Do you have a downloaded video but is having a hard time finding a subtitle file for it? Sometimes, searching for subtitle files on the internet can do the trick as many websites are offering free movies or TV series subtitle files. But if you have downloaded your video from the YouTube platform, it would be harder to find subtitles for it.
But did you know that you can download YouTube subtitles as text? All you have to do is find a video that interests you on YouTube and makes sure that it has closed captions. Then you can pretty much download YouTube subtitles as text.
If you want to know about the tools you can use to download YouTube subtitles as text, just keep reading this article. We will give you a step-by-step guide on how you can do this using the top 4 online tools that can download both handwritten and auto-generated subtitles.
But first, let us discuss the common various subtitle file extensions used in videos. Then, if you want to download the YouTube video where you are going to download subtitles from also, we will give a tool that you can use for this.
Contents Guide Part 1. 4 Common Subtitles File ExtensionsPart 2. How to Download a YouTube VideoPart 3. Online Tools to Download YouTube Subtitles as TextPart 4. In Conclusion
A subtitle file in the SubRip format, commonly known as SRT with a file extension .srt, is among the most popular formats of the caption or subtitle file used. It came from SubRip, a software used for DVP-ripping which rips of extracts timings and subtitles/captions from media files.
Video captioners use a .txt file format that can easily be created using Notepad for Windows users or TextEdit for Mac users. The SRT subtitle format is remarkable for its easy use and simplicity. Especially if it is compared with other available formats during SRT’s generation where most are based on the XML code.
This subtitle format is used by DivX, MicroDVD, and other video formats. It includes caption text and signal points to determine when should each subtitle be displayed. It is often saved with a corresponding file of the video and referenced when the video is played.
SBV files are used by the YouTube platform for its videos to present subtitles and closed captions. These files are just like.SUB and.SRT files.
WebVTT stands for Web Video Text Tracks format, otherwise known as just VTT and was first created in the year 2010. This format was based on the SRT format and was originally called WebSRT. But WebVTT is more robust than SRT because it enables the functionalities of the HTML5 code. No wonder they are somewhat the same as SRT.
The WebVTT format is also widely used especially for multimedia applications and the localization of e-Learning since it can work particularly well along with platforms based in HTML5.
If you want to know how to download YouTube subtitles as text, you can continue reading this article.
In any case, if you also want to download the YouTube video where you are going to download subtitles, you can use the DumpMedia software. After downloading the video, you can download YouTube subtitles as text.
If you want to get the videos from YouTube, DumpMedia Video Downloader meets your requirement actually. It supports many videos from different websites including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, and more. Downloading the videos from YouTube to your iPhone is available now and it should be easy to operate. This is a very useful tool that has two versions including Windows and macOS. For video downloading and conversion, you can pretty much do anything with it.
By the way, there is also other DumpMedia software that allows you to download and convert Apple Music songs, Spotify and Amazon Music tracks, etc.
To download a YouTube video using DumpMedia, follow these steps:
Step 1. Download and Install DumpMedia Video Downloader from its official website.
Step 2. Go to the YouTube website and search for the video that you want to download in the site’s search bar.
Step 3. From the search results, click on the video that interests you. Copy the URL of the video (the URL starts with ‘https’).
Step 4. Launch the DumpMedia application and paste the URL of the video you have chosen to the input space in DumpMedia.
Step 5. Pick "Analyze" to start the process of analyzing your videos. After a few seconds, a pop-up is coming out that wants you to select the output settings.
Step 6. Choose "Download" as you finish the output settings. Now, DumpMedia starts the conversion of YouTube video and your video will be downloaded on the folder you chose in the last step.
Step 7. Wait until the process ends. It just takes you about 1 minute. The duration should depend on the file size you chose. Finally, you can go to the "Finished" part to check the files and go to the local folder to get them out.
Now, after downloading your YouTube video, here are the five online tools you can use to download both handwritten and auto-generated YouTube subtitles as TXT, SRT, or XML.
But first, here are the initial steps you need to do before proceeding to the usage of the five recommended tools:
Step 1. Launch your favorite browser.
Step 2. Navigate to the YouTube website.
Step 3. Search for your desired video on YouTube’s search box.
Step 4. Select your video from the search results.
Step 5. Make sure that your video has available closed captions. And if you want to download handwritten subtitles for the YouTube video, you need to make sure that it has other subtitles aside from the auto-generated ones. To know if your chosen video has available closed captions, just follow these steps:
Step 5a. Click on the Settings icon at the bottom-right side of the video.
Step 5b. Check if a Subtitles/CC option is present. It is not, then the tools will not be able to download any caption for that video. You need to look for another video.
Step 5c. To check the available subtitle languages for your video, just click on the Subtitles/CC item. Upon clicking, you will be shown a list of subtitle languages including the auto-generated one.
Step 6. Copy the URL of the YouTube video.
Step 7. Go to one of the tools below and follow the steps for each to download your YouTube subtitle file as text.
Step 1. Go to Stindx’s website.
Step 2. Paste your copied YouTube video URL to the text area.
Step 3. Click on the Download button.
Step 4. Wait for the download to finish.
Step 5. In the Download Subtitles section that will appear after the download is completed, you will see two columns: Handwritten subtitles and Generated subtitles. Click on the subtitle you want to download.
Step 6. You will be directed to a new page where you can select the format of your subtitle file: TXT, SRT, XML. Click on your desired format.
Step 7. A new window will appear allowing you to choose the destination of your output subtitle file. Change the filename. Don’t forget to add .srt as the file extension.
Step 8. Click on the Save button.
DVDVideoSoft allows you to download both handwritten and YouTube auto-generated subtitles.
Step 1. Go to DVDVideoSoft’s website.
Step 2. Paste your copied YouTube video URL to the text area.
Step 3. Click on the Download button.
Step 4. Wait for the download to finish.
Step 5. A new window will appear allowing you to choose the destination of your output subtitle file if you want to download subtitles as a TXT file. This is the default format but with no timestamp. If you want to download an SRT file, click on the Cancel button.
Step 6. Select your desired subtitle language in the Language section.
Step 7. In the Interval section, choose the interval if you do not need all of the subtitles of the whole YouTube video.
Step 8. In the Timestamps section toggle to Original timestamps (for each phrase).
Step 9. You can copy the subtitles directly from the Preview section or you can download them in .srt or .txt format. Just click on the corresponding button below the subtitle preview.
Step 10. A new window will appear allowing you to choose the destination of your output subtitle file. Click on the Save button.
Step 1. Go to SaveSub’s website.
Step 2. Paste your copied YouTube video URL to the text area.
Step 3. Click on the Extract & Download button.
Step 4. Wait for the download to finish.
Step 5. Scroll down until you find the list of available subtitles for your YouTube video. TXT and SRT formats for both handwritten and auto-generated YouTube subtitles are available. Click the Download Now button corresponding to your desired subtitle format and language.
Step 6. A new window will appear allowing you to choose the destination of your output subtitle file. Click on the Save button.
Note: Downsub only allows you to download subtitle files in the SRT format.
Step 1. Go to Downsub’s website.
Step 2. Paste your copied YouTube video URL to the text area.
Step 3. Click on the Download button.
Step 4. Wait for the download to finish.
Step 5. Click the Download link beside your desired subtitle language from the first choices. If you also want to download a translated English subtitles in other languages. Choose from the other links below the original YouTube video subtitle languages.
Step 6. A new window will appear, so you can choose the destination of your output subtitle file. Click on the Save button.
In this article, we have discussed the four common subtitle file extensions used in various media playing platforms including YouTube. Then we guided you on how to use an excellent video converter software, DumpMedia, in case you want to download the YouTube video where you want to download subtitles from. DumpMedia can be used both by Windows and MacOS users.
Furthermore, we gave you the top four online tools to download YouTube subtitles as text. We hope these tools were able to help you with what you’re looking for. Happy watching!
