Free tool
SCC to SRT converter
Drop a Scenarist file here to convert SCC to SRT: the hex codes are decoded frame by frame, the way a TV’s caption decoder reads them, and every caption comes out as plain text with its start and end time, ready for a video site or an editor.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Nothing is uploaded
Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file.
Need captions for recordings that don’t come with any? NoteOwl transcribes them on your Mac, unlimited, and saves SRT files with each speaker’s name.
How it works
How do you convert an SCC file to SRT?
Open the .scc file here. The converter reads each line’s timecode and hex words, works out what was on screen at every frame, and writes one caption for each change, timed to the frame. Pick SRT, VTT or text and download.
- 1
Add the SCC
Drop the .scc file, choose it, or paste its text, starting with Scenarist_SCC V1.0.
- 2
Check what it found
The line under the box says how many captions, which styles and how long.
- 3
Save it
Download .srt for most uses, .vtt for a web player, or .txt to read the words.
What does an SCC file look like decoded?
On the left, a short SCC file: three pop-on captions written as timecodes and hex words. On the right, what this page makes of it. The first caption was italic, and stays italic in the SRT.
Scenarist_SCC V1.0 00:00:00;28 94ae 94ae 9420 9420 94f4 94f4 97a1 97a1 91ae 91ae 5b75 7062 e561 f420 6d75 73e9 e35d 00:00:01;15 942f 942f 00:00:03;01 94ae 94ae 9420 9420 9452 9452 97a2 97a2 57e5 ece3 ef6d e520 6261 e36b 20f4 ef20 f468 e580 94f4 94f4 97a1 97a1 6def f26e e96e 6720 6ee5 f773 ae80 00:00:04;00 942c 942c 00:00:04;12 942f 942f 00:00:06;22 94ae 94ae 9420 9420 9452 9452 97a2 97a2 5261 e96e 20e3 ece5 61f2 7320 6279 206e efef 6e2c 94f2 94f2 f7e9 f468 2073 756e 20f4 68e9 7320 61e6 f4e5 f26e efef 6eae 00:00:07;24 942c 942c 00:00:08;06 942f 942f 00:00:11;00 942c 942c
1 00:00:01,502 --> 00:00:04,004 <i>[upbeat music]</i> 2 00:00:04,404 --> 00:00:07,808 Welcome back to the morning news. 3 00:00:08,208 --> 00:00:11,011 Rain clears by noon, with sun this afternoon.
What is inside an SCC file?
Line-21 closed captions, the kind North American TV carries, written out as text. Each line is a timecode and a run of four-digit hex words; each word is two caption bytes, sent one word per frame. Some words are letters, others are commands that place or show them.
Most commands appear twice in a row: TV caption data repeats them in case one is lost, and the decoder ignores the copy.
- 9420
- MeaningResume caption loading: the next caption is built off screen
- 94ae
- MeaningErase the caption being built
- 9452, 94f4…
- MeaningRow and column for the next letters
- 91ae
- MeaningSwitch to italics (shown as a space)
- 942f
- MeaningEnd of caption: show what was built
- 942c
- MeaningClear the screen
- c845 4c4c…
- MeaningLetters, two to a word
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 9420 | Resume caption loading: the next caption is built off screen |
| 94ae | Erase the caption being built |
| 9452, 94f4… | Row and column for the next letters |
| 91ae | Switch to italics (shown as a space) |
| 942f | End of caption: show what was built |
| 942c | Clear the screen |
| c845 4c4c… | Letters, two to a word |
Can it read roll-up and paint-on captions?
Yes. Pop-on captions, built off screen and shown whole, become one SRT caption each. Roll-up captions, which scroll up like live captions, become a caption each time a new line appears, holding the lines on screen. Paint-on text becomes a caption per burst of words.
Because roll-up captions repeat a line as it scrolls, the plain text download writes each line once, so a live broadcast reads as one transcript.
How are SCC timecodes turned into SRT times?
Frame by frame, at 29.97 frames a second. A colon before the frames means non-drop-frame timecode and a semicolon drop-frame; both are counted correctly, and every word after the first adds a frame. A caption starts on the frame its End of caption command arrives.
Made for a different cut of the video? Move every caption at once with the subtitle shifter after converting.
What doesn’t carry over from SCC to SRT?
Position and colour. An SCC caption can sit on any of 15 rows and use colours or a background; SRT holds text and simple styling, so captions come out as lines of text, kept in order from top to bottom. Italics and underline survive as SRT tags.
Captions on channel 2 of the file, often a second language, are skipped; the line under the box says when a file has them. Going the other way, the SRT to SCC converter writes CEA-608 captions from an SRT.
How do you get captions for a recording that has none?
Transcribe it. NoteOwl imports a recording on your Mac, transcribes it with on-device AI models, labels each speaker and saves an SRT file, which the SRT to SCC converter can turn into broadcast captions. Nothing is uploaded.
FAQ
Questions about converting SCC to SRT
How do I open an SCC file?
Any text editor opens it, but you’ll see timecodes and hex codes rather than words. To read the captions, convert it here: the SCC to SRT converter decodes the codes and shows the text with its times.
Why does my SCC file start each line with a timecode and numbers?
That is the format: each line holds a 29.97 frames-a-second timecode, then the caption data as four-digit hex words, two bytes each. The words are letters and commands, not readable text.
Does it work with drop-frame timecode?
Yes. Timecodes written with a semicolon before the frames are read as drop-frame, and those with a colon as non-drop-frame, so the SRT times match the video either way.
Can I convert SCC to VTT instead?
Yes. After adding the file, choose VTT above the result and download a WebVTT file with the same captions and times, for a web player or Vimeo.
Why are some captions repeated in the SRT?
The SCC file uses roll-up captions, where each line stays on screen while new ones arrive below it. Each SRT caption shows what was on screen at that moment, so a line appears in two or three in a row.
Is my SCC file uploaded?
No. The converter runs in your browser: the file is read, decoded and saved on your device, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Keep exploring
More subtitle converters
- Subtitle converterConvert subtitles between SRT, VTT, SBV and ASS, or to plain text, in your browser; SSA scripts and meeting transcripts work too
- SRT to VTT converterConvert SRT to VTT, VTT to SRT, or either to clean text with each speaker’s lines merged, in your browser; Zoom and Teams transcripts work
- SRT to SCC converterConvert SRT, VTT or ASS subtitles to Scenarist SCC (CEA-608) closed captions in your browser: pop-on, centred, 32 characters a line, 29.97 timecode
- STL to SRT converterConvert an EBU STL broadcast subtitle file (or a Spruce STL from DVD Studio Pro) to SRT, VTT or text in your browser, with times from the programme start
- VTT to SRT converterConvert a WebVTT file to SRT in your browser: times rewritten, cue settings and styling blocks dropped, voice tags kept as names
Related
Captions for any recording, made on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
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