Question

YouTube subtitles - that's how it works

Answer 1

How to add subtitles on upload
1st step:
2nd step:
3rd step:
4th step:
Option 1: Subtitles from a file
Option 2: Have the subtitles synchronized automatically
Option 3: create subtitles manually
How to add subtitles to a video afterwards
1st step:
2nd step:
3rd step:
Option 1: Subtitles from a file
Option 2: Automatically synchronize subtitles
Option 3: create subtitles manually
Quick guide: Include subtitles when uploading
Quick guide: insert subtitles afterwards

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Find out how to add subtitles to YouTube videos in this tip!

Subtitles can help people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speak a different language better understand a YouTube video. Or you can watch videos in public without sound. YouTube will automatically create subtitles for any video where the audio quality is good enough. It just happens in the background and you don't have to make any further settings. In many cases, these automatic subtitles are currently not really good and reliable. Therefore, we would recommend that you create your own subtitles for your videos. You can find out exactly how to do this in this guide.

• How to add subtitles on upload
• How to add subtitles to a video afterwards

How to add subtitles on upload

Follow the step-by-step instructions or take a look at the quick start guide ..

1st step:

First, open YouTube Studio and, if necessary, sign in with your Google account .

2nd step:

Click on " Create " at the top, then click on " Upload Videos ".

3rd step:

Select a file , give it a title and a description and then click on “ Next ”.

4th step:

Once the video has been processed, you have the option of adding subtitles under the " Video elements " tab . To do this, click on “ Add ” next to “ Add subtitles ”.

Option 1: Subtitles from a file

You now have three options for adding subtitles. If you have already created the subtitles in another program, you can now add them by clicking on " Upload file ". Then choose whether the file you are uploading already includes the time codes for the subtitles. File types that contain time codes directly are, for example .SRT, .SBV or .SMI. If there are no time codes, YouTube automatically synchronizes the text with the video. Then click on “ Next ” and select the desired file .

Option 2: Have the subtitles synchronized automatically

Alternatively, you can create the subtitles directly in YouTube: Either click on " Synchronize automatically ". Then enter the transcript for the entire video on the left , click on " Done " in the upper right corner and YouTube will automatically synchronize the text with the video. This process can take some time - but you can leave YouTube Studio during this time.

Option 3: create subtitles manually

Or you can choose " Type in manually ". On the left side you can then enter part of what has been said as a transcript . You can also specify from when to when the text should be displayed as subtitles. Add another passage of the transcript by jumping to the appropriate point in the video on the right and then clicking on " + Subtitle " in the top left . Finally, click “ Done ” to save the changes.

How to add subtitles to a video afterwards

Follow the step-by-step instructions or take a look at the quick start guide .

1st step:

Open YouTube studio and log in with your Google account if necessary .

2nd step:

Go to the menu item " Contents " in the sidebar on the left and click on the pencil symbol for the video to which you want to add subtitles .

3rd step:

Switch to the " Video elements " tab at the top and click " Add " next to " Add subtitles ".

Option 1: Subtitles from a file

You now have three options for adding subtitles afterwards. If you have already created the subtitles in another program, you can simply upload them by clicking on " Upload file ". Determine whether the subtitle file already contains time codes or not. For example, .SBV, .SMI or .SRT files contain the time codes directly. Click Next , select the file and upload it.

Option 2: Automatically synchronize subtitles

If you want to create the subtitles directly in YouTube Studio, you can do that too. If you click on “ Synchronize automatically ”, all you have to do is enter a complete transcript of your video and click “ Done ” in the upper right corner , and YouTube will automatically synchronize the text with the video. Don't be surprised: this can take some time.

Option 3: create subtitles manually

You can also create and sync subtitles manually. To do this, click on “ Type in manually ”. On the left you can then enter what has been said as text and define for each section when it should be displayed in the video. To add another part of the subtitles, simply jump to the desired position in the video on the right and click on " + Subtitles " in the top left . Once you have added all the subtitles you want, click " Done " in the upper right corner to save the changes.

Quick guide: Include subtitles when uploading

1. Open YouTube studio and sign in.
2. Click on " Create " at the top, then click on " Upload Videos ".
3. Select a video file , assign a title and description if necessary and switch to the " Video elements " tab at the top . Next to " Add Subtitles " click on " Add ".
4. You can choose how you want to insert the subtitles. If you already have the transcript as a file, you can click on " Upload file ", select whether time codes are already included and then upload the subtitles.
5. Alternatively, you can click “ Auto-sync ”, enter a transcript of the entire video and YouTube will automatically sync the text with the video.
6. Finally, you can also create the subtitles manually. To do this, click on “ Type in manually ” and then enter what has been said as text on the left . You can also specify the time codes from when to when the text should appear as subtitles. To add more text overlays, jump to the corresponding point in the video on the right and click on " + Subtitles " in the top left .

Quick guide: insert subtitles afterwards

1. Open YouTube studio and log in.
2. Click on " Content " in the sidebar and click on the pencil symbol for the video you want to edit .
3. Switch to the " Video elements " tab at the top and click " Add " next to " Add subtitles ".
4. Choose how you'd like to add the subtitles. If you have already created the subtitles as a file, click on " Upload file ", select whether the file already contains time codes and upload the file.
5. Click " Automatically sync " to a complete transcript which is then automatically synchronized with the video from YouTube of the video input.
6. Alternatively, you can create subtitles manually. To do this, click on “ Type in manually ”, enter the text you have just said in the left-hand area and use the time codes to specify from when to when the subtitle should be shown. Then jump to the next point in the video and click on " + Subtitles " in the top left to type in the next point.

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