The examples below use the first paragraph of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863, Bliss copy, public domain). The timecodes simulate a slow reading about 70 seconds long. A real recording gives different times.
Which format to use
| Format | Looks like | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| [HH:MM:SS] | [00:01:03] |
Notes, interviews, research, show notes |
| HH:MM:SS.mmm | 00:01:03.630 |
Data work and subtitles |
| SMPTE frames | 01:01:03;18 |
Video editing, where the timecode counts frames |
| One timecode every 30 seconds | [00:00:30] |
Reading on paper |
| Speaker names | [00:00:03] ALICE: |
Interviews and dialogue |
| SRT | 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:06,840 |
Captions for YouTube and editing software |
| VTT | 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:06.840 |
Captions for web video players |
1. [HH:MM:SS], a timecode on every sentence
This is the default format. Square brackets keep the timecode apart from the words.
[00:00:00] Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
[00:00:22] Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
[00:00:39] We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
[00:00:46] We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
[00:01:03] It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.2. Milliseconds, HH:MM:SS.mmm
This layout adds thousandths of a second. It does not use brackets.
00:00:00.600 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
00:00:22.620 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
00:00:39.590 We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
00:00:46.190 We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
00:01:03.630 It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.3. SMPTE frames, HH:MM:SS:FF
The last two digits count frames, not fractions of a second. This example runs at 29.97 frames per second drop-frame, which uses a semicolon before the frames, and starts at 01:00:00;00 using the Start at setting, because many edit sequences start at 01:00:00:00. The frame rate options are 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 (drop-frame or non-drop) and 30. Set the frame rate and start timecode to match your editing project; see SMPTE timecode transcripts that match your edit.
01:00:00;17 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
01:00:22;17 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
01:00:39;16 We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
01:00:46;04 We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
01:01:03;18 It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.4. One timecode every 30 seconds
Long passages read better with fewer timecodes. You can set the interval to every sentence, every paragraph, or every 10, 15, 30 or 60 seconds. A timecode lands at the start of a sentence, so it can fall a few seconds after the mark. Here the second timecode is 00:00:39 because the sentence before it began at 00:00:22 and the next sentence begins at 00:00:39.
[00:00:00] Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
[00:00:39] We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.
[00:01:03] It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.5. With speaker names
The tool does not identify speakers. To get this layout, click a line in the transcript, type the speaker name before the text, and download your file. This example is a staged reading of the Caterpillar scene from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865, public domain), adapted slightly for speech.
[00:00:00] CATERPILLAR: Who are you?
[00:00:03] ALICE: I hardly know, sir, just at present. At least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.
[00:00:16] CATERPILLAR: What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!
[00:00:20] ALICE: I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, sir, because I'm not myself, you see.
[00:00:26] CATERPILLAR: I don't see.6. SRT subtitles
Each cue has a number, a start and end time written as HH:MM:SS,mmm with a comma before the milliseconds, and one or two lines of text, followed by a blank line. Cues have at most two lines of 42 characters and last at most 7 seconds. For the differences between caption formats, read SRT vs VTT. To bring an SRT file into your editor, see how to import it into Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro.
1
00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:06,840
Four score and seven years
ago our fathers brought forth,
2
00:00:07,370 --> 00:00:11,300
on this continent, a new nation,
3
00:00:11,830 --> 00:00:18,470
conceived in Liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that
4
00:00:18,550 --> 00:00:21,440
all men are created equal.7. WebVTT subtitles
This file shows the same cues in WebVTT format. The file starts with a WEBVTT line, and the milliseconds follow a period instead of a comma.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:06.840
Four score and seven years
ago our fathers brought forth,
00:00:07.370 --> 00:00:11.300
on this continent, a new nation,
00:00:11.830 --> 00:00:18.470
conceived in Liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that
00:00:18.550 --> 00:00:21.440
all men are created equal.Make one from your own recording
Drop an audio or video file on the time coded transcript generator. The first 10 minutes of up to 3 files a day are free, with a [HH:MM:SS] timecode on every sentence and TXT and SRT downloads. The millisecond and SMPTE formats, the start timecode, the interval options and the VTT, CSV, DOCX and JSON downloads come with a minute pack. Switching formats, frame rate, start timecode or interval relabels the transcript at once without transcribing the audio again.
For the steps and the formats in plain words, read how to add timestamps to a transcript. The timestamp generator and the SRT generator use the same tool, and best time coded transcript tools compares it with other services.