Translate SRT subtitles. Timecodes and line breaks preserved.
Drop your .srt and get it back translated with timecodes intact, line breaks adjusted for the target language, and character-per-second limits respected.
What is SRT Subtitles?
SRT (SubRip) is the most widely used subtitle format. Plain text with numbered cues, each cue containing a timecode range and 1–2 lines of text. Translation of SRT files requires more than swapping text — line length, reading speed (characters per second), and line break placement all need adjustment for the target language.
Why SRT Subtitles is tricky for AI translation
- Timecodes must remain byte-for-byte exact. A single character drift breaks sync with the video.
- Character-per-second (CPS) reading-speed limits differ by platform: Netflix 17 CPS, YouTube no hard limit, broadcast 20+ CPS. Translations must respect target CPS or viewers can't read in time.
- Line length per row matters: 42 characters max per line on Netflix, 32 on some broadcast standards.
- Text expansion (Spanish +25%, German +30%) means the translation may exceed CPS or line length — needs paraphrasing.
- Speaker tags ([MAN], [WOMAN], dashes for dialogue) must be preserved across translation.
- Italic and HTML tags (<i>, <b>) in some SRT dialects need to stay intact.
How Fily handles SRT Subtitles
- Timecodes pass-through: timestamps are extracted as-is and never sent to translation.
- CPS-aware translation: target CPS set at upload; if a translation exceeds the limit, the model is prompted to paraphrase tighter.
- Line break tuning: line breaks placed at natural pauses (clause boundaries, breath points), not mid-phrase.
- Speaker tags preserved: [MAN], [WOMAN], dashes, and music markers (♪) all pass through.
- Inline tags preserved: <i>, <b>, <font> survive translation.
- Output validated: every cue checked for valid timecode order and non-empty text before delivery.
Pipeline: srt_qa@1.0.0
The SRT Subtitles workflow with Fily
Upload
Drop your .srt (single or batch ZIP). Optional: glossary, TM, style guide.
Process
Fily runs the SRT Subtitles pipeline + 12 QA steps. Typical job: 10–20 minutes.
Download
Same format, ready to deliver. QA report HTML attached.
Common upload: a 45-minute documentary's SRT file in English, needed in Spanish for LATAM distribution. Fily delivers the SRT with timecodes intact, line breaks adjusted for Spanish's longer phrasing, and CPS staying under Netflix's 17.
Beyond the standard pipeline
What we've built around SRT Subtitles
Edge cases clients brought us for this format — and the pipelines we shipped to solve them.
csaa multilingual
Code-switching audio, transcribed per language
Recorded interviews where the speaker switches between English and Spanish mid-sentence broke single-language transcription — and naive chunking split words and duplicated lines.
A multilingual pipeline segments by language and speaker, transcribes each stretch in its own language, and keeps chronological order without over-segmenting — then translates to a single target with speaker labels intact.
srt timing-safe
Subtitles that stay in sync after translation
Translated subtitles overran their timing windows — Spanish runs longer than English, so lines that fit on screen in the source spilled past the next cue after translation.
The subtitle pipeline preserves every timecode, translates within the cue, and flags lines that exceed a readable characters-per-second budget so a reviewer can tighten them before delivery. Timing never drifts.
Frequently asked about SRT Subtitles
Other formats Fily translates
Ready to translate a SRT Subtitles file?
No card. No setup. Upload one file and see the output.