# How to Extract & Burn Subtitles — Complete User Guide (v50)
## A quick note before you start
Vid2Srt includes many advanced features in a single screen, so it may look overwhelming the first time you use it. After one or two videos, the workflow becomes very straightforward.
Our current priority has been extraction quality and flexibility rather than simplifying the interface. A redesigned UI is planned for a future update.
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## Step 1 — Load your video
Open the **Vid2Srt** tab.
Click **File(s)** or simply drag & drop your video into the window.
Once loaded, you'll see:
- Duration
- Resolution
- File size
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## Step 2 — Choose the subtitle source
Under **Subtitle Source** you'll find two options.
### Speech (AI Voice Recognition)
Use this when the video contains spoken audio but no subtitles.
The AI listens to the audio and generates subtitles.
### Burned-in Subtitles (OCR)
Use this when subtitles are already visible inside the video image.
This mode reads the subtitle text directly from the video frames.
It also works perfectly on videos that have no audio track at all.
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## Step 3 — AI Model or Windows OCR?
For almost every user we recommend leaving **Use Windows OCR** disabled.
The default AI Vision model produces the best overall results.
| AI Vision (Recommended) | Windows OCR (Optional) |
|--------------------------|-------------------------|
| Supports every language available in Live Translate | Only supports Windows-installed OCR language packs |
| Nothing to install | Requires Windows language packs |
| Excellent subtitle recognition | Designed mainly for documents |
| Better with outlines, shadows and stylized subtitle fonts | Can struggle with decorative subtitles |
| Slightly slower | Faster |
Windows OCR is useful only when:
- You already have the correct Windows language installed.
- Speed is more important than maximum accuracy.
- The subtitles use a clean, simple font.
For everything else, use the default AI model. It recognizes subtitles much more like a human reader. :contentReference{index=0}
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## Step 4 — Select the scan area
Choose where subtitles appear.
### Bottom
Recommended for almost every movie or TV show.
Fastest and most accurate.
### Top
For anime or videos with top subtitles.
### Middle
For unusual subtitle placement.
### Full Frame
Only use this if subtitles move around or appear in different locations.
Scanning the full frame is slower and may also detect signs, titles or other on-screen text.
Live Translate automatically ignores permanent watermarks, TV logos and website URLs burned into the video. :contentReference{index=1}
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## Step 5 — Save time with Trim
You don't have to process an entire movie.
Before extracting:
1. Open the **Timeline** panel.
2. Move the trim handles.
3. Select only the part you want.
4. Click **Extract Subtitles**.
Only the selected section is scanned.
This can reduce extraction time dramatically.
Example:
Scanning five minutes from a two-hour movie is much faster than scanning the entire file while preserving accurate timestamps.
When you're finished, click **New Video / Reset** to load another video without restarting Live Translate. :contentReference{index=2}
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## Step 6 — Extract subtitles
Click **Extract Subtitles**.
During extraction you'll see:
- Live preview of the area currently being scanned
- Every subtitle appearing in the Activity Log
- Timestamps for each detected subtitle
After extraction finishes:
- Translation starts automatically (if enabled)
- Every subtitle appears inside the editor
- Original text and translated text are shown together
- Subtitle timing matches the original burned subtitles as closely as possible :contentReference{index=3}
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## Step 7 — Edit subtitles
Everything remains editable.
You can:
- Jump directly to any subtitle
- Correct OCR mistakes
- Split subtitles
- Merge subtitles
- Adjust timing
- Undo and redo edits
- Check reading speed (CPS)
Nothing is permanently written until you export or burn the subtitles. :contentReference{index=4}
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## Step 8 — Export or Burn
You have two different choices.
### Export Subtitle File
Supported formats:
- SRT
- ASS
- VTT
- Bilingual subtitles
Ideal for media players.
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### Burn Subtitles into the Video
There are two burn modes.
#### Soft Burn (Mux)
Very fast.
The subtitle track is simply attached to the video.
Advantages:
- No quality loss
- No re-encoding
- Instant
Limitations:
- Styling is not preserved
- Media players display subtitles using their own default appearance
Use this if you only need compatibility.
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#### Hard Burn (Recommended for Styling)
The video is re-encoded and subtitles become part of the image.
Supports GPU acceleration:
- NVIDIA NVENC
- AMD AMF
- Intel Quick Sync
Everything you design is permanently burned into the video.
Supported styling includes:
- Font
- Size
- Text color
- Outline
- Outline width
- Background box
- Position
- Alignment
- Subtitle width
You can drag the subtitle box anywhere in the preview.
Top.
Bottom.
Center.
Anywhere.
You can also resize the subtitle area to control line wrapping.
The burned subtitle will appear exactly where it appears in the preview.
What you see is exactly what you get.
If Soft Burn is selected while your subtitle style requires Hard Burn, Live Translate warns you automatically before exporting. :contentReference{index=5}
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## Translate into multiple languages
OCR extraction only needs to happen once.
After extraction:
Click **Add Language**.
Generate additional subtitle languages without scanning the video again.
This is significantly faster than repeating OCR for every language. :contentReference{index=6}
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## Troubleshooting
### No subtitles found
Usually caused by selecting the wrong scan area.
Try **Full Frame** once to locate the subtitles.
If subtitles are not burned into the video, switch to **Speech** mode instead.
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### OCR made a mistake
Simply edit the subtitle manually.
Everything remains editable before export.
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### Low resolution videos
Videos at 480p or below naturally provide less image detail.
OCR accuracy may decrease slightly, although the AI review pass corrects many recognition errors automatically. :contentReference{index=7}
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## Privacy
Everything runs entirely on your own computer.
- No cloud processing
- No uploads
- No subscriptions
- Your videos never leave your PC :contentReference{index=8}