Adding subtitles to the video will ensure that the viewers can understand the content better from the bottom of the screen. Interestingly, many viewers do not read subtitles consciously, but in most cases unconsciously. So if you have recorded some videos and want to get good views on social media networks, remember to add subtitles to video.
We’ll list some reasons why you should add subtitles to your video, so you will know the importance of subtitles. And then, we will explain how to use the free Windows video editor MiniTool Movie Maker and online tools to add subtitles to video step by step.
Some Facts about Video Subtitles
- Most people would like to turn captions on when they watch videos, movies, music videos, and TV shows.
- Subtitles are very helpful for foreign language learners to enhance their listening comprehension and improve reading speed.
- When people can’t turn on audio when using their portable devices on the metro, in the dorm, or in some quiet environments, reading the captions will help them understand your video content.
- There are many than 350 million people in the world who use hearing aids. Luckily, they will comprehend your videos through the captions.
Part One. Using Free Software to Add Subtitles to Video
Do some search on the internet, and you will find some software that can add captions (or subtitles) to the video. You may know VLC, or the Windows built-in tool, Windows Movie Maker can add subtitles to your videos. But, the latter is no longer available for download. That is why many forum users have met many problems like Windows Movie Maker is not working normally.
MiniTool Software company has been devoted to providing excellent, professional disk management, data recovery solutions, data backup and restore tools to millions of users in more than 180 countries for over 10 years. Trusted by industry experts, MiniTool software have got featured by a lot of technology sites such as TechRadar, LifeHacker, CNET, PCWorld, Softpedia, etc.
Recently, they have added video editing tools and video converter to their product line. We’ll show you how to use this powerful free Movie Maker alternative, MiniTool Movie Maker to add text to videos.
How to Add Subtitles to Video with MiniTool Movie Maker on PC?
MiniTool Movie Maker is a good, full-featured video editing tool for semi-pros and beginners to quickly add subtitles to video free, add text to photo and do basic video edits with no efforts.
(Step 1) Import some video files you need.
Download and install MiniTool Movie Maker on the Windows 10/8/7 computer. Launch this free video editing program, after that, click the Import Media Files option to add your video files. Then you need to drag these imported files to the timeline.
You could import files into the software, including 4K video and HD/SD videos in formats such as .mkv, .rmvb, .mov, .avi, .flv, .mp4, .mpg, .vob, and .wmv .
(Step 2) Add subtitles to video
Now click the Text option, you will find a variety of text fronts, including title, caption, and end credits in this window shown above. To add subtitles to video, you only need to choose a proper caption mode, and then drag it to your video on the timeline. It’s time to enter some words.
To achieve a good result, you may change sizes, fonts, outlines, colors, and alignments for your subtitles.
(Step 3) Export the video with subtitles
Ater checking if everything looks good in the video, you can click “Export” to save your video file in different formats, including .mkv, .ts, .wmv, .mp4, .avi, .mov, .3gp, .mpeg2, .webm etc.
Part Two. How to Add Subtitles to YouTube Video Online
Way 1. Use YouTube Tool to Add Subtitles (full guide)
* Log in to your YouTube account, and then click Creator Studio→ Video Manager → Videos.
* Select one of your videos, then click the drop-down menu next to the Edit button, and choose the Subtitles/CC option, then, click the Add new subtitles or CC.
* You should now select your subtitle language, and then, select Create new subtitles or CC option to continue.
* Enter a subtitle, drag it to change its starting point, and then adjust the length of the subtitle if necessary.
*At last, check the video content. If everything seems OK, you could press the Publish button and then your subtitles will be uploaded to the video.
Way 2. Upload Subtitles, Add them to Your YouTube Video
Step 1. Create an SRT file that can be used as your video subtitles
Open a text editor (If you do not have text editors, Notepad will help), then create your subtitles in the required format: subtitle number, timestamp, and text. Pay attention that each will occupy one line. For example:
0
00:00:06.15–> 00:00:15.15
This is my first vlog after I move to New York.
1
01:06:15.00 –> 01:09:55.00
This is my second visit to the Eiffel Tower.
Check if the content looks good, then you could click File, select Save As to store the subtitle file. Enter a filename that ends with “.srt”. From the drop-menu of Save As Type, select “All Files”, click the Encoding menu and select UTF-8.
Step 2. Add the subtitles to a video on YouTube website
- Please log in to your YouTube account, select My Channel →Video Manager.
- Select a video file that you need, click Editdrop-down arrow → select Subtitles and CC→ Add new subtitles or CC → select Upload a File to choose Subtitle File.
- Browse for the file you created just now, select Upload. Adjust the subtitles (optional). When all steps are done, you could publish your video with subtitles.
If you do not want to spend much time adding subtitles (captions) to a video, the free video editing software with an intuitive interface is a good choice, because it does not require much technical knowledge or effort. MiniTool MovieMaker offers many useful video editing operations, like adding subtitles, trimming, add/remove music, apply video transition, and more. This easy-to-use video editing software will meet the needs of most people who are looking for quick, good results.
