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Fix Garbled Subtitles

Detect the real encoding of subtitles that show gibberish and save them as UTF-8, one file or a whole season at once.

More tools
Subtitle formatsSRT to TextASS to SRTVTT to SRTSRT to VTTSBV to SRTLRC to SRTDFXP to SRTSMI to SRT

or drop files here

Accepts SRT, ASS, SSA, VTT, SUB, TXT, LRC

Encrypted upload. Files are deleted automatically after 1 hour.

About Fix Garbled Subtitles

Fix Garbled Subtitles is for the subtitle that shows é or rows of question marks where the words should be. Nothing is wrong with the text itself: it was saved in an older regional encoding, such as GBK for Chinese, Big5, Shift-JIS, EUC-KR or a Windows code page for Cyrillic or Western European text, and your player assumed something else. Add one file, or all the garbled files of a series at once.

Each file's encoding is worked out by checking which reading produces real text, then it's saved as UTF-8, which every modern player, TV and editor reads. Choose UTF-8 with BOM (for older players) under Save as for players that still guess wrong. Only the encoding changes: times, styles and line breaks stay as they were, and you'll see which encoding the original used. Several files come back under their own names and in one ZIP. Lines that are also out of sync can be moved earlier or later with Shift Subtitles.

How to use Fix Garbled Subtitles

  1. 1
    Upload the garbled files

    Choose or drop .srt, .ass, .ssa, .vtt, .sub, .lrc or .txt subtitles, one or many. Up to 20 go in one task, 50 with VIP.

  2. 2
    Keep auto detection

    Current encoding is set to Detect automatically; pick one yourself only if the result is still wrong.

  3. 3
    Click Fix Garbled Subtitles

    The text is decoded and saved again in the encoding you chose under Save as.

  4. 4
    Download the fixed files

    Each keeps its original name, so it still matches your video, and several also come as one ZIP.

Why use Cubfile for this

  • Smart detection

    Readings are scored by how much real text they produce, so GBK, Big5, Shift-JIS, EUC-KR and the Western, Cyrillic or Greek Windows code pages aren't confused.

  • A whole folder at once

    Fix every garbled subtitle of a series in one task, each saved under its own name.

  • Content untouched

    Only the encoding changes; times, tags and line breaks stay exactly as they were.

  • BOM for older players

    Save as UTF-8 with BOM when an older player or TV still misreads plain UTF-8.

FAQ

Fix Garbled Subtitles: questions and answers

Why do my subtitles show strange characters?
The file was saved in a regional encoding, such as GBK or Windows-1251, and the player read it as something else. Detecting the real encoding and saving the text as UTF-8 fixes it.
What if Fix Garbled Subtitles says the file is already UTF-8?
Then automatic detection found valid UTF-8. If the text still looks wrong, choose the original encoding yourself under Current encoding, for example GB18030 or Big5, and run it again.
Should Fix Garbled Subtitles save UTF-8 or UTF-8 with BOM?
Plain UTF-8 works in almost every current player and editor. Pick the BOM version for older players or TVs that ignore UTF-8 unless the file starts with that marker. Some TVs ignore .ass files altogether, and ASS to SRT turns those into a plain SRT they can read.
Is Fix Garbled Subtitles free?
Yes. Visitors get 2 tasks and free accounts 2 a day, each fixing up to 20 files, while VIP is unlimited and takes 50 files a task.
Are my subtitle files kept?
No. They're uploaded over HTTPS, re-encoded in an isolated process and deleted automatically after an hour.
Share Fix Garbled Subtitles with a friendIt runs in any browser, and they can try it without signing up.

Related tools

SRTTXT SRT to TextTurn subtitles into a readable transcript, with or without timecodes.
ASSSRT ASS to SRTConvert ASS/SSA subtitles to SRT, styling tags cleaned.
DFXPSRT DFXP to SRTConvert DFXP/TTML captions to SRT.
LRCSRT LRC to SRTTurn LRC lyrics into SRT subtitles, and back.
SRT Merge SubtitlesCombine two subtitle files into one bilingual subtitle.
SBVSRT SBV to SRTConvert YouTube SBV captions to SRT.
SRT Subtitle EditorWatch your video and type, time and fix subtitles line by line.
SRT Shift SubtitlesMove subtitles earlier or later, or fix drift between two points.