Subtitle Translation · Quick Start

Subtitle Translation Quick Start

If you want to finish your first subtitle translation as quickly as possible, this page walks you through the full flow in practical order.

Preparation

Before you start translating, complete the following preparation steps:

1. Install NativeVid

Download and install the app from the NativeVid website. NativeVid supports both Windows and macOS.

✓ System requirements: Windows 10+ or macOS 10.14+, with 8 GB of memory or more recommended.

2. Configure your API key

NativeVid uses large language model APIs for translation, so you need to configure an API key. Recommended providers are listed below. Click the provider name to open its official site and request access:

Provider	Recommended model	Why choose it
OpenAI	Latest stable GPT model	Best translation quality for professional work
DeepSeek	Latest stable DeepSeek model	Strong cost-performance with excellent quality
Google Gemini	Latest stable Gemini model	Relatively generous free tier and broad coverage
Anthropic	Latest stable Claude model	Claude models with natural, fluent translation output

Setup steps:

Open NativeVid and click “API Configuration” or “Settings”
Choose an API provider such as OpenAI or DeepSeek
Click “Get Key” to open the official site and request an API key
Enter the API key and model name. The recommended value is auto-filled by default.
Enter a configuration name and click “Save configuration”

⚠️ Note: Your API key is stored in encrypted form on your local computer and is not uploaded to any server. Keep your API key safe and do not share it with others.

Step 1: Choose subtitle files

NativeVid currently supports SRT subtitle files. You can choose a single file or process an entire folder in batch.

Supported file format

SRT - The most common subtitle format with broad compatibility

Single file vs. batch processing

📄 Single-file translation

Best for: subtitle translation for one video
Action: click “Choose File” and select the subtitle file you want to translate

📁 Batch translation

Best for: series, multi-episode subtitle sets
Action: click “Choose Folder” and select the folder that contains subtitle files

[Screenshot: file selection screen] - A screenshot of the file picker dialog would appear here

Step 2: Set translation parameters

Before you start translating, configure the following parameters:

1. Source language

Choose the original language of the subtitle file. NativeVid supports many languages, including: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, and more.

💡 Tip: If the source language is incorrect, translation quality may suffer. If you are unsure, inspect the first few subtitle lines to confirm.

2. Target language

Choose the target language you want to translate into. In most cases, pick the language your audience will use.

3. Export mode

NativeVid offers three export modes. Pick the one that matches your workflow:

Translation only:Keep only the translated text. Best when you want to replace the source subtitles.
Bilingual subtitles:Show the original and translated text together for study or comparison.
Original only:Keep the original subtitles without translating them, mainly for testing.

4. Format selection

The output subtitle format is SRT:

SRT：A universal format with the best compatibility

[Screenshot: translation parameter setup] - A screenshot of the parameter setup screen would appear here

Step 3: Start translation

Once your parameters are set, click “Start Translation” to begin.

What happens during translation

After you click “Start Translation”, the app automatically completes the full flow from parsing to result generation. It usually goes through the following stages:

Parse subtitle files: Reads subtitle text and timing information to prepare the job
Organize text for translation: Automatically organizes the text that needs translation based on file structure, reducing manual work
Run translation: Translates the full content according to your chosen source language, target language, and export mode
Generate result files: Writes the translated output into new subtitle files and saves them to the output folder

Progress monitoring

During translation, you can monitor progress in real time from the log area:

Current file being processed
Translation progress (completed / total)
Current stage (parsing, translating, exporting, and so on)
Error messages, if any

[Screenshot: translation progress screen] - A screenshot of the translation progress and logs would appear here

⏱️ Translation time: The total time depends on subtitle file size and API response speed. As a rough reference, subtitles for a 30-minute video (around 500 lines) usually take 2 to 5 minutes. All processing is local, and files are not uploaded to a server.

Step 4: Review results

Once translation is complete, you can review the results in the output folder.

Output file location

By default, translated files are saved in the same directory as the source file, and the filename gets a target-language suffix such as video_zh-CN.srt.

You can also customize the output directory in Settings.

Quality checks

After translation finishes, review these points:

✅ Whether the translation accurately conveys the original meaning
✅ Whether terminology is consistent, such as names and locations
✅ Whether subtitle timing is correct
✅ Whether formatting is correct, including punctuation and line breaks

If the translation is not ideal

If the result is not ideal, try the following:

Check whether the source and target languages were selected correctly
Try a different API model, for example moving from a lighter model to a stronger one
Review terminology settings to ensure professional terms are translated correctly
Read the best-practices guide for more tips