If you are into video editing, you might have come across the term VTT. But what exactly is VTT, and how does it work? In this article, we will take a closer look at VTT in video editing.
What Is VTT?
VTT stands for “Web Video Text Track.” It is a format used to display text captions or subtitles for online videos. VTT files are simple text files that contain timestamps and the corresponding text to be displayed on the video player.
How Does VTT Work?
VTT files work by specifying the time when a particular caption or subtitle should be displayed on the video player. The format uses WebVTT syntax, which includes a cue identifier, timestamps for start and end times, and the text to be displayed.
For instance, consider the following example:
1 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.000 This is the first subtitle. 2 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.500 This is the second subtitle.
In this example, there are two cues or captions specified in the file. The first cue starts at 10 seconds and ends at 13 seconds, displaying “This is the first subtitle.” Similarly, the second cue starts at 15 seconds and ends at 17.5 seconds, displaying “This is the second subtitle.”
Why Use VTT?
There are several reasons why you might want to use VTT in your online videos:
- Accessibility: Captions or subtitles make your video content accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Localization: Adding captions or subtitles allows you to reach an international audience by translating your content into different languages.
- SEO: Search engines can crawl and index your captions or subtitles, improving your video’s discoverability.
How to Create VTT Files?
Creating VTT files is relatively easy, as they are simple text files that can be created using any text editor. You need to include the cue identifier, start and end timestamps, and the text to be displayed.
For instance, you can create a VTT file for the above example as follows:
WEBVTT 1 00:00:10. Note that every VTT file should start with the "WEBVTT" identifier on a new line.How to Add VTT Files to Your Video?
To add VTT files to your video, you need to specify the URL of the file in the "track" element of your video player. For instance, consider the following HTML code:In this code, we have specified a track element with "kind=captions," which tells the browser that this is a caption or subtitle track. We have also specified the URL of our VTT file in the "src" attribute.
Conclusion
VTT is an essential format for online videos that allows you to add captions or subtitles to your content. With its simple syntax and easy integration with video players, VTT is a must-have for any video editor who wants to make their content accessible to a broader audience.
