Free tool

SBV to SRT converter

Drop an .sbv caption file here to convert SBV to SRT: every caption gets a number and SRT’s arrow-style times, and the words stay exactly as they were, ready for a video editor, a player or another site.

  • Free
  • No sign-up
  • Nothing is uploaded

Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file.

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Making captions for videos you record? NoteOwl transcribes each video’s sound on your Mac, unlimited, and saves an SRT file you can upload anywhere.

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How it works

How do you convert SBV to SRT?

Add the .sbv file and leave SRT selected. The converter numbers each caption and rewrites its timing line from 0:00:04.160,0:00:06.770 to 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,770. Download the .srt and it’s ready to use.

  1. 1

    Add the SBV

    Drop the .sbv file, choose it, or paste the captions. Files saved from YouTube Studio work as they are.

  2. 2

    Check the SRT

    The numbered SRT appears beside your file. Speaker labels such as “>> ALICE:” can stay or go.

  3. 3

    Download it

    Save the .srt under the same name as your SBV file and load it into your editor or player.

What does YouTube’s own SBV example look like as SRT?

This is the SBV example from YouTube’s help page on caption files, and the SRT this page writes from it. The captions, line breaks and [intro music] are untouched; only the timing lines change and the numbers appear.

miller-bakery.sbv
0:00:00.599,0:00:04.160
>> ALICE: Hi, my name is Alice Miller and this is John Brown

0:00:04.160,0:00:06.770
>> JOHN: and we're the owners of Miller Bakery.

0:00:06.770,0:00:10.880
>> ALICE: Today we'll be teaching you how to make
our famous chocolate chip cookies!

0:00:10.880,0:00:16.700
[intro music]

0:00:16.700,0:00:21.480
Okay, so we have all the ingredients laid out here
miller-bakery.srt
1
00:00:00,599 --> 00:00:04,160
ALICE: Hi, my name is Alice Miller and this is John Brown

2
00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,770
JOHN: and we're the owners of Miller Bakery.

3
00:00:06,770 --> 00:00:10,880
ALICE: Today we'll be teaching you how to make
our famous chocolate chip cookies!

4
00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,700
[intro music]

5
00:00:16,700 --> 00:00:21,480
Okay, so we have all the ingredients laid out here

What is an SBV file?

A plain-text caption file in the SubViewer format. Each caption is a timing line, with the start and end times separated by a comma, then its text, then a blank line. There are no caption numbers, and YouTube reads no styling in it.

Number
SBVNone
SRT1, 2, 3…
Timing line
SBV0:00:04.160,0:00:06.770
SRT00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,770
Hours
SBVOne digit: 0:
SRTTwo digits: 00:
Milliseconds after
SBVA full stop
SRTA comma
Italics and bold
SBVNot read by YouTube
SRTShown by most players

Where do SBV files come from?

Mostly from YouTube captions. YouTube lists SubViewer next to SubRip as the two basic caption formats it recommends, and YouTube Studio lets you download the caption track of your own video: Subtitles, then the video, then Options and Download subtitles.

To read a video’s words rather than caption it, the YouTube transcript cleaner turns the transcript YouTube shows under any captioned video into plain paragraphs.

Why convert SBV to SRT?

So the captions work outside YouTube. SRT is the format video editors, desktop players and most upload forms expect, while SBV is mainly read by YouTube and tools made for it. Converting keeps the same captions and times.

Once it’s SRT, you can fix single captions in the subtitle editor, or make a web player’s VTT with the SBV to VTT converter.

What happens to “>>” and speaker labels?

Captions often mark a new speaker with “>>”, as YouTube’s example does with “>> ALICE:”. The converter reads the name after the arrows as the speaker: keep names and the SRT says “ALICE: Hi…”; untick them and only the words remain.

How do you make caption files from your own videos?

Transcribe the videos on your Mac. NoteOwl imports a video or audio file, transcribes it with on-device AI models and saves the transcript as an SRT file, which YouTube and video editors accept. Nothing is uploaded. Subtitles from a recording.

FAQ

Questions about converting SBV to SRT

Does converting SBV to SRT change the timing?

No. The start and end of every caption stay the same to the millisecond. Only the way the time is written changes, and SRT adds a number above each caption.

Can I upload an SRT file to YouTube instead of SBV?

Yes. YouTube’s help lists SubRip (.srt) and SubViewer (.sbv) as its two recommended basic caption formats, so either one works for a YouTube upload.

What about .sub files?

A .sub file written in the SubViewer layout, with timing lines like 0:00:01.000,0:00:03.000, converts the same way. MicroDVD .sub files, which count video frames instead of times, are a different format and aren’t read.

Are multi-line captions kept?

Yes. A caption on two lines in the SBV file stays on two lines in the SRT file, so the captions break on screen exactly where they did before.

Is my SBV file uploaded?

No. The SBV to SRT converter reads the file in your browser and makes the SRT there. Nothing is sent to NoteOwl or anywhere else.

Can I convert SBV to plain text?

Yes. Choose Text instead of SRT and the captions become paragraphs with no times, which you can copy or save as .txt or as a Word document.

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