Convert SBV to SRT (YouTube Caption Converter)

If you have ever downloaded captions from YouTube Studio, you likely received an .sbv file.

The problem? Almost nothing else supports SBV format. Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC, and most social media tools expect SRT.

What is an SBV File?

SBV (SubViewer) is a very simple subtitle format used by Google/YouTube. It lacks:

• Sequence numbers (1, 2, 3...)
• Standard SRT formatting.

SBV Example:

SBVCopy
0:00:00.000,0:00:02.000
Welcome to my channel.

SRT Example (Target):

SRTCopy
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000
Welcome to my channel.

How to Convert SBV to SRT

Since manually adding sequence numbers and changing timestamps is impossible for long videos, you need an automated tool.

1. Download your captions from YouTube Studio (Subtitles tab -> Three dots -> Download -> .sbv).
2. Sign up or sign in at intlpull.com and create a project.
3. Open the project and use Import to upload the .sbv file.
4. Select SRT as the output.
5. Download the converted file from the project.

If you need translations, use Add Language in the project to auto-translate after import.

Now you can drag that SRT file into Premiere Pro, Final Cut, or upload it to Facebook/LinkedIn natively.

Why not just download SRT from YouTube?

Sometimes YouTube only offers the SBV or VTT option depending on how the captions were generated (auto-gen vs. uploaded). Knowing how to convert them gives you control over your content.

More Captioning Tools

• Subtitle Editor - Clean up auto-generated YouTube mistakes.
• VTT to SRT - If YouTube gave you a VTT file instead.