Subtitles in DaVinci Resolve: Import, Edit, Export and Fix Common Problems
Most video editors meet subtitle files at the worst possible moment: the cut is locked, the client sends a translation, and the subtitles have to be in the timeline and in the deliverables by the end of the day. DaVinci Resolve has a proper subtitle workflow, but it is easy to lose time on the surrounding details — which format to bring in, why everything appears offset, why accents turn into symbols, or whether to export a file or burn the text into the picture. This guide walks through the whole loop and flags the problems that come up most often.
How subtitles fit into a Resolve project
In Resolve, subtitles live on their own subtitle track in the timeline, separate from video, audio and title tracks. Each subtitle is a clip with a start, an end and some text, which is exactly the same model an SRT file describes: a list of text lines with a start time and an end time. That match is why SRT is the natural format for moving subtitles in and out of the program.
Two practical consequences follow. First, an SRT file stores time in milliseconds, not in frames, so it does not care about your timeline's frame rate; it only cares about real elapsed time. Second, because the file contains no styling, the look of the subtitles (font, size, color, background) is decided inside Resolve, not by the file you import.
Step 1: get the subtitle file into the right format
SRT is the format Resolve's subtitle import is built around, and it is the one you can rely on. If you received something else, convert it before you import:
- A .vtt file (common with web platforms and auto-generated captions): convert it with the VTT to SRT tool.
- An .ass or .ssa file (common with fansubs and some translation vendors): convert it with the ASS to SRT or SSA to SRT tool. Be aware that fonts, colors and positioning are discarded — only the dialogue and timing survive.
- A transcript or document with no timing: you need timing before it can become subtitles. Generate it first, or use a tool that aligns text to audio.
Before importing, open the SRT in a plain text editor and check that special characters look right. If you see sequences like ó or é instead of accented letters, the file is not saved as UTF-8 and the same garbling will appear in your timeline. Our guide to subtitle encoding problems explains how to fix that in a couple of minutes.
Step 2: import and check alignment
- 1Open the timeline you want to subtitle and make sure the picture is final or close to final; retiming subtitles after the edit changes is more work than waiting.
- 2Use the subtitle import command from the File menu (look under File > Import for an entry for subtitles) and choose your SRT. Resolve creates a subtitle track with one clip per entry.
- 3Play the first spoken line, a line in the middle and the very last line. Compare when the words are spoken with when the subtitle appears.
- 4If all three line up, the file is good. If they do not, note how they are off — that pattern tells you what kind of problem you have (see the troubleshooting section below).
Checking the first, middle and last lines is a habit worth keeping for every subtitle job. Errors at the start only point to an offset; errors that grow toward the end point to a frame-rate mismatch; scattered errors point to a file timed against a different cut of the video.
Step 3: edit text and timing on the timeline
Once the subtitles are on the track you can edit them like any other clip: change the text in the inspector, drag the ends to change duration, split a long subtitle in two, or nudge a subtitle to start on the exact frame a line is spoken. Keep an eye on three things while you work:
- Reading speed: if a subtitle flashes by too quickly to read, give it more time or shorten the text. A common guideline is to keep it below roughly 17 to 20 characters per second.
- Line length: long lines wrap awkwardly or run off the frame. Aim for two lines at most, each short enough to read at a glance.
- Overlaps and gaps: two subtitles should not occupy the same moment, and a tiny gap between consecutive subtitles makes the change visible.
For a deeper look at these limits, see our guide to subtitle reading speed and line length, and use the proofreading checklist before delivery.
Step 4: choose how to deliver the subtitles
On the Deliver page, Resolve's subtitle settings let you export the subtitle track in more than one way. The choice matters, because each option has different consequences for the viewer and for you:
| Delivery option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Separate file (sidecar) | Exports the subtitles as an SRT (or another supported text format) next to the rendered video. | The platform accepts a caption file and you want viewers to be able to switch subtitles on and off, or to offer several languages. |
| Burned into the video | Renders the subtitle text permanently into the picture, using the subtitle styling set in Resolve. | The video will be viewed somewhere captions cannot be attached or are unreliable, or you want guaranteed styling. |
| Embedded in the file | Stores the subtitles as a track inside a compatible video container. | You deliver a single file and the player or platform reads embedded tracks. |
A good default for client work is to deliver both: a clean master with a separate SRT, and, if needed, a second render with burned-in subtitles for social posting. Burned-in subtitles can never be removed, so always keep the clean version. Our guide to soft versus burned-in subtitles covers the trade-offs, including how to do the same thing with FFmpeg.
Troubleshooting common problems
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Every subtitle is early or late by the same amount | A constant offset, often from a different start timecode or a trimmed intro | Shift the whole subtitle track by that amount. If it is exactly one hour, the file was timed from 00:00:00 while the timeline starts at 01:00:00:00. |
| Subtitles start in sync and slowly drift | The subtitles were timed for a different frame rate (for example 23.976 versus 25 fps) | Stretch the timing by the ratio of the two frame rates, using a subtitle editor that supports it. |
| Accents and special characters look wrong | The file is not saved as UTF-8 | Re-save the SRT as UTF-8 and import it again. |
| The import does nothing or fails | The file is not a valid SRT (wrong timestamp separators, missing blank lines) or is a different format with an .srt extension | Open it in a text editor, compare it with a known good SRT, or convert it from its real format. |
| Two subtitles appear on top of each other | Overlapping time ranges in the file | Shorten the first subtitle or move the second so they no longer overlap. |
| A .vtt or .ass file is rejected | The importer expects SRT | Convert it to SRT first. |
A reliable end-to-end workflow
- 1Lock the picture edit before final subtitle timing.
- 2Receive or create the subtitles, and convert them to UTF-8 SRT if necessary.
- 3Import into Resolve, check the first, middle and last lines.
- 4Fix offset or drift before editing individual lines.
- 5Edit text and timing, watching reading speed and line length.
- 6Run the proofreading checklist, including a spell-check of the text.
- 7Export a sidecar SRT for each language, and render a burned-in version only if a deliverable requires it.
- 8Keep the original subtitle files and the clean master together in the project archive.
Frequently asked questions
- Does DaVinci Resolve import WebVTT or ASS files?
- SRT is the format its subtitle import is designed around, so converting VTT or ASS to SRT first is the reliable route. Remember that converting ASS to SRT removes styling and positioning.
- Can Resolve create subtitles automatically from audio?
- Recent versions can generate subtitles from the audio of a timeline, and that feature has been tied to the Studio edition in the versions we are aware of. Automatically generated text always needs a proofreading pass for names, terminology and punctuation.
- Why are my subtitles exactly one hour off?
- Timelines often start at 01:00:00:00, while subtitle files are usually timed from 00:00:00. If everything is off by exactly 3,600 seconds, shift the entire subtitle track by one hour.
- Should I burn subtitles in or export a separate file?
- Export a separate file whenever the destination supports it, because viewers can turn it off and you can offer several languages. Burn subtitles in only when you need them visible everywhere, and keep a clean copy without them.