Convert MP4 video to text
Choose a video file and only its audio track is extracted and transcribed. The video itself is never uploaded. The result plays back as captions over the video, and you can export it as SRT subtitles.
You can normally leave this on Auto. Change it only if the result clearly has the wrong number of speakers
How to transcribe an MP4 video
- Set the model, language and speaker diarization first, because transcription starts as soon as the video is loaded. For videos with background music or sound effects, choose Small or a larger model.
- Drop the video file here or click to choose it. The audio track is extracted inside your browser as well, and lines appear on screen as soon as they are finalized.
- When it finishes, play the video and correct the wording and timing while the result runs as captions. Then export it as a TXT or SRT file. What to check before using it as subtitles is covered on the Subtitle (SRT) generation page.
How video transcription works here
Only the audio is extracted, so resolution and video codec make no difference to the result. Videos with no audio track cannot be processed. Loud background music or ambient noise does reduce accuracy — for such material, use the small model or larger, or normalise the volume beforehand.
When transcription finishes, the result is overlaid on the video as captions during playback. Fix the wording while you watch, or switch to translated captions with the translate function. Export is available as plain text (TXT) and as subtitles (SRT). SRT carries timecodes, so it loads directly into video editors or YouTube. With speaker diarization enabled, each line also records who was speaking.
Videos shot on a smartphone load as they are once you move them to your computer. Videos from the iPhone camera are saved as MOV, which works the same way as MP4. For online meeting recordings such as Zoom or Teams, the steps are on the Meeting transcription page.
If something goes wrong
- If it stops with an error, check that the video actually contains audio. Screen recordings made with the microphone and system audio turned off have no sound.
- Long 4K videos easily go over the 2 GB limit and cannot be loaded. Export just the audio as M4A or MP3 with a video editor or a similar tool, and choose that file instead.
Frequently asked questions
Which video formats are supported?
MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI, WMV, FLV, MPG, MPEG-TS and 3GP. In every case only the audio track is extracted for transcription.
Is the video file really not uploaded?
Correct. Reading the video and extracting its audio both happen inside the browser, so the file never leaves your device.
Can I use the result as a subtitle file?
Yes. Exporting as SRT produces timecoded subtitles that video editors and YouTube can load directly. Before exporting, play the video to check the caption text and timing on screen and correct the wording.
Can it handle long videos?
There is no duration limit as long as the file is within 2 GB (500 MB on phones). The tab does need to stay open while processing runs.
Getting the audio ready, and after transcribing
Help us improve the service
Sending us the circumstances of a run — successful or failed — helps us track down problems (a failure rate needs both). Knowing which devices and settings fail most often lets us revise the recommended defaults and fix the bugs behind them. If you don't mind, leaving this on is a real help.
What is sent
Your device specs (GPU model, memory, core count), browser and OS, the model and language you chose, how far the run got, the error details, the file's format with a rough size and length, and how long it took.
What is never sent
Audio, transcripts, file names, and IP addresses. The data goes only to this site's own server, never to a third-party service.