make automatic subtitles easier to read

A correct transcript is not automatically a good subtitle track. Spoken sentences can be long, repetitive, and difficult to scan while a video is moving. During your review:

  • Break unusually long captions at a natural pause.
  • Keep a person's full name or a short phrase together when possible.
  • Remove filler only when it does not change the speaker's meaning.
  • Check product names, acronyms, dates, and numbers against the source.
  • Make sure a caption disappears before the next speaker begins.

The goal is not to rewrite the speaker. It is to make the spoken content readable at the same pace it is heard.

Better audio produces better captions

Speech recognition struggles when voices overlap, music covers the dialogue, or the speaker is far from the microphone. If you can control the recording, keep the microphone close, reduce room echo, and record background music separately. For an existing video, use the clearest available source rather than a copy that has already been compressed several times.

If the video contains multiple languages, choose the language used for most of the runtime and inspect the other sections carefully. Names and technical vocabulary deserve the same manual check even in an otherwise clean recording.

Local or cloud transcription?

On-device transcription keeps the recording in your browser, which is useful for interviews, internal meetings, and unreleased material. Cloud transcription can be a practical choice for long or difficult recordings when speed and recognition quality matter more. The review and SRT export workflow is the same either way.

For a broader look at model choice and timestamped transcripts, read How to Turn a Recording into Text.

Ready to caption a video? Add it to Speech to Text, review the timestamped result, and download the SRT file.