I need the subtitles for a lot of films and TV that I watch. There’s many people out there who for the love of it produce subtitles for TV shows and films, for instance the volunteers for Viki to name but one group. And I’m grateful to them.
There used to be sites on the web where subtitles in various formats can be downloaded, but not any more. Such sites have dubious links. One can rip subtitles from a DVD or Blu-Ray with the right software.
I’ve become interested in the different subtitle file formats, and here is a list of the ones I’ve come into contact with:
| Name | Extension(s) | Format | Comments |
| Advanced SubStation Alpha | .ass | Text | Widely used by fans who do subtitles |
| Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange | .smi | Text | Microsoft format now happily rare |
| PGS subtitle format | .sup | Binary | Subtitle format used on Blu-Ray movie |
| SubRip Text | .srt | Text | Basic but very useful subtitle file format |
| VobSub format | .idx/.sub | Text / Binary | Subtitle format used on DVD movies |