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We extract subtitles from videos for different purposes. For example, we extract the subtitles of a low-resolution video file, and then add them to a high-resolution version for getting a better visual experience. We find nice courses from YouTube and wish to separate subtitles as the learning context for further study. With that in mind, the following can be deduced: To find the easiest way to extract subtitles from MKV, MP4, AVI, VOB or other videos as SRT, ASS files, we should get a versatile subtitle extractor that can cope with videos in a different type of formats.
After testing a majority of subtitles extractor for days, we realize the best option for both PC and Mac - VideoProc Converter AI, which enables users to split subtitles from MKV videos or virtually any other videos in a few clicks. Meanwhile, it allows you to import subtitles to a video from a computer or a connected external hard drive/USB, as well as search subtitle files from online before importing to videos. By the way, you're also allowed to extract subtitles from MKV with subtitles Edit and MKVToolnix.
Click-and-go Subtitle Extractor & Full-fledged Video Software - VideoProc Converter AI
- Extract subtitles from MKV, MP4, AVI, VOB, etc. Download and add (srt, ass, ssa) subtitle files to movies.
- Simple edit is to cut, crop, merge, rotate, flip videos; add effect, image watermark to videos, etc.
- Convert any videos to any preferred format; resize/upscale videos. Video processing speed is ultrafast.
- Download videos/audio/live-streaming videos from YTB and 1000+ UGC sites.
- Built-in recorder is capable of capturing anything on your screen with system sound and voice-over.
Note: The Windows version now supports AI-powered Super Resolution, Frame Interpolation, and Stabilization to enhance video and image quality. These AI features are not yet available in the Mac version but will be coming soon.
The Best Way to Extract Subtitles from MKV on PC and Mac
A subtitle extractor can help you rip the subtitle part from a video file and output it as a subtitle file such as .srt, .sub, .sbv and .ass. Some subtitle extractor can help you search for movie subtitle online and batch extract subtitle files.
VideoProc Converter AI is the best subtitle extractor as well as the best video converter, video compressor, and screen recorder. You can use it to:
1. Extract subtitles from MKV, MP4, AVI, VOB Video to separated SRT or ASS file. It also supports batch extract mode to easily extract the same element from multiple files.
What Is the SRT?
SRT refers to Sub Rip text, which is the most basic format for subtitles, which is often used in movies. It is a simple text file without any rich media information like videos, animations. Open SRT file with a text document or Microsoft word, we can easily edit the start and end time of when the subtitle appears and change subtitle information.
What Is the ASS?
ASS stands for Sub Station Alpha, which is an advanced subtitle format developed to cover the shortage of SRT which has a too simple function. It will implement abundant subtitle functions, for instance, setting size and position of different subtitle data, dynamic text, watermark, etc. Ass is created by the Substation Alpha software program, therefore it is more standardize and way more complicated than SRT.
2. Add subtitles: Add hardcode subtitles, embed SRT ASS file to MP4/MKV/AVI/MOV without decreasing the quality of the target video file. A one-stop subtitle editor app to solve all problems about adding or removing subtitles for the clips.
3. Process with hardware acceleration: Seamlessly support Nvidia/Intel/AMD hardware acceleration tech to deliver lightning speed in extracting subtitles. The whole file must be read by software as the data packets of the subtitle are interwoven with various file information packets. GPU acceleration fasts the whole process.
4. Identify tracks easily: If you have some clips with multiple subtitle tracks, it will display their language and file size information for you to easily differentiate between them.
5. Download subtitle/video/music: Download subtitles, 8K/4K/1080p/720p videos, movies, MP3 songs, playlist from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, 1000+ sites supported.
6. Edit video: Cut, merge, crop, rotate, flip, stabilize, denoise, mirror video, add effects, text/image watermark, time stamp to video, and enhance video quality.
7. Convert video/music: Convert or compress 4K or high bitrate/framerate videos recorded by GoPro, DJI, 4K cameras, etc. Transcode HEVC, MKV, AVCHD, M2TS, MP4, AVI, MOV and almost any format to desired format.
How to Extract Subtitles from MKV Video with VideoProc Converter AI
Free download and install the best subtitle extractor – VideoProc Converter AI – on Windows 11/10/8/7 or Mac computer, etc. and follow the easy 3 steps below to extract subtitles from MKV, MP4, etc.
Note: The Windows version now supports AI-powered Super Resolution, Frame Interpolation, and Stabilization to enhance video and image quality. These AI features are not yet available in the Mac version but will be coming soon.
Step 1. Add a video with subtitle
Run VideoProc Converter AI and click the Video button on the main interface. Click the +Video button to import a source video with subtitle.
To check whether the video you added has a built-in subtitle track, just click "Disable Subtitle", and see the drop-down information.
Step 2. Select an output subtitle format
Tap the Toolbox icon in the lower area. Find the Export Subtitle option and double click it.
Then select an output subtitle file format (SRT or ASS). You can also extract a part of subtitles using trimming. Click Done.
Note: If there is no Export Subtitle option in the Toolbox, you can head to Target Format in the lower left corner and search for Export Subtitle in the field. Then, the subtitle extractor will be available.
Step 3. Extract subtitle from video
Hit RUN button to start extracting subtitle from MKV, MP4 or any other video as SRT or ASS subtitle file at ultrafast speed.
How to Extract Subtitles from MKV Video with Subtitle Edit
Subtitle Edit is a free and open source software dedicated to helping people create, edit, translate, sync, convert, as well as extract subtitles from MKV and other video formats. It's available in 34 languages and is capable of reading and transcoding between 280+ subtitle formats, such as SubRip, ABC iView, Adobe Encore, Avid, Sony DVD Architect and many more. More so, you are allowed to synchronize subtitles with your movie with its waveform controls and visual sync. You’re able to rip or extract subtitles from videos so that you can modify, archive or even share.
Step 1. Navigate to SubtitleEdit at GitHub and download its latest version to your computer. It runs on both Windows and Linux computers.
Step 2. Open Subtitle Edit when it is good to go.
Step 3. Head to where your video is located, then drag and drop it to the subtitle editing area. Subtitle Edit will read all subtitle tracks embedded in the video. Choose the one you want to extract.
Step 4. Go to File > Save as > name your file, select a subtitle format and a location when the box prompting > Click Save to confirm your changes.
How to Extract Subtitles from MKV Video with MKVToolNix and MKVExtractGUI-2 (or MKVcleaver)
First of all, both MKVExtractGUI-2 and MKVcleaver are options to extract subtitles from MKV, but they require MKVToolNix to help. MKVToolNix is a robust tool package to create, merge, view, and alter Matroska files under Windows, macOS and Linux. It supports the encapsulation of a variety of videos, audio tracks and subtitles, and other files into an MKV file. In this way, you don't have to jump back and forth between files. Besides, you can use it to extract videos, music and subtitle files from MKV files if you need to make some adjustments to the files. To extract subtitles from MKV using MKVToolNix, go through the tutorials in the following.
Step 1. Download and install MKV subtitle extractor.
Download and run MKVToolNix on your compyter. And then download and run eithergMKVExtractGUI or MKVcleaver to your computer at the same time. Because they're a set of tools and gMKVExtractGUI or MKVcleaver won't run without MKVToolNix. Here we take gMKVExtractGUI as an example.
Step 2. Import your MKV video and select the MKV subtitle track.
Import your MKV video here and tick the MKV subtitle track you want to extract.
Step 3. Extract subtitles from MKV.
Set an output directory to store subtitle files and click Extract to extract subtitles from MKV videos.
MKVToolNix can only extract your MKV subtitles into some text files. If you want to change them into the normal SRT files or something else, you can use this subtile tool to make it.
How to Extract Subtitle from MKV Files with VLC Media Player
First of all, after we researched and tried several different methods mentioned on the internet, it turned out that VLC media player cannot extract the subtitles contained in the MKV files. However, if there is luck for you, which means there are subtitle files on the internet for your MKV files, you can also extract the subtiles. So obviously, this method does not work for all MKV files. Any way, here how to make it:
Step 1. Open your MKV file using the VLC media player and pause it.
Step 2. Then head to the View tab and choose VLsub option under it.
Step 3. In the new window, you will see two options: Search by hash and Search by name. In default, the name of your MKV file will appear in the box of Search by name. And we will highly recommend you use this one. So click on the Search by name button and wait for a few seconds. A few moments later, luckily you will see the subtitle results that VLC finds on the internet for you.
Step 4. Choose one file that you prefer and then click the Download selection button to have this subtitle file on your computer, which will be saved in the same destination of your MKV file.
FAQs about Extracting Subtitles from MKV
1. What kind or format can MKV subtitles (or Matroska subtitles) be?
MKV subtitles can be in various formats, such as:
- SRT: This is the simplest and most common subtitle format. It consists of plain text files with time codes for each line of dialogue. It has good compatibility and can be played with any device and platform.
- ASS: This is a more advanced subtitle format that supports complex formatting and animation. It can display different fonts, colors, sizes, positions, and effects for the subtitles. It is mainly used for anime and fan-made subtitles.
- VobSub: This is a subtitle format that consists of two files: an IDX file that contains the index of subtitle time and position locations, and a SUB file that contains the actual graphical subtitles. It is often used for DVD subtitles.
- PGS: This is a subtitle format that uses bitmap images to display the subtitles. It is often used for Blu-ray subtitles. It can support multiple languages, fonts, and styles.
- VTT: It is short for Web Video Text Tracks Format. It is a subtitle format that is mainly used for adding timed text tracks, captions, and subtitles to HTML5 video and audio elements. It is similar to the SRT format, but it has some additional features, such as:
- It can support metadata, such as title, language, kind, etc.
- It can support styling, such as font, color, size, position, etc.
- It can support cues, such as voice, sound, chapter, etc.
- The VTT format is widely supported by modern browsers and web platforms, such as YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, etc. It is also compatible with some media players, such as VLC, Media Player Classic, etc. However, some older devices or platforms may not support the VTT format, so you may need to convert it to SRT or other formats if you encounter compatibility issues.
There are also other subtitle formats that can be used in MKV files, such as STL, EBU STL, SAMI, XML, SCC, etc. However, they are less common and may not be supported by some players or devices.
2. What is the difference between hardcode MKV subtitles and softcode MKV subtitles?
The difference between hardcode MKV subtitles and softcode MKV subtitles is that hardcode subtitles are burned into the video stream, while softcode subtitles are embedded as a separate track in the MKV file. Hardcode subtitles cannot be turned off or changed by the player, while softcode subtitles can be toggled on or off, and adjusted for appearance and timing. Hardcode subtitles may affect the video quality and require re-encoding, while softcode subtitles preserve the original video and are more flexible. However, both of them can be extracted from the MKV files.
3. How to delete SRT/ASS subtitle from MKV/MP4/AVI/VOB videos?
Subtitles help us understand foreign movies and allow people who are hard of hearing to better comprehend the plots. But there are times we don't want to remain any subtitles on the source video for the aim to add the new, further study the language, etc. Follow below 2 steps to remove subtitles from MKV, MP4, AVI, VOB, etc.
Step 1. After we import the video file to VideoProc Converter AI, Click Subtitle > Disable.
Step 2. Hit Run to export the video.
4. How to add SRT/ASS subtitle files to a video?
VideoProc Converter AI allows users to add subtitles to a video, such as to import external SRT subtitles to videos. Let's have a few clicks to get the things done:
Step 1. Click the Subtitle drop-down menu in the source video column, and click Load Subtitle.
Step 2. Select the SRT/ASS subtitle file from your computer and add it to the video.
Or you can have some advanced setting to change the fonts, position, and color of subtitles by following steps.
Step 1. Click the Subtitle icon in the Edit column.
Step 2. Click Add Subtitle File to choose and import SRT/ASS subtitle file from the computer.
You can choose Burn-In to add hardcode subtitles or select Softcode to add captions to video. The later one allows you to turn on/off in playback, while the former one does not.
There are settings about subtitle size, position, color, and others for you to make adjustments to the displayed subtitles.
5. How to download SRT subtitle from online sites and import to videos?
VideoProc Converter AI also enables users to search subtitles, download subtitles online and import to video.
Step 1. Click the Subtitle icon to open the subtitle editing window.
Step 2. Click the Search Subtitle File. Then choose either Movie or TV Episode, type movie name in the field, and choose movie language.
Step 3. Click the Search button. Choose a preferred subtitle file and click Download.
