In today’s post, I’ll show you how to add subtitles or closed captions to any YouTube video using Substital Chrome extension.
Prerequisites
First, you need to have the .srt subtitle file of the video on which you want to see the subtitles. It’s the standard file format for subtitles and if the video is popular enough then you should be able to find one for it. Just search for your video name and add the word “subtitles” or “srt” in the search to find it. YouTube natively doesn’t allow viewers to add subtitles (only creators can), but you can get this option with the Substital Chrome extension. The extension allows you to add subtitles to any video online, including YouTube videos.
How to use Substital to add subtitles to YouTube videos
After installing the Chrome extension, go to the YouTube video on which you want to add subtitles and click on the Substital extension button. The extension will recognize the YouTube video and show you in its interface. Click on it and the Substital extension will apply some new options to the video.
You can either use the search bar above to find the subtitles for your video (searches popular subtitles websites) or upload one if you already have it on your PC. As you already have the .srt file, you just need to grab and drop it in the video interface to apply it. This will immediately apply the subtitles and they will start appearing without any need to restart the video.
You will also see a new Substital button at the bottom of the YouTube player that gives you the option to control the subtitles. Here you can adjust subtitle color, size, transparency, and even synchronize them if needed.
If you need to undo everything, simply refresh the page and the subtitle will be removed and Substital custom options will also not appear on the YouTube player.
Ending thoughts
I have been using Subsitial for quite a while for adding subtitles to online videos, and it does a fine job of adding subtitles to YouTube videos. Its built-in search feature is also incredible and you can find almost any subtitles in any language as long as it is available online. Did you find this Chrome extension useful for adding subtitles to YouTube videos? Do share your experience in the comments below.