Turn SRT or VTT subtitles into a readable transcript
A subtitle-to-text export removes timing structure from an existing caption file. It gives you the caption words, not a newly transcribed or rewritten account of the audio. Keep the subtitle source if you may need timed captions again.
Pick a layout for the next task
Use cue paragraphs when you want to trace text back to individual subtitle cues. Each cue is separated by a blank line, which is useful for review but may split a spoken sentence across paragraphs.
Use joined text for a continuous draft. CueRefine replaces internal line breaks with spaces and joins the cues with spaces. It does not infer sentence boundaries, create editorial paragraphs or add punctuation.
Decide how to handle speakers
A WebVTT voice tag such as <v Alex> identifies the speaker separately from the dialogue. CueRefine can retain it as Alex: or remove that annotation in TXT. A name already typed into ordinary dialogue is preserved.
Review the labels if several people speak. Removing a label can make a sentence ambiguous even when every spoken word is retained.
Review what should not be deleted automatically
Repeated caption fragments may be artifacts of rolling captions, but repeated words can also be intentional speech. CueRefine keeps both. Sound descriptions such as [Music] also remain so you can decide whether they belong in your final transcript.
Known formatting tags are stripped, while unknown angle-bracket text is preserved. The example “The result is <not final>.” remains intact in TXT. Do not use a blanket delete-all-tags rule for prose.
Save and verify the export
Open the SRT or VTT, choose the TXT layout and speaker setting, then review the preview. Save or cancel any active cue edit before downloading. Read the exported TXT once more before treating it as publication-ready copy.
Malformed timestamps and unsupported inline timing can still block a processed export even though TXT does not retain timestamps. Check the diagnostics; an output that silently skips unreadable cues would not be a reliable transcript.
| Content | TXT behavior |
|---|---|
| Cue timestamps and sequence numbers | Removed |
| Recognized formatting tags | Removed; text retained |
| VTT voice annotation | Optional speaker label |
| Repeated text and sound descriptions | Retained |
| Unknown angle-bracket prose | Retained |
| Cue layout | Blank-line paragraphs or joined text |
Examples and product behavior checked on October 9, 2026.