Fix subtitle encoding
Fix subtitle encoding problems: read the file in its real encoding, check the preview, and save it as clean UTF-8.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
Read entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded. Free, unlimited, no watermark.
- File
- Format
- Cues
- Size
Read as — change it
The preview below re-renders as soon as you change this.
This format stores times as frame numbers, so it has no meaning without a rate. We don't guess one.
Nothing has changed yet.
No cues to show yet.
When accents turn into é or quotes into ’, the subtitle file isn't broken. It was saved in an older encoding, usually Windows-1252 or a regional one, and something is reading it as UTF-8. Drop it here, choose the encoding that makes the preview read correctly, and save. The new file is UTF-8, which current players, editors and upload forms expect.
Questions
How do I fix weird characters in an SRT file?
Drop the file above and look at the preview. If the accents are wrong, change "Read as" until they look right, then download. The download is always UTF-8.
Which encoding is my file in?
The tool makes a guess and shows it. Western European subtitles are usually Windows-1252, Russian ones Windows-1251, Arabic Windows-1256, Chinese GBK or Big5, Japanese Shift_JIS and Korean EUC-KR. Pick whichever makes the preview readable.
How do I convert SRT to UTF-8?
Drop it here and download it. Every file this page saves is UTF-8, whatever encoding it came in.
Does this work for VTT and ASS files too?
Yes. SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, SMI and the other formats the page takes come back in the same format, re-saved as UTF-8.
My subtitles show empty boxes, not odd letters. Will this fix it?
No. Boxes mean the player's font has no shapes for that alphabet, and the fix is in the player. Subtitles showing weird characters explains how to tell the causes apart.