PotPlayer is one of the most versatile and powerful media players available today. It boasts a wide range of features that make it a favorite for many users, especially those who prefer it over options like VLC. One notable feature of PotPlayer is its ability to automatically load and manage subtitles for videos. While many prominent players like VLC are well-known for their capacity to auto load subtitles, it’s essential to note that each player has its unique nuances and approaches to handling this feature. If you’re looking to add or auto load subtitles to a video in PotPlayer, this guide will provide an in-depth, step-by-step walkthrough to ensure you can synchronize, display, and enjoy your video content with the necessary subtitle support in PotPlayer.
Also see: How to Add Subtitles to Video in Windows 11
Page Contents
1. Adding subtitles to a video in PotPlayer
To ensure PotPlayer automatically recognizes a subtitle file for a video, both your video and subtitle files should be appropriately named and organized. PotPlayer typically tries to match subtitles based on the video file’s name.
- Ensure that your video and subtitle files are in the same folder.
- The subtitle file should have the same name as the video file. For instance, if your video is named “VideoName.mp4“, your subtitle should ideally be “VideoName.srt“.
Useful tip: Convert SRT to 3D Subtitles and Add them to 3D Movies
Adding multiple subtitle files of different languages to PotPlayer
PotPlayer is smart enough to recognize appended texts at the end of subtitle filenames as descriptors or labels. This is particularly useful when you have multiple subtitles for different languages or versions.
- If you have a video named “MovieName.mp4” and you have two subtitles for English and Chinese, you can name them “MovieName.english.srt” and “MovieName.chinese.srt“.
- When you play the video in PotPlayer, it will auto-load both subtitle files.
To switch between these loaded subtitles:
- Play your video in PotPlayer.
- Right-click inside the player window.
- Hover over “Subtitles” and then click on “Add/Select Subtitles“.
- A list will appear showing the loaded subtitles. Choose your desired subtitle (e.g., English or Chinese) from the list.
Tip: This feature enables viewers to have a choice among various subtitle languages or versions, enhancing the viewing experience, especially for multilingual content.
Related resource: How to Download Subtitles in VLC on Windows 11
2. Setting up PotPlayer to auto load subtitles
By default, PotPlayer should automatically load subtitles when they are appropriately named, as outlined in the previous step. However, if PotPlayer doesn’t auto load subtitles despite having the correct files and filenames, you’ll need to enable the option for it to auto load available subtitles during video playback.
- Launch PotPlayer.
- Right-click anywhere inside the PotPlayer window. This will bring up a context menu.
- Hover your mouse over “Subtitles” to reveal a submenu.
- In the submenu, make sure the option “Show/hide Subtitles” or a similar phrase (depending on the version) is enabled.
Now, every time you load a video, PotPlayer will automatically search for a matching subtitle file in the video’s directory and load it.
Handy guide: How to Watch Netflix with Dual Subtitles
3. Manually adding subtitles (if needed)
In cases where the subtitles don’t auto-load, or if you want to load a different subtitle file:
- Play your video in PotPlayer.
- Right-click inside the player window.
- Hover over “Subtitles“, select “Add/Select Subtitles“, and then click on “Load Subtitle“.
- Navigate to the location of your subtitle file, select it, and click “Open”.
Your selected subtitle will now appear alongside your video. Adjust synchronization or style as needed from the “Subtitles” menu.
See also: How to Merge Subtitles With Video Permanently
4. Synchronizing subtitles in PotPlayer
Sometimes, even after loading the subtitles, you might find them out of sync with the video. Fortunately, PotPlayer offers easy ways to adjust synchronization:
- Play your video and observe the subtitle timing.
- Right-click inside the player window and hover over “Subtitles“.
- Next, hover over “Subtitle Sync“. Here, you’ll be presented with several options:
- “Increase Subtitle Sync by 0.5 Sec” – Use this if your subtitles are appearing too late.
- “Decrease Subtitle Sync by 0.5 Sec” – Use this if your subtitles are appearing too early.
- For larger adjustments, you can also use:
- “Increase Subtitle Sync by 5 Sec“
- “Decrease Subtitle Sync by 5 Sec“
- “Increase Subtitle Sync by 50 Sec“
- “Decrease Subtitle Sync by 50 Sec“
- Choose the relevant option based on your needs, and adjust until the subtitles match the video’s timing.
- Additionally, you can use shortcut keys for swift adjustments:
- > or .: Hasten subtitles by 0.5 seconds (Move them forward in time).
- < or ,: Delay subtitles by 0.5 seconds (Move them backward in time).
5. Customizing subtitle appearance in PotPlayer
PotPlayer offers an array of customization options to ensure that your subtitles look just the way you like:
- Right-click inside the player window.
- Hover over “Subtitles“, select “Subtitle Style“, and then click on “Subtitle Font Style Settings“.
- In the window that appears, you can adjust:
- Font style, size, and color.
- Subtitle background color and transparency.
- Subtitle position and alignment on the screen.
- Once you’ve made your adjustments, click “OK” to apply the changes.
Tip: A light-colored font with a subtle shadow or black outline usually stands out well against most backgrounds.
Final thoughts
Beyond the convenience of automatically loading subtitles for videos in PotPlayer, users can also freely synchronize, customize, and position subtitles to suit their preferences. Additionally, the recent versions of PotPlayer have introduced a subtitles sidebar, allowing users to directly search for and obtain subtitles from trusted sources integrated within the player. It’s this commitment to the user experience that distinguishes PotPlayer from many other media players on the market.
