How to Add Subtitles in VLC Media Player

Watching videos with subtitles has become increasingly popular, not only for people with hearing disabilities but also for language learners and anyone who enjoys watching movies or TV shows in a foreign language. VLC Media Player, a user-friendly and versatile media player, has a built-in subtitle feature that allows you to easily add captions to your videos. In this comprehensive tutorial, we’ll guide you through the various methods for adding subtitles to your VLC videos to enhance your viewing experience.

How to Add Subtitles to VLC Videos

VLC Media Player offers several ways to add subtitles to your videos, catering to different user preferences and requirements. Let’s delve into these methods in detail:

VLC has a convenient built-in subtitle downloader that automatically searches for subtitles from various online databases and downloads them for you. Although this method is quick and easy, it may only sometimes the best results, especially for rare video files or subtitles in less commonly spoken languages.

If the built-in downloader doesn’t provide the necessary subtitles. In that case, you can download subtitle files from online resources and manually add them to VLC. Save the subtitle file in the same directory as your video file, ensuring the names match. VLC will automatically detect and load the subtitles.

VLC allows you to customize the appearance of your subtitles to match your preferences. You can easily customize the font, size, color, and position of subtitles by accessing the “Subtitle Settings” menu within VLC.

Use the Sidecar Captions File in the VLC Media Player

Utilizing a sidecar caption file is an efficient way to add subtitles to your videos in VLC Media Player. A sidecar file is a separate text file that contains subtitles and is typically named the same as the video file, with a different extension. Here’s how to use a sidecar caption file in VLC:

Step 1: Obtain the captions file for your video, ensuring that it has the same name as the video and is stored in the same directory.

Step 3: Go to the “Subtitle” menu in VLC and select “Add Subtitle File.”

Step 5: VLC will now display the subtitles alongside your video. The “Subtitle Settings” menu allows you to adjust the size, position, font, color, and background of the subtitles.

Use an Addon

VLC Media Player has various add-ons that enhance its functionality, including subtitle add-ons like VLsub. VLsub is a popular plugin that allows you to search and download subtitles directly within VLC, making the process even more convenient. Here’s how to use VLsub:

Step 4: In the VLsub interface, enter the name of the movie or TV show and select the desired language for the subtitles.

Step 5: Click on “Search by Name” to find suitable subtitle files. Alternatively, you can use the “Search by hash” option, which matches the unique fingerprint of your video file to a database of subtitle files for more accurate results.

Step 6: Select the desired subtitle file from the search results and click “Download selection.”

Step 7: VLC will automatically load the downloaded subtitles and display them with your video.

Caption Formats Supported by VLC

VLC Media Player supports a wide range of caption formats, ensuring compatibility with various subtitle file types. Some of the most commonly supported caption formats by VLC include:

Bonus Tip. Add Subtitles to Videos with AI

The most convenient way to add subtitles to videos is using AI technology. CapUp – an AI-powered subtitle generator has revolutionized the way videos are captioned, providing an automated and efficient approach to the process. This technology has provided preset top influencer caption templates – such as MrBeast subtitle font and Alex Hormozi font and made your videos go viral on social media platforms.

Conclusion

Adding subtitles to your videos in VLC Media Player is a straightforward process that significantly enhances accessibility and reaches a wider audience. Whether you prefer using the built-in subtitle downloader, manually downloading sidecar caption files, or using addons like VLsub or VLC, they offer a variety of methods to meet your needs. Follow the steps in this tutorial to easily add subtitles to your videos and experience a more immersive viewing experience.