Converts MicroDVD .sub files to SubRip. This is the one subtitle conversion that cannot be done from the file alone: MicroDVD stores frame numbers rather than times, so the frame rate of the video has to be supplied.
Why the frame rate matters so much
The common rates: 23.976 for film transferred to video (the default here), 25 for PAL, 29.97 for NTSC, 30 and 24 for digital sources. If you do not know it, most media players show it in a file-information panel, and ffprobe prints it.
Some MicroDVD files declare the rate as the first cue at frame 1 — a single number like {1}{1}23.976. If your file starts that way, use that number.
Two different formats share this extension
.sub is text, and this is the tool for it. VobSub .sub is something else entirely: a binary file of subtitle images ripped from a DVD, always paired with a .idx. There is no text in a VobSub to extract — it would need OCR, which is a different job and a much heavier one. If your .sub has a matching .idx, that is what you have, and this tool will tell you so.Line breaks
Other names for this
Also searched as “microdvd to srt”, “sub to subrip”.
Questions
- My subtitles drift further out as the film goes on.
- The frame rate is wrong. Drift that grows steadily is the signature — a constant offset would be a different problem. Try 25 if you used 23.976, or the reverse.
- It says my file is not MicroDVD.
- You probably have a VobSub .sub, which is a set of images rather than text and needs OCR. Check whether there is a .idx file beside it.
- How do I find the frame rate?
- Most players show it in file information. VLC has it under Tools → Codec Information, and
ffprobe file.mkvprints it on the command line. - Is my subtitle file uploaded?
- No. The parsing and rewriting happen in this tab. Subtitle files often contain an unreleased script or a client’s content, which is a good reason not to send them to a stranger’s server. Turn your Wi-Fi off and the tool keeps working.