Create an MLT File Containing Subtitles From a Subrip (.srt) File

Resources
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#1

A couple of years ago @KKnBB created a utility to do this, but the link no longer works. Also, several people couldn’t get it to work as it required Admin privileges to install, which they did not have, while several others said their anti-virus prevented it from running. Also, if you wanted a different font, you had to edit the resulting.mlt file.

So, since I am needing something like this I decided to create my own utility. I’ve done it as a web utility - it is a single HTML file and it has a nice interface (see below), where you can tailor all of the parameters. I will use it in conjuction with my web utility Subrip (.srt) Generator, that will create the .srt file and the new utility will hardcode (burn) the subtitles into the video.

If you atre interested in using these utitlities, the .srt file generator can be found here: SubRip SRT Subtitles Generator (elusien.co.uk) and the SRT to MLT converter can be found here: Resources for Shotcut (elusien.co.uk). Both utilities can be downloaded (they are each a single HTML file that you run in a browser) and run locally without needing access to the internet.

Subtitle_MLT_Generator
Subtitle_MLT_Generator1920×1020 400 KB

Screenshot1.PNG
Screenshot1.PNG2733×1603 699 KB

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#2

Thanks. :slightly_smiling_face:

Just a couple of things:

I think the first step of the instructions in the link above for the SRT to MLT converter is confusing:

  1. Finish your Shotcut project and export the complete video.

But as the rest of the instructions go, it’s the MLT project file that you need not the exported video of the project without the subtitles.

Another thing, I tested with a 4K video file and the size of the font for the subtitles in the web app didn’t reflect how it actually looked like in the 4K project when I brought it to Shotcut. They were much, much smaller.

#3

Thanks for the feedback.

I will try to explain this better on the webpage. Yes it’s the project file I need for this web utility, but to create the subtitles in Aegisub, Subtitle Edit, or my utility you’ll in general need the exported video as these need to play the video as you add subtitles.

The display in the app is not proportional to the dimensions in the project, which is why I wote “similar to”. However, having thought about it, I can change the code to make it proportional, its just a bit fiddly with the font-size and padding.

#4

@DRM OK, I have done the following:

When you start the web app the preview window is as it was before, not to scale and the subtitle text says:

Not to scale.

When you open the MLT file at this point I know what the width and height of your project is, so I change the subtitle text to say:

Not to scale. Click on this subtitle to use the project size (1920 x 1080)

When you click on the subtitle it blows the preview window up to the size of your project’s resolution and changes the subtitle text to:

Actual size. Click on this subtitle to use a smaller preview (592 x 410)

Of course the actual resolutions depend on your project and computer screen size.

P.S. the description webpage has been modified to make it clear that the video is not needed by my app, only by those apps used to synchronise subtitles with the video’s dialogue.

#5

I;ve just corrected a minor error in the utility. Subtitles were being generated 66% too large!