How to add an external subtitle file

The subtitle file is sitting right next to the video and the player acts as though it does not exist. Loading it takes two clicks, and no renaming.

Why it is not picked up automatically

Auto-loading a subtitle file usually depends on its name matching the video exactly. One extra word, a different language tag or a stray bracket and the match fails silently — which is why the file appears to be ignored.

Loading it by hand

Open the subtitle menu while the film is playing and choose to add a file. Point it at the .srt, .ass, .vtt or .sub sitting in the folder and it loads immediately. There is no need to rename anything to match the video.

It sticks, and it casts

Once loaded, the subtitle stays with that file, so reopening the film later brings it back. And because AIX Player draws subtitles into the picture before casting, an external file reaches the television along with the video.

Matching the subtitle to your copy of the film

Subtitle timing is written against one particular release — the theatrical cut, the extended edition, the version with the studio logos trimmed. A file made for a different release will be consistently early or late from the first line. If a subtitle site offers several, the one whose name most closely matches your video file usually needs no adjustment at all.

Adding more than one language

You can load several subtitle files for the same film and switch between them while it plays, which is useful when watching with someone who reads a different language. Advanced users can show two at once — one above the other — which is the arrangement people use for language practice.

They travel to the television too

An external subtitle file is invisible to a TV, because it was never part of the video. AIX Player draws subtitles into the picture before casting, so a file you loaded from your own folder appears on the television exactly as it does on your PC — in the size and style you set.

Worth knowing