Add Subtitles in VLC Media Player Permanently or Temporarily

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Add Subtitles in VLC Media Player Permanently or Temporarily

Last Updated: 2024. 07. 17

Whether you are an office worker trying to localize a video for a growth in revenue, or someone who is seeking pleasure from an excellent movie, adding subtitles to a video seems like an unavoidable process.

VLC Media Player is a versatile and widely-used media player with some basic video editing tools like trimming, cropping, merging, and most importantly, embedding subtitles to video. Whether you are a tech novice or a seasoned pro, you can always catch up with our step-by-step instructions to merge the subtitle and video in VLC. Let’s get started!

Can’t Miss: 15 Subtitle Downloading Sites >

Table of Contents

Class 101: Softcoded Subtitles VS Hardcoded Subtitles

How to Add SoftCoded Subtitles in VLC

How to Embed Subtitles in VLC Permanently

How to Create a Subtitle File for VLC

Merge Subtitles to Video in Tons of Styles

Class 101: Softcoded Subtitles VS Hardcoded Subtitles

Understanding the differences between softcoded subtitles and hardcoded subtitles helps you identify which method to use. So, make sure you go through the content below.

Hardcoded Subtitle: Hardcoded subtitles refer to text embedded in videos. Once added, the hardcoded subtitles are an integrated part of the video. They will be displayed on any device or media player and can’t be edited.

Softcoded Subtitle: Softcoded subtitle is the opposite concept to hardcoded subtitle. Softcoded subtitles are stored in a separate file, and can be toggled on or off by viewers on media players. They can also be easily edited or translated without altering the video.

How to Add Softcoded Subtitles in VLC

If you don’t want the subtitle to appear every single time you or others open the video, here are 2 ways you should know to add softcoded subtitles to the video in VLC.

* Put the Video & Subtitle Under the Same Folder

The first method is extremely simple. All you need to do is putting the video and the subtitle in the same folder, and giving the video file and subtitle file the same name (it is fine if they have different extensions). Play the video, and you will notice that the subtitles appear on the video.

* Manual Subtitle Options

Step 1

Launch VLC and open the video you want to add subtitles on.

Step 2

Go to the Subtitle tab, and select Add Subtitle File. Choose the subtitle file from your computer. The subtitle will soon appear.

Manually Add Subtitles to Video in VLC

How to Embed Subtitles in VLC Permanently

To embed subtitles in VLC permanently in VLC, you need to go extra process. However, the output will always be rewarding!

Step 1

Launch VLC media player on your computer. Move to the Media section, choose Stream.

VLC Stream Option

Step 2

Under the File part, click the “+” sign to select your video. Tick the box of Use a Subtitle File. Hit Browse to select the subtitle file. Click on the Stream button to confirm.

Upload Video/Subtitle

Step 3

You are now at the destination setup page. Under New Destination, select File from the dropdown menu. Hit Next.

VLC New Destination Option

Step 4

Enable Activate Transcoding. Under the Profile, select Video - H.264+MP3(MP4). Hit Next > Stream.

VLC Transcoding Option

Step 5

Change subtitle style. Go to Tools > Preferences. Switch to Subtitles/OSD tab. You can change the subtitle font, size, position, and more.

VLC Change Subtitle Style

This is the final output of VLC embedding subtitles to video.

VLC Embed Subtitles

How to Create a Subtitle File for VLC

As an advanced video player, you don’t stop at just adding subtitles to video in VLC. You should be able to know how to create a subtitle file for VLC.

As a matter of fact, subtitle files are pure text files, that you can create via simple applications like text editor. While creating a subtitle file, please rank all sentences in order and then place a timestamp before each sentence. Anyway, timestamps are what software relies on to determine the subtitle duration.

Here is an example of creating a subtitle file with a text editor.

Subtitle Example

Merge Subtitles to Video in Tons of Styles

If you want to create karaoke videos, powerpoint videos where subtitles need to be more dynamic, then VLC may not meet your needs. FlexClip helps you add subtitles to video effortlessly, along with multiple fonts, styles, animations.

Here is how to merge subtitles to video with FlexClip. Click on the Merge Subtitles to Video button to get started instantly.

Merge Subtitles to Video

Step 1

Go to the Media section, click on the Upload Files button, follow the prompt to upload a video to FlexClip.

Upload Video to FlexClip

Step 2

Next up, move to the Subtitles section. Choose Upload Subtitle File, and then select the subtitle file from the computer. The subtitles will soon appear on the video.

Upload Subtitles to FlexClip

Step 3

Click on the subtitle, go to style above the preview window. You can easily add word-by-word animations, outline the text, add blocks, etc. Choose one style you love and save the changes.

Add Style to Subtitle

Except for helping you add subtitles to video, FlexClip can also help you edit subtitles, convert subtitle file format, or translate subtitles into 60 languages. Please feel free to explore endless possibilities with FlexClip.

FAQs About Add Subtitles to Video in VLC

1. Can VLC generate subtitles?

No, VLC can’t generate subtitles based on video. Yet, it does have an add-on called VLSub which you can use to search and download subtitles online.

2. How do I synchronize subtitles in VLC?

If the video has hardcoded subtitles, then VLC can’t help you synchronize subtitles. As for softcoded subtitles, you can use the hotkeys or track synchronization tool to delay and speed up subtitles. Here is a detailed tutorial about fixing VLC subtitle delay issues.

3. Why do my subtitles appear as wrong characters?

This could be due to the incorrect encoding. To fix this issue, you need to go to Tools > Preference > Subtitles/OSD and change the default encoding to match the subtitle file’s encoding.