Which subtitle formats can I convert between?

Five formats: SRT (SubRip), VTT (WebVTT for HTML5 video), ASS (Advanced SubStation Alpha used by anime fansubs and Aegisub), SBV (YouTube's old caption format), and LRC (lyric files used by music players). Any one can be converted to any other.

Will my subtitle file get uploaded to your server?

No. The entire conversion happens in your browser using JavaScript — no upload, no server processing, no log. Works offline once the page is loaded.

Why does my converted LRC file lose end times?

LRC was designed for music lyrics and only stores when each line should appear, not when it should disappear. So converting any time-range subtitle (SRT/VTT/ASS/SBV) to LRC discards the end time. Converting LRC back to SRT works but each line uses the next line's start as its end.

My ASS subtitle has fancy styles and effects — will they survive the conversion?

We preserve text and timing for all formats, but advanced ASS features (custom fonts, colors, animations, karaoke effects, positioning tags) are stripped when exporting to SRT/VTT/SBV/LRC because those formats don't support them. ASS-to-ASS roundtrip keeps everything.

Can I batch convert dozens of files at once?

Yes — drop a whole folder of subtitle files into the upload area, pick one target format, and download everything as a ZIP. Each file keeps its original name with the new extension.

Subtitle Format Converter — SRT ↔ VTT ↔ ASS ↔ SBV ↔ LRC

The Subtitle Converter the Web Was Missing in 2026

Need to feed an SRT to an HTML5 <track> element and the browser refuses? Got an ASS that an old PotPlayer renders as garbled boxes? Downloaded an SBV from YouTube but your editing app insists on SRT? Subtitle format mismatch is a daily headache. The tools you can find in 2026 mostly fall into two camps: upload-to-third-party servers (privacy-hostile) or UIs that look like 2010.

MeTool's subtitle converter packages the five most common formats into a clean, fully browser-based tool: SRT, VTT, ASS, SBV, LRC — convert any to any. Files are parsed and rewritten in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Drop a whole batch in once, pick a target format, download the ZIP in seconds.

Common cases: ASS → SRT for legacy TV players; SRT → VTT for HTML5 video; LRC lyrics → SRT to import into a video editor; YouTube's old SBV → SRT for a modern workflow.

Five Subtitle Formats and What Each Trades Off

SRT (SubRip) — The Lingua Franca

The earliest broadly-adopted subtitle format. Almost every player on every platform reads it. Simplest possible structure: index + time line + text. Millisecond precision. When in doubt, choose SRT.

VTT (WebVTT) — Standard for HTML5

The official subtitle format for HTML5 <track> elements, natively supported by every modern browser. Syntax mirrors SRT but uses . instead of , for milliseconds and supports inline styling tags. Use VTT for web video.

ASS (Advanced SubStation Alpha) — Anime Fansub Favorite

Supports custom fonts, colors, animations, karaoke effects, positioning tags. Native to the Aegisub editor; most high-quality fan subtitles ship as ASS. MeTool preserves text and timing during conversion, but style information is stripped when going to SRT/VTT/SBV/LRC (those formats simply don't support it).

SBV (SubViewer) — YouTube's Old Caption Format

YouTube's early caption export format. No index, no header, time fields separated by commas (which can confuse parsers). Centisecond precision. Captions downloaded from YouTube are usually SBV or SRT.

LRC (Lyric) — Music Player Lyrics

Designed for music sync — only stores start times, no end times. Multiple time tags can share one line (same lyric repeating in the song). Going to LRC always loses end-time information — that's a format limitation, not a bug.

Why Subtitle Conversion Should Never Run on a Cloud Server

Subtitle files are plain text, usually tiny (most under 100 KB) — but the content can be high-sensitivity: unreleased video scripts, internal training material, customer interview transcripts, medical or legal recordings. Sending that text to a third-party server is itself a privacy risk.

Many "free online subtitle tools" monetize by collecting subtitle corpora to train NLP models. Once you've uploaded the file, you have no way to prove the operator didn't keep a copy.

MeTool parses and re-serializes subtitles entirely in your browser using JavaScript. There is no upload step at all: the DevTools Network panel shows zero subtitle-related requests. The tool keeps working offline once the page has loaded.

This "no upload" property isn't marketing — it falls out of the architecture. The implementation is just JavaScript string handling + Blob downloads. There's no technical reason a server needs to be involved in subtitle format conversion.

Common Workflows and Tips

Use case 1: YouTube wants SRT, you have ASS

Drop the ASS in, pick SRT, download. ASS effects get stripped, but text and timing carry over intact — re-style in your editor afterward.

Use case 2: HTML5 video needs VTT, you have SRT

Pick VTT and the tool adds the WEBVTT header and replaces , with . for milliseconds.

Use case 3: Downloaded SBV from YouTube for a video editor

Almost every video editor (Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut) prefers SRT. Just go SBV → SRT.

Use case 4: Spotify-style .lrc lyrics into a video

LRC → SRT fills in each line's end time using the next line's start (last line gets a 5-second fallback). Tweak by hand if needed.

Use case 5: Batch-process a whole season of subtitles

Drop all 24 episodes' .ass files in at once, pick SRT, hit "Download all (.zip)" — every file keeps its original name with the new extension.