Fix subtitle sync after a scene cut

A scene cut often breaks subtitle sync only after the edit point.

Quick answer

If the beginning is correct but the subtitles drift after a cut, use the Partial Subtitle Shifter on the affected section instead of shifting the whole file.

Typical symptom

The first minute plays correctly:

00:00:01,000 - correct
00:00:22,500 - correct
00:01:05,000 - correct

Then an edit removes 2 seconds from the video, and later cues are late:

00:02:10,000 - appears 2 seconds too late
00:03:40,000 - appears 2 seconds too late

The fix is usually a negative shift for the section after the cut.

Step-by-step workflow

1. Play the video until the first cue that is out of sync.
2. Note that cue start time as the range start.
3. Note the last affected cue as the range end.
4. Enter a negative value if the subtitles are late, such as -2000.
5. Enter a positive value if the subtitles appear too early.
6. Check the edit point and the end of the shifted section.

When to use full-file shifting instead

Use the Subtitle Time Shifter if every cue is wrong by the same amount from the start of the video.

Use a partial shift only when the sync error begins after a specific point.

Common mistakes

Moving the intro by accident

If the intro is already correct, keep the range start after the edit point.

Fixing the wrong direction

If captions appear after the spoken words, use a negative number. If captions appear before the spoken words, use a positive number.

Ignoring later edits

A video with multiple cuts may need more than one partial shift. Fix one section, then re-check the next section.

Related guides

• How to shift only part of a subtitle file
• How to fix subtitles that are too fast or too slow
• Common subtitle format errors and fixes