How to Download Subtitles From Any Website (HLS & WebVTT)
Save the subtitles from video players on almost any site, including segmented HLS and DASH streams. A step-by-step guide to Universal capture.
Online courses, news sites, conference recordings and many streaming services show subtitles in their own video player, with no way to download them. The subtitles still have to reach your browser, though, and that is where you can catch them.
How web players load subtitles
Most players download a subtitle file separately from the video, usually WebVTT or TTML. Streaming players that use HLS or DASH go one step further and split the subtitles into many small segments, a few seconds each, listed in a playlist file. Saving just one request gives you a few lines; to get the whole track you need every segment, put back together in order.
Capture subtitles with Universal mode
- Open the page with the video and click the SubtitleDown icon.
- Turn on Capture subtitles on this site. Your browser asks for permission for that one site only.
- Reload the page, start the video and switch its subtitles on.
- Open SubtitleDown again: captured tracks appear in the list. Segmented streams are stitched into one complete track automatically.
- Choose a format and download, or open the track in the editor.
If nothing shows up, click Scan player tracks. It reads subtitles the player has already loaded, including players inside embedded frames.
Is Universal capture safe?
Universal capture only runs on sites you switch it on for, and you can switch it off again at any time. Everything happens on your device: captured subtitles are kept in temporary browser storage and deleted when you close the tab. Nothing is sent to our servers.
What it can’t do
Some services protect their streams with DRM or draw subtitles directly into the video picture. Those subtitles never reach the browser as text, so they cannot be captured, and SubtitleDown does not try to get around such protection. Please respect the terms of the sites you use.
For more detail, read the Universal capture guide, or learn which subtitle format to choose for the file you download.
Frequently asked questions
Which websites does Universal capture work on?
Most sites whose player loads subtitles as text files (WebVTT, TTML, SRT) or as HLS/DASH subtitle streams. It does not work with DRM-protected subtitles or subtitles burned into the video.
Does it slow down the website?
No. It only looks at files the player downloads anyway and ignores anything that is not a subtitle.