Today, a wide range of different subtitle file formats are being used in our industry, with varying degrees of overlap. With more complex formats, some users only utilize part of the attributes or information, while others use a different set of attributes/information with the result being that the same file format cannot be transferred between different users and operators.
Examples of different file formats used for subtitling are: .STL, .SRT, .890, .CIP, .PAC, .SCC, .SUB, XML. Cavena’s proprietary formats are called 890 and CIP. The EBU exchange format STL is also frequently used as well as formats from our colleagues in the industry.
The Cavena Toolbox is used for subtitle conversion between different file formats as well as between different time code standards and positioning systems. The EBU file format, originally designed for teletext subtitles, has been used for exchange of subtitles between TV stations in Europe. Other formats range from simple text files containing only the subtitle text together with time codes to modern, more complex formats based on XML.
Formats for output are described under subtitle transmission formats.
