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Add Subtitles in VLC in 4 Workable Ways [Temporary/Permanent]
Posted by Paula Pailaga to Edit Video/Audio Aug 22, 2025
VLC's subtitles feature is very convenient, allowing you to add subtitles to your favorite videos anytime. How to quickly and effectively add the desired subtitles in VLC? What are the differences between these subtitle files? Read this article to learn a comprehensive guide to adding subtitles in VLC, divided into permanent and temporary subtitles. You can choose the one you need.
Guide List
The Supported Subtitles Format and Adding Tips of VLC How to Add Subtitles in VLC Temporarily How to Add Permanent Subtitles in VLC Use a Professional Tool to Add Subtitles to VLC Create a Subtitle File with VLC to Add Subtitles EasilyThe Supported Subtitles Format and Adding Tips of VLC
• SRT (SubRip Subtitle)
The most used plain text subtitle format, compatible with most players and platforms. It has a simple structure and is easy to create and edit.
• ASS (Advanced SubStation Alpha)
It supports more typographical and styling features, such as font color, size, and subtitle animation, making it suitable for enhancing subtitles.
• SSA (SubStation Alpha)
It is the predecessor of ASS and shares a similar format with basic styling support.
• VTT (WebVTT)
Commonly used in web video (HTML5), it has a similar structure to SRT but slightly different syntax.
• SUB/IDX (VobSub)
It is commonly used in DVD subtitles. SUB represents the subtitle content, and IDX represents the index information. They typically appear in pairs.
Tips for adding subtitles in VLC:
• Automatic loading based on file name matching
If the subtitle file is placed in the same folder as the video file and has the same name (e.g., video.mp4 and video.srt), VLC will automatically load the subtitles.
• Subtitle encoding issues
How to Add Subtitles in VLC Temporarily
When you need a subtitle file urgently, you can use this method to add a temporary subtitle to VLC for quick and convenient viewing. The operation is simple and does not modify the video file, which will not affect future video movie sharing. However, you'll need to repeat this process every time you want to watch this movie with subtitles.
Step 1Open VLC and your desired video, click “Subtitle” on the navigation bar. Click “Add Subtitle File” to browse your file manager and find the correct subtitle file.
Note: If your SRT file only has one subtitle track, you can start watching your subtitled movie immediately after opening it. However, if the film still lacks subtitles, you can continue with the next step.
Step 2Click “Subtitle” again, and select “Sub Track”. Then pop up a drop-down menu that includes all your subtitle tracks, and choose the desired one to use.
How to Add Permanent Subtitles in VLC
If you don't want to add subtitle files every time, you can add permanent subtitles to the movie in VLC. This hard-coded method ensures that the subtitles are always visible to the viewer, but once added, you can't fix accidental spelling mistakes, add punctuation, etc.
Step 1Copy the subtitle file to your computer’s resource manager. Find the folder containing the desired video and paste the subtitle file into it.
Step 2You can name the subtitle file after the movie. The subtitles will automatically merge with the video every time you open the video.
Use a Professional Tool to Add Subtitles to VLC
The above methods either have editing limitations or make adding temporary subtitles a hassle. You should try 4Easysoft Total Video Converter. It allows you to easily add subtitles to VLC videos and even change the font, color, opacity, and more. Most popular video formats can be imported to add subtitles without losing quality. It can also add SRT files to other videos, like MP4.
Add subtitles to your videos with one click, eliminating the need for manual additions.
Edit subtitle color, opacity, and more to enhance the viewing experience.
Customize subtitle timing to match the speed of your video.
Trim out unwanted parts of your video and convert it to any desired format.
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Step 1Launch this software, import your desired video, and click “Edit.” Then, find “Subtitle” at the top.
Step 2Click “Add Subtitle(s)” and choose the required subtitle file. Then, you can adjust the font, color, position, etc. You can adjust it on this page if there is a delay.
Step 3Click “OK” to save the subtitles and choose an output format. Finally, click “Convert All” to save the VLC video with subtitles.
Create a Subtitle File with VLC to Add Subtitles Easily
If you want your subtitles to be more consistent with your movie or video, you can also choose to create subtitle files manually. This method is time-consuming, but the subtitles are 100% customizable, and the time axis is accurate. There will be no delay or advanced issues.
Step 1Open your favorite text editor and type the subtitle content. Number the subtitles sequentially, then add a timestamp of minutes, seconds, and milliseconds.
Step 2Add subtitles and timestamps, formatted as shown, for every subtitle you want to appear in the video.
Conclusion
That's all there is to adding subtitles to VLC. There are temporary subtitles, which are convenient but require you to add them every time, and hard-coded subtitles, which are permanently added but can't be edited. For permanent subtitles with the ability to edit color and fonts, 4Easysoft Total Video Converter offers both. It even lets you adjust subtitle delay. If you need to add subtitles to your videos urgently, download the software now and try it.
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