Extract Subtitles from MP4 Video for Free

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Extract Subtitles from MP4 Video for Free

Last Updated: 2022. 03. 30

Subtitles – the text that appears with the dialogues at the bottom of the screen. They are incredibly handy to enhance the overall experience especially when you are watching a video in a foreign language.

Now there also come times when you have to extract subtitles from MP4, M4V, MOV, and 3GP for various reasons. For instance: When the subtitles are encoded into the video, they are often not supported by many players due to their incompatible codec issues. Or when the video and subtitles have a synchronization issue or when you wish to change the language of the subtitles.

The reasons to extract subtitles from MP4 are unlimited. So, when you wish to extract the subtitles and use them for your other videos, you will need a professional quality extractor. Generally, you will come across two types of subtitles, hardcoded and softcoded subtitles.

Hardcoded Subtitles: Cannot be extracted as they are printed as a part of a video.

Softcoded Subtitles: Are stored as an independent file with an SRT extension and can be extracted easily.

To extract such softcoded subtitles you will need a legit subtitle extractor at your disposal. So, our today’s post will be exploring the 4 major subtitle extractors that are guaranteed to make your task a piece of cake. Tag along to unleash the most useful methods to extract subtitles from MP4 the easiest way.

How to Extract Subtitles from MP4 Video with VLC

VLC has remained the greatest video playback of all time due to its advanced features and constantly updating interface. This free open-source media player by VideoLAN project is a complete package of media player, encoder, and streamer for Windows (10), macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, etc supporting numerous audio-video codecs and file formats.

Pros of using VLC to extract subtitles

A powerful media player that supports almost all audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

It streams over networks and transcode multimedia file and save them in different formats.

Easy to use and generated impressive results.

Steps to use VLC to extract subtitles from MP4 video

Open up the VLC preferences and click on the ALL button at the bottom. Select Video > Subtitles/OSD and then uncheck the AutoDetect subtitle files option.

Here enable the sub-picture and on-screen display.

Then right-click on the video and move to Video > Subtitle Track > Disable.

VLC to Extract Subtitles

How to Extract Subtitles from MP4 Video Online with SubtitleVideo

Another quick and easiest method to extract subtitles from MP4 online is to use SubtitleVideo. The platform allows you to extract your subtitles without going through complicated procedures. The major advantages you get through SubtitleVideo are:

Offers 24/7 support

Saves your precious time by providing an automatic procedure.

Can extract subtitles from different video formats.

Let’s you add captions for YouTube, Facebook and other trending social media platforms.

How to use SubtitleVideo online

Step 1

Go to SubtitleVideo online. And select your language for audio or video.

Step 2

Then specify the file format and choose the file from your computer. The supported file formats are MP4, WebM, AVI, MPEG, FLV, MOV, 3GP, and other videos, audio files.

Step 3

Or just simply paste a URL link of any video. For example e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joc4kJ4M1Bk) and enter your email address.

Step 4

Click on the Extract Subtitle button to have your subtitles extracted in a minute.

Extract Subtitles Online with SubtitleVideo

How to Extract Subtitles from MP4 Video with CCExtractor

CCExtractor is a tool that analyzes video files and produces independent subtitle files from the closed captions data. CCExtractor is portable, small, and very fast. It works in Linux, Windows, and OSX.

The kind of closed captions that CCExtractor can support are:

American TV captions (CEA-608 is well supported, and CEA-708 is starting to look good)

Teletext based European subtitles

Steps to use CCExtractor

Basically there are these steps:

Step 1

Download the software from their official website: https://www.ccextractor.org/public:general:downloads

Step 2

hen Run CCExtractorGUI.exe. and drag an MP4 file into it under the "Input file" tab bar.

Step 3

3.Under the "Output (1)" tab bar, select the output type - .srt (SubRip). Then enter the Output (2) tab bar and choose "UTF-8 Encoding".

Step 4

Click the last tab bar – "Execution". Then hit the "Start" button. The SRT file will be generated next to the source video within the same folder.

Extract Subtitles Online with CCExtractor

How to Extract Subtitles from MP4 Video with Jubler

Jubler is a tool to edit text-based subtitles. It can be used as an authoring software for new subtitles or as a tool to convert, transform, correct, and refine existing subtitles. The most popular subtitle formats can be used.

Its main features include a preview of the subtitles in realtime or in design time, spell checking, translation mode, and styles editing.

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Download the file from the official website.

Step 2

Then start by dragging the files into the program window. All subtitles are loaded individually and displayed with their sync times.

Step 3

Now at the lower toolbar click on subtitle highlights. Here you will also find the enter and ecit time for the clicked subtitle entry.

Step 4

Using the 'pen' button at the bottom right you can edit the subtitle for how it will look while it is playing. You can edit the font styles and size of the captions, along with all their colors.

Extract Subtitles Online with Jubler

FAQs

What is the difference between hardcoded subtitles and softcoded subtitles?

Softcoded subtitles can be turned on and off, and multiple languages can be selected, depending on whether they are displayed permanently on a video. Clients who use softcoding in their subtitle translations receive a sidecar subtitle file that must be uploaded to their media player in order for the movie to play. It’s supported file formats, include.srt,.vtt,.ebu-tt,.stl,.dfxp,.ttml, and more.

Foreign subtitles that have been hardcoded are permanent. The text on the screen is implanted into the video as a series of images that cannot be turned on or off. Hardcoded subtitle translations are available in a variety of formats, including.mp4,.mov,.avi,.wmv, and others.

How to Get Rid of Hardcoded subtitles?

Unfortunately, Hardcore subtitles cannot be removed from the video. Performing such a task will take a lot of editing and other technical processes, which will ruin the quality of the picture in the end.

This is because the video itself does not have a separate SRT file in the folder unlike the soft subtitles so you cannot just extract SRT from MP4.

The Bottom Line

Extracting subtitles from MP4 file format is a quick task only if you use a compatible extractor only. VLC, Jubler, CCExtractor are some of the best subtitle extractors that can make your task result in fruitful results. Follow our quick guides above for a better understanding.