Subtitles
Movies and series episodes can carry subtitle tracks inside the video file itself. They're always off until you turn them on.
Turning subtitles on
Open the subtitle button in the player:
- ArtPlayer (the default) and Video.js - a captions (CC) button sits right in the control bar.
- Shaka player - subtitles live in the overflow menu.
Pick a language to turn subtitles on, or pick Off to hide them again. Languages are shown in your app’s language, and variants like hearing-impaired tracks appear with a note, for example “English (SDH)”.
Want subtitles on without picking a language every time? Turn on Captions on by default in Settings > Watching > Playback. It switches subtitles on automatically whenever a movie or episode has them, preferring your app’s language - you can still turn them off in the player, and the setting applies to this device only.
Where it works
| File | Subtitles play on |
|---|---|
| MP4 movies and episodes | Every platform - desktop, Android, and web. |
| MKV movies and episodes | The desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux). Windows plays MKV natively; macOS, Linux, and any Windows file the built-in player can’t demux on its own go through an automatic fix instead - see Audio formats & silent channels for how that works under the hood. |
| AVI movies and episodes | Not supported by the built-in player on any platform - open it in an external player instead. |
On Android and the web, the built-in player can’t read subtitles out of an MKV file. Open the stream in an external player instead - see External players.
Adjusting subtitle timing
If subtitles run a beat early or late, look for the Subtitle delay button next to the player controls on a movie or episode page - it shows up once a subtitle track is on. Nudge the timing earlier or later in 0.1 second steps, or hit Reset to go back to zero. From a keyboard, you can nudge without opening the dialog at all - see Keyboard + D-pad.
What to expect
- The subtitle list appears a few seconds after playback starts - the app has to look inside the file first.
- Once you pick a track, lines show up within a moment and keep filling in as you watch.
- Not every file has subtitles. The button only shows up when there’s something to pick.