QuickTime Players Does Not Play Subtitles when Playing a Video?

If the common fixes do not work, try a special solution that works on [60% computers].

Subtitles are the original text derived from a movie script. Basically, you see these text-based dialogues either at the bottom or at the top of the screen. They help the audiences understand the dialogues from a movie.

Subtitles are most commonly used as an external file having formats like (SSA, ASS, SRT, SUB). Though there are many more other formats too but these four are highly popular. Almost every versatile media player supports these formats. But when you have to rely on Apple's QuickTime then it has a different story. Many people complain that QuickTime not showing subtitles while they try to play a movie. This happens and in this post we are going to discuss why and what the possible solutions are.

QuickTime Not Showing/Loading Subtitles: An Overview

This error, problem or whatever you call it, is self-explanatory. It is a situation when the QuickTime player fails to show or load external subtitles. Unlike other media players, selection of external subtitle files is not allowed in QuickTime. It auto-selects the subtitles file if it is present in the movie folder. Most of the time it simply doesn't display any closed captions or even subtitles and people waste their time in finding a solution but they fail to get even one. This problem is not serious at all and neither has it taken much time to get fixed but you'll still be amazed to know about why this problem exists, in the next part.

The Main Reason Why QuickTime Doesn't Show or Load Subtitles

QuickTime is an old media player and it comes bundled with macOS. It is also available on other platforms like Microsoft Windows. Apple officially halted QuickTime development and support for Windows back in the year 2016. So, the problem troubles Windows users more than the Mac users. As we told you that QuickTime is an old media player, it is present since the days when there existed no external subtitle files like .SRT.

But actually the truth is that QuickTime doesn't have any direct support for subtitle formats like SRT, SSA, ASS, or even SUB. It uses its own subtitles format which is ".QT" which is a part of QTFF (QuickTime File Format). Just like other Mac software QuickTime comes with its own set of compatible file formats and subtitles are no different for it. So if you are a Windows user and are experiencing the problem of subtitles loading, you should be aware that QuickTime doesn’t have a valid support for them and not your PC or movie file has a problem.

How to Fix the Problem "QuickTime Not Showing Subtitles"

Solution 1. To fix this problem you just have to use a subtitle converter. Use your existing subtitle files to convert them to a QTFF compatible format like .QT. You can search for such software and online services on the internet and make the conversion.

Solution 2. If you ask us then we will say that in this modern world and QuickTime is not the only player for non-Mac/Windows users. First of all non-Mac users will not get all the features of QuickTime for free and to use it fully one has to purchase it, a stupid decision? Absolutely Yes! And unless you pay for the "Pro" feature you can't use it peacefully. So, if you're not in a mood to pay for the "Pro" feature then we suggest moving from QuickTime to some other media player like VLC, Media Player Classic or 5KPlayer as all of these are completely free and have better support and compatibility with media formats including subtitles.

Solution 3. Now if the above the reason is not enough to convince you just because you're a die-hard fan of QuickTime or feel nostalgic while using it then we do have another solution for you. Simply use burn-in subtitles instead of using them as external files. Burn-in subtitles get permanently added to a movie file and become a part of it. Burn-in subtitles if properly encoded won't have any of the issues as associated with external subtitles file like compatibility issues or delay. Burn-in subtitles are also totally independent of a media player's subtitle formats compatibility. To encode a movie file with burn-in subtitles you'll need a software tool, say, VideoProc. In the next part we are presenting a detailed tutorial for the same.

How to Turn External Subtitles File into Burn-in Subtitles with VideoProc

VideoProc is all-in-one audio and video processing software. It is a powerful video converter, editor, downloader, and screen recorder. But here we’re discussing its burn-in subtitles tutorial. So before proceeding with the tutorial steps you are hereby requested to download and install it on your PC from the links given below.

Step 1: Open "VideoProc" and click "Video" on the first screen to go to the main UI window. Here click "+Video" and load your movie in which you want to add burn-in subtitles. Once the video gets loaded, check the important info like audio and video codec as shown in the image below.

Step 2: After checking the codecs, move to the "Target Format" and click "Video" tab and select the same video format having the same video codec as that of the original file, which will keep the original quality without the need of changes. Click "Codec Option" as shown in the image in the "Step 1" above. This will open "Advanced Settings" for the audio and the video.

Step 3: In "Advanced Settings", make sure that the "Resolution" and the "Aspect Ratio" are set to "keep original". Under "Audio Codec Options", enable the "Force Copy" option putting a check on it. Click "Done" to return to the main window.

Step 4: From the main window click the "Subtitle" (see Step 1) option just below the "Codec Option". This will open a subtitle editor, click "Add Subtitle File" and load your file having any format like .ASS, .SSA, or .SRT. When the subtitle file gets loaded, click the "Burn-in" option to select it.

Now adjust the "Position" by moving the slider, here value "zero" means that subtitles will be shown at the bottom position. As you increase the value to any positive number the subtitles will also move slightly towards the top position. Now click the big "A" button just next to the "Font" and customize the subtitles" text color, font, and text size. Click "Done" to return.

Note: Please make sure that your external subtitle file is correct and matches the exact timestamps of the movie. To verify this play your movie in VLC player and check if subtitles are getting displayed at the right time or not. If yes then use the file otherwise find another subtitles file for your movie which is properly created.

Step 5: This is the final step and now you just have to click the "RUN" button. Wait until the conversion process gets over.

Important VideoProc Feature Related to Subtitles

With just few clicks VideoProc can also download subtitles file for you. All you have to do is click the ‘Search Subtitle File’, enter the movie name, select language and search from within the software. VideoProc will show you multiple lists, click any file to select and then click ‘Download’ to download the file. Once it gets download you can directly import it in the subtitles editor. So isn’t this feature nice?

Final Words

The best solution would be to change your media player as this will save time that you invest in video conversion. But with VideoProc, it is also quite easy to fix the problem of QuickTime not showing subtitles by creating burn-in subtitles. And VideoProc isn’t just limited to processing subtitles. It can be used for a number of things like video conversion, video editing, DVD copying, ripping, video downloading, and screen recording. You won’t know about these features unless you download, install, and use it yourself. Please click on the download button of Windows or Mac below to try out VideoProc.