Convert SUP Subtitles to SBV Format
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About SUP
The SUP format is a generic container for image-based subtitles, most commonly associated with DVD and Blu-ray discs. On DVDs, these are called VobSub (.sub/.idx), and on Blu-rays, they are PGS (.sup). In both cases, the subtitles are stored as a stream of images, not as text. This ensures consistent visual appearance across all players but makes them large and impossible to edit as text.
About SBV
SBV (SubViewer) is a very simple, comma-separated subtitle format. It's most known for being one of the formats used by YouTube for caption uploads. The format consists of a start and end time on a single line, followed by the subtitle text. It's a very basic format without any styling capabilities, similar in simplicity to SRT.
SUP vs SBV
| Feature | SUP | SBV |
|---|---|---|
| Styling Support | true | false |
| Positioning Support | true | false |
| Animation Support | false | false |
| Learning Curve | expert | beginner |
| Quality Rating | 5 | 3 |
| Patent Status | industry standard | proprietary |
| Year Introduced | 1997 | 2009 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between PGS and SUP?
PGS is a specific type of SUP stream used for Blu-ray discs. 'SUP' is often used more generically to refer to any image-based subtitle stream, including those from DVDs (which are technically VobSubs). Our converter correctly identifies and handles these different image-based formats.
How do I convert a SUP file to SRT?
Converting an image-based format like SUP to a text-based format like SRT requires Optical Character Recognition (OCR). This process involves software scanning the images of the subtitles and attempting to recognize the characters to convert them back into text. The accuracy can vary depending on the quality and font of the subtitles.
Is SBV the same as SubViewer (.sub)?
They are very similar but have distinct formatting. The .sbv extension is specifically associated with YouTube's variant of the format. While they share the same core principle of 'start_time,end_time' followed by text, there can be minor incompatibilities between them. Our converter handles both.
Why would I use SBV?
The primary reason to use SBV is for uploading captions to YouTube, as it's one of their natively supported formats. It's a simple, no-frills format that is easy to create and edit in a plain text editor.
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