Subtitle Edit 2.8.2 FREE

Subtitle Edit 2.8.2 Description

If there is one thing that most subtitle programs have in common, it's that they are really complicated, especially for subtitling novices. Bearing that in mind, one thing that's going to help any application stand out from the rest is some feature - any feature - that is easier than the competition's. On the easy-to-use interface front, then, Subtitle Edit is a clear winner.

Subtitle Edit is a free editor for video subtitles that uses an intuitive, clear interface as the basis for modifying your subtitle files. It works with a variety of file formats, and, once loaded, displays them in large window. You can then move down the dialog, phrase by phrase, editing, changing or erasing whatever's needed. There are two ways of viewing subtitles with Subtitle Edit - List or Source view. List view shows separate columns with the start, end time and duration of the phrase, while Source displays the HTML version.

Subtitles are editable in List mode only, as the editing box is located on the List tab. You can modify the duration and timing of the subtitle, as well its actual content. The Tools menu brings up a whole range of other options, ranging from spellchecking and translation to adding new lines and removing subtitles for the hearing impaired. Subtitle Edit also has a good selection of configuration settings that allow you to modify the appearance and placement of subtitles as well as aspects such as the program's start-up behavior.

Subtitle Edit's help is available online and although it is well-designed, there is no wizard for absolute beginners. Subtitling is already a complicated task that requires patience, but the lack of a wizard or quick-start guide makes it especially off-putting for the inexperienced. One of the major problems with Subtitle Edit is that I found the whole program a little buggy, with several features - such as Visual Sync - refusing to work. It is hard to say why this was or if everyone will have the same problem, but it was enough to give an otherwise excellent program a much lower rating.

Too many bugs made an otherwise excellent program frustrating to use.