Convert YouTube SBV captions to SRT, or SRT to SBV
SBV is YouTube's own plain caption format. It is what you get when you download captions from YouTube in that format, and many other apps do not open it. Upload the .sbv file and download SRT with every line on its original timing, or go the other way and turn SRT into SBV. Jobs with up to 3,000 lines are free in full; bigger batches are $5, paid once.
- Times such as 0:01:02.500,0:01:04.000 turned into SRT time ranges
- Entries numbered in order, as SRT requires
- Multi-line captions kept as separate lines
- SRT to SBV also available; tags are removed, since SBV is plain text
- Up to 50 files or a ZIP per job
What an SBV file looks like
An SBV file has no numbers and no arrows. Each caption is a line with the start and end time separated by a comma, such as 0:01:02.500,0:01:04.000, followed by the text and a blank line. The hour has a single digit and the milliseconds follow a period. It is easy to read, but video editors, VLC, TVs and most other platforms look for SRT or VTT instead.
The converter reads each block, keeps its start and end to the millisecond, numbers the entries and writes them as 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:04,000. Captions with two lines keep both lines.
Common reasons to convert
- Moving captions from a YouTube video to the same video on another platform
- Bringing YouTube captions into a video editor to burn them in or restyle them
- Watching a downloaded copy of your own video in VLC or on a TV with captions
- Sending captions to a translator who works in SRT
- Turning an SRT made elsewhere into SBV for a workflow that expects it
Going from SRT to SBV
SBV holds plain text only. When you download SBV, italic and other tags are removed and the text is kept. The same upload can also be downloaded as VTT or TTML. Lines are shown on screen in SRT layout before download, and corrections you make there go into every format you choose.
If the captions came from automatic speech recognition, they may break sentences at odd points; the converter keeps the lines exactly as they are and does not merge or re-split them.
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Subtitle Converter page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT convert SBV to SRT?
A short file, yes. A long video's captions run to hundreds of blocks, and a chat reply that has to number each one and retype every time tends to stop partway or skip blocks. The converter does every block in code.
Will the timing stay exactly the same?
Yes. Start and end times are carried to the millisecond; only the way they are written changes.
Does YouTube accept SRT files?
YouTube accepts several caption formats on upload, SRT among them. SBV is mainly useful when a workflow or tool specifically asks for it.
What does it cost?
Free in full when the job has up to 3,000 lines in total, which covers most single videos. Bigger jobs, up to 50 files and 50,000 lines, are $5, paid once.
Can I convert captions from many videos at once?
Yes. Upload the .sbv files together or in a ZIP; each comes back as SRT under its own name, in one ZIP.