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Subtitle utility

Subtitle Encoding Fixer

Convert subtitle files to clean UTF-8 text when captions show garbled characters or wrong accents.

Free No signup Browser-local

Subtitle input

No signup. No server upload. Browser-only processing.

Drop a subtitle file here or choose one manually

Supports SRT, VTT, and ASS where relevant to the tool.

Selected file: sample.srt

If the output still looks garbled, try a different source encoding and upload the file again.

UTF-8 subtitle output

Runs locally in your browser

Selected file: sample.srt

Workflow notes

How to use this Encoding fixer tool

Encoding problems usually show up as mojibake, broken accents, or unreadable non-English text. Choose the likely source encoding, then export a UTF-8 file for modern editors and video platforms.

Start by uploading or pasting a supported file (.srt, .vtt, .ass, .ssa, .smi, .txt). Check the sample input if you want to see the expected structure first, then run the conversion or repair step and review the output before downloading it. The tool is designed for quick subtitle jobs where opening a full video editor would be unnecessary.

Input and output checklist

  • Use a complete subtitle file with valid cue timing when possible.
  • Keep a copy of the original file before replacing it in your workflow.
  • Review the first few cues, the middle of the file, and the final cue after export.
  • Test the downloaded output in the destination player, editor, or upload form.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Choosing UTF-8 as the source when the file was saved as Windows-1252 or another legacy encoding.
  • Re-saving garbled text instead of reopening from the original file.
  • Confusing encoding problems with missing fonts in a player.

All processing runs in your browser, so the subtitle or video file does not need to be uploaded to a server. That is useful for client review files, unreleased videos, internal training material, and other caption workflows where the text should stay on your device.

When to use this tool

Use this when an SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, or SMI file opens with broken characters because it was saved with the wrong text encoding.

  • Fix garbled subtitles before uploading them to a video platform.
  • Convert legacy subtitle files into UTF-8 for modern editors.
  • Repair broken accents and non-English characters when the source encoding is known.

FAQ

Does this upload my subtitle file? +

No. The file is decoded and exported locally in your browser.

Which source encodings can I try? +

The tool supports common encodings such as UTF-8, Windows-1252, ISO-8859-1, GB18030, Big5, Shift JIS, EUC-KR, and Windows-1250.

Will the subtitle timing change? +

No. The tool only changes how text is decoded and saved. Subtitle timing and cue order stay the same.