Captions and Subtitles

Subtitles provide viewers with a video’s dialogue in written form.
 
Captions include subtitles plus a written description of what is occurring in their videos for viewers who might not be able to hear or understand the sound.

To turn on captions or subtitles when viewing a video, click the CC button in the player's bottom toolbar. In the menu that appears, select the caption or subtitle track you’d like to see.
 
To see captions in action, try turning them on in the video below:

On the Advanced tab of any video’s Settings, you’ll see different options for adding captions to your videos:
 
Upload: If you already have caption files, upload them in any of our supported formats.
 
Editor: launch Amara’s editor and create your own files without leaving Vimeo.
 
Purchase: purchase subtitling and captioning services provided by Amara.
 
If you’re uploading a file, click Choose File, specify the language, and tell us whether it’s a caption or subtitle file.
 
Once the file is uploaded, check the box next to the file name to activate it. Uncheck the box to deactivate the file, or click the red X to delete it entirely.

We support SRT, WebVTT, DFXP/TTML, SCC, and SAMI files, but we recommend using WebVTT whenever possible.
 
If you purchase files from Amara, they will be delivered as WebVTT.

Please note that we also recommend encoding your caption files in UTF-8 format. Otherwise, captions that contain special characters may not display properly during playback.​

Video creators upload captions and subtitles to their own videos. If you do not see your language, it probably means that the video has not yet been transcribed or translated. Feel free to contact the video creator directly to inquire!

On Vimeo, you can create your own captions using the Amara editor or purchase captions and translated subtitles created by Amara. You’ll see both options on Advanced tab of every video’s Settings.
 
Dotsub is another popular option for translations. Read on to learn more.

Vimeo + Amara provides a free and simple method of creating subtitles and captions for your videos. To get started:

1) Go to the Advanced tab of your video's settings.
2) Click Launch editor.
3) Select the language your video is in.
4) Follow Amara's instructions to create a new file.

​For an in-depth step-by-step, hop on over to Amara's handy FAQ.

Dotsub provides a free platform for creating captions and translated subtitles for your videos. To get started:

1) Visit Dotsub and create an account.
2) Once you're logged in, create your caption and translated subtitle files.
3) Your subtitles then can be downloaded from Dotsub, and uploaded to your video on Vimeo.

​For in-depth step-by-step, Dotsub provides help and tutorials.​

We support all of these wonderful languages:

Abkhazian
Afar
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Albanian
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Catalan
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Chinese (Hong Kong SAR China)
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Chinese (Singapore)
Chinese (Taiwan)
Chinese (Traditional Han)
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German (Switzerland)
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Japanese
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Urdu
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
Western Frisian
Wolof
Xhosa
Yiddish
Yoruba
Zulu

If you're uploading a file in a mysterious dialect that our player doesn't seem to support, feel free to get in touch.

Our partner, Participatory Culture Foundation, Inc. (Amara, for short) provides two services under the Amara brand:  (1) software that allows users to add and edit captions/subtitles and (2) captioning and subtitling services provided by a community of transcribers and translators.
 
Vimeo members can use the Amara editor to create or edit their own subtitles or purchase Amara subtitling and captioning services. Simply head to the Advanced tab of any video’s Settings page to get started.
 
If you need services other than those offered through Vimeo, you can contact Amara directly.

Your caption and subtitle files will be delivered in WebVTT (web video text track).

Yes, Amara can provide many more translation services than those offered directly through Vimeo. Please contact Amara directly with any special requests.

Amara can handle captioning and translating videos that contain more than one language, but you can’t place the order through Vimeo.

Contact Amara directly to inquire about this.

Sadly, you cannot. Amara requires you to purchase Full Service English U.S. captions before they will translate them into other languages.

Unfortunately, Amara cannot translate files that you created yourself. To purchase translations, you’ll need to also purchase Full-Service English U.S. captions (these will be included in your translations purchase).

You sure can! But you’ll need to contact Amara directly.

If you purchased Basic or Professional captions, you may correct them yourself using the Amara editor.
 
If you are unhappy with your Full Service translations, please contact Amara support.

When you purchase Amara subtitling, captioning, or translation services, , it’s helpful to provide a list of any unusual words or phrases or difficult-to-understand dialog.
 
Please include a comma-separated list of terms that will be helpful to the Amara translators and transcribers. This could include the proper spelling of names, slang terms, technical terms, and colloquial references. Be specific about where in your video these terms are used. To ensure you get the best possible service, be as thorough and detailed as possible.

From the Advanced tab of any video’s Settings, find the Captions & Subtitles section and click Launch under “Editor” to open the Amara Editor.
 
From there, you’ll be able to play and pause your video, and type captions as you go along. Simply follow the on-screen instructions or visit Amara’s FAQ for an in-depth tutorial.