SBV to SRT Converter

What this does

Captions downloaded from YouTube as .sbv use a compact format that most editors and players do not recognise: one line holding start,end as h:mm:ss.mmm, followed by the text, separated by blank lines. SubRip (.srt) is the format virtually everything else accepts, and this page converts between them locally.

How to use it

1. Paste your SBV content, or drop the .sbv file onto the box.
2. The conversion runs in JavaScript on your device — nothing is sent anywhere.
3. Copy the result or download it as an .srt file.

Why SBV files fail in most tools

SBV has no cue numbers and no arrow between timestamps. It uses a comma to separate start from end, and allows a single-digit hour — 0:00:01.000 rather than SRT's 00:00:01,000.

That difference is why an SBV file renamed to .srt usually loads as nothing at all. Parsers expect the --> separator, do not find it, and silently drop every cue.

SubRip is the safer target because it is understood by desktop editors, mobile players, and the subtitle upload boxes of most video platforms. If you are unsure which format to produce, produce SRT.

Once converted, the file can be shifted, cleaned or resampled with the other tools here — they all read standard SRT.

Worked example

0:00:01.000,0:00:04.000
Hello there.

0:00:04.200,0:00:07.000
How are you?

1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,000
Hello there.

2
00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,000
How are you?

Commas between timestamps become -->, periods before milliseconds become commas, and cue numbers are added.

FAQ

Troubleshooting

1. The output is emptyThe blocks are not separated by blank lines, or the first line of each block is not a h:mm:ss.mmm,h:mm:ss.mmm pair. Re-export the captions and try again.
2. Only some cues convertedBlocks whose first line does not match the timestamp pattern are skipped by design. Check for stray text or merged lines above a cue.
3. Timestamps look wrongSBV allows a one-digit hour. Long recordings exported with a two-digit hour still convert correctly — if times are off, confirm the source file's own timing first.
4. I have a .vtt file, not .sbvUse the VTT to SRT converter. VTT and SBV look similar but have different header and separator rules.

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