VIDEO / SUBTITLE DELIVERY
Find subtitle overlaps
before you hand off the files.
A file can parse correctly and still have cues that overlap or disappear too quickly. Use this three-cue example to separate a timing conflict from a reading-speed warning.
One overlap, visible on a timeline
Cue 1 ends at 00:00:03,000. Cue 2 starts at 00:00:02,800. Their overlap is 200 ms. Overlaps may be intentional for simultaneous speakers, so review the video before changing them.
Run the worked example
- Download workshop-review.srt. Open the free checker and select that file under Add delivery files.
- Use the default thresholds: 20 characters/s, 42 characters/line, 2 lines/cue, 80 ms gap, 700 ms minimum duration and 7,000 ms maximum duration.
- Click Run delivery check. You should see 3 cues, 1 error and 4 warnings.
- Export Issues CSV and compare it with the expected issue report.
| Cue | Timing | Review |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.000–3.000 s | No issue is attached to this cue; the overlap is reported on the later cue. |
| 2 | 2.800–4.000 s | Overlap error; reading-speed and line-length warnings. |
| 3 | 5.000–5.400 s | Short-duration and reading-speed warnings. |
Thresholds are editable review rules. They are not a claim of compliance with a broadcaster or streaming platform.
A constant offset cannot fix this
Adding 500 ms to every timestamp shifts both overlapping cues by the same amount. Their 200 ms overlap remains. Offsets solve a different problem: subtitles that are uniformly early or late relative to video.
Shortening has a tradeoff
With an 80 ms minimum gap, cue 1 would need to end at 2.720 s, just before cue 2 starts at 2.800 s. That removes the overlap but reduces reading time. Check the words and audio before accepting it.
Watch for nested cues
A long cue from 1–10 seconds can overlap both a short cue at 2–3 seconds and another at 4–5 seconds. Comparing only adjacent cue end times misses the second conflict. Cue Delivery Desk tracks the furthest active end time during its sorted overlap check, so nested intervals are flagged too.
Fixes are still editorial decisions. An overlap checker cannot know whether a speaker should stay on screen or whether the timing matches the audio.
Choose the right edition
Free Lite: inspect one SRT or basic WebVTT file at a time and export CSV/JSON issue reports. No account or installation.
Full offline edition · €15: check up to 50 files (25 MB combined), apply explicit offset/scale settings, calculate timing from two anchors, optionally shorten overlaps, and export a delivery ZIP with audit records and change logs. Source, examples and documentation are included.
Neither edition transcribes or translates audio. Advanced WebVTT STYLE/REGION blocks and multiline header metadata are rejected. For comprehensive subtitle editing, Subtitle Edit is a capable free alternative; this desk focuses on checking and packaging a delivery.