Caption conversion

Convert SRT to SCC

SubRip Subtitle (SRT) to Scenarist Closed Caption (SCC). Convert in the web app, automate with the REST API, or run it offline with the CLI.

Convert SRT to SCC free How to convert

Converting SRT to SCC turns ordinary subtitles into CEA-608 broadcast closed captions. This is not a simple reformat. SCC has hard limits that SRT does not: 32 characters per row, a fixed Latin character set, and frame-based 29.97 fps timecode. Closed Caption Converter re-wraps, re-times and encodes your captions to meet those limits.

What carries over

Caption text and the reading order of each line
Italics, encoded as 608 italic attributes
Cue timing, re-expressed as 29.97 fps SMPTE timecode

What changes

Lines longer than 32 characters must be re-wrapped. Turn on Auto Format to do this automatically
Characters outside the 608 character set, such as emoji, CJK or many symbols, cannot be encoded
You must choose a frame rate and drop-frame or non-drop-frame timecode, because SRT has neither
Very short gaps between cues may be adjusted. A 608 decoder needs time to load each caption, at 2 bytes per frame
Font colors and HTML styling other than italics are not carried over

How to convert SRT to SCC

The same conversion engine powers all three, so a job you set up in the web app produces identical output from the API or CLI.

In the web app

Sign in to the web app, or start a free trial.
Upload your .srt file and select SubRip Video Subtitle Script as the source profile.
Select Scenarist V1.0 as the target profile.
Review the recommended settings for this conversion.
Run the conversion and download your .scc file.

With the API

POST /jobs

curl -X POST https://api.closedcaptionconverter.com/jobs \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "source=@input.srt" \
  -F 'config={
    "job_type": "convert",
    "source_profile": "SubRip Video Subtitle Script",
    "target_profile": "Scenarist V1.0",
    "target_frameRate": 29.97,
    "target_dropFrame": true,
    "auto_format": true,
    "max_characters": 32,
    "max_lines": 2,
    "fix_overlap": true
  }'

See API Getting Started for authentication and response handling.

With the CLI

Command line

ccconverter \
  --source input.srt \
  --target output.scc \
  --source_profile "SubRip Video Subtitle Script" \
  --target_profile "Scenarist V1.0" \
  --target_frameRate 29.97 \
  --target_dropFrame true \
  --auto_format true \
  --max_characters 32 \
  --max_lines 2 \
  --fix_overlap true

The CLI runs fully offline on macOS, Windows and Linux. See the CLI docs for every flag.

Recommended settings

Target frame rate	29.97 fps, drop-frame, unless your delivery spec says otherwise.
Auto Format	Max characters 32 and max lines 2 are a safe default for pop-on captions.
Minimum duration	Keep captions on screen long enough to read, for example 1 second.
Fix overlap	SCC cannot show two pop-on captions at once, so overlapping SRT cues must be resolved.

Format-specific options are covered in Encoding & Decoding Options and Profiles & Formats.

SRT to SCC questions

SCC encodes CEA-608 captions, which were designed for analog television with a fixed grid of 32 columns. Any line longer than that must be wrapped onto another row.

CEA-608 includes the common Western European accented letters and a set of special characters such as ♪, ® and ½. Characters outside that set have no 608 code and cannot be encoded. Check non-Latin-script subtitles before delivering them as SCC.

SCC timecode is conventionally 29.97 fps, and many 23.976 deliveries still use a 29.97 SCC timed to real time. Check your delivery spec. Closed Caption Converter lets you set source and target frame rates independently so the captions stay aligned with the picture. If 708 or native frame rates are required, consider MCC.

Learn more about these formats

Source

SubRip Subtitle (SRT)

What an SRT (.srt) subtitle file is, its timing and numbering rules, supported tags and encoding, and how to convert SRT to SCC, WebVTT, EBU-STL and more.

Target

Scenarist Closed Caption (SCC)

What an SCC (.scc) caption file is, how CEA-608 hex codes, 29.97 drop-frame timecode and pop-on/roll-up modes work, and how to convert SCC files.

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