opensubtitles.org
Subtitles are an essential part of the movie-going experience for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. If it weren't for excellent subtitles, those who are hard of hearing wouldn't be able to fully enjoy movies and TV shows. Fortunately, though, there has never been a time in the history of film or TV where subtitles were more widely available. Be it through easily available closed captions on live TV, prewritten subtitles in several languages on streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, etc., decent subtitles are usually not too hard to find.
Some of you are already aware that subtitles can be inaccurate. I know for a fact that I have seen many movies and shows in which the subtitle text is completely wrong. The actor says one thing, the subtitle says another.
It is unacceptable for the deaf and hearing-impaired community to be expected to watch what is essentially a different movie or show from the rest of us in 2020. This is why so many people are pushing for subtitles and closed captions to become mandatory on all content.
Therefore, finding the best subtitle downloading site is crucial. Don't you even know that subtitle sites existed before today? In fact, there are many of them - and they are not all created equal. Some, naturally, offer more subtitles than others. Some cater to a more diverse range of languages. Others have better quality subtitles and more accurate translations. How, then, can you be assured that you will be able to find the best subtitle site? Well, you came to the right place!
To help you get the most out of your streaming experiences, I offer my comprehensive reviews of the best subtitle sites. They're evaluated based on their content quality, accessibility, and reliability. I make sure that they are user-friendly and reliable so that you can access them with ease.
Even if you can hear perfectly well, subtitles can still be a huge help when watching movies and TV shows. There are definitely moments when you don't quite catch what was said- with subtitles, you can read along so you don't need to replay the scene again. Maybe an actor has a particularly thick accent and you're struggling to understand them. With subtitles, it becomes crystal clear what's being said when you're not sure.
subtitles are the most important way for hearing-able people to access foreign films, as these films often subtitled in English; but this leaves out many people who do not know English or whose English is not good enough to follow along with a fast-paced movie. Luckily, online subtitle sites provide a community of translators who work hard to make sure the whole world can enjoy movies equally.
If you primarily stream your movies and TV shows on Netflix, then a subtitle download may be helpful to you. If you have a movie or show that has the wrong language's subtitle track, a subtitle download may also be beneficial.
But, far too often, when you download a movie, the file folder does not include a subtitle file at all. By visiting one of the best subtitle websites, though, you can have a high-quality subtitle for your favorite movies in a matter of seconds. Then it couldn't be easier from there. Simply upload your subtitle file into your media player of choice - VLC is a free one that supports all codecs, file types, and subtitle files with no problems; I highly recommend it? but there are others.
I believe that now is a good time to take a look at Open Subtitles, one of the internet's largest communities of subtitle lovers, propagators, and translators. There is much to love about this site, and we can discuss it in more detail later.
Design
Unfortunately, we have to start this review on a relatively negative note. In fact, it might be this site's Achille's Heel. I don't want to discourage you, though, from this site so early on - I truly do think that design flaws aside, it might be one of the most effective and useful subtitle sites on the web. So, let's just get the biggest negative remarks out of the way first, I suppose.
The leftmost column is home to the subtitle selection menu, and the center column has information about Open Subtitles. The rightmost column houses the subtitle downloading area.
The first thing I noticed about Open Subtitles was that it was very small. It was somewhat hard to read. The site, overall, is oriented in a way that makes it look as if your browser has zoomed out. It hasn't. It's just a design flaw. When you visit Open Subtitles, you will be greeted by a white and lime green theme, peppered in blue hyperlinks. The leftmost column is home to the subtitle selection menu, and the center column has information about OpenSubtitles. The rightmost column houses the subtitles downloading area.
Finally, below that is a set of links to other areas of the site such as My Account, About Us, and Contact.
There are some links at the top of the page to associated sites, such as Classic Movies, BRAVE, English Subtitles, and Release Log. Under that is a site menu bar with few icons compared to other sites. Here you can browse by clicking on either Search, Upload, Request, Forum, Blog, or Player (more on these features in a moment). Finally below that are links to other areas of the site such as My Account, About Us, and Contact.
The search bar on the website is simple to use and provides a lot of options for finding what you are looking for. You can type in the movie or show that you are looking for and select your language from a dropdown menu to the right. There are also options for an advanced search and an Applet search, which will allow you to find subtitles more easily. Keep scrolling down and you will find a few boxes with subtitles featured in them. These boxes offer Featured, New, Monthly Top uploaders, Weekly Most Downloaded, Latest Forum Topics, Latest Blog Articles, Requested, and Latest Comments.
Content and Features
Secondly, the subtitle selection is extremely diverse ? from films and TV shows to educational material and even YouTube videos. Finally, the website is incredibly easy to use, with search capabilities that make finding what you're looking for a breeze. All in all, Open Subtitles is an excellent resource for anyone looking to add subtitles to their viewing repertoire.
Open Subtitles is currently working on a new sleeker and more responsive website that is still in progress, Opensubtitles.com. You can also add their Chrome and Firefox extensions, making for more intuitive and streamlined subtitle searching and downloading.
The site also has a forum which is great for community building. Users can discuss movies, translations, requests, the best subtitles here, among other things. Getting to know likeminded people who share your passion for translating and subtitling can be fun and rewarding.
There is also a blog. Articles on this blog are fascinating and on topic, discussing things such as AI in subtitling, the Oscars, why subtitlers have one of the hardest jobs in TV, etc. Some worthy reads can be found here.
Each subtitle comes with its own comments section, which is a great way for users to keep content quality high. If a subtitle is particularly bad, simply let others know in the comments section!
There is a lot of activity going on here. This is one of the few subtitle sites that I actually want to spend extended periods of time on!
Mobile and Desktop Experience
The mobile site, admittedly, could be much better. There are many ads. It is not optimally geared for phones and tablets. Text is tiny. But in a pinch, it can be done on your phone.
Pricing and Plans
The site offers a VIP membership that gets rid of ads. Simply donate $15 and enjoy this VIP membership for life!
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