# Add support for CC (Closed Captions) **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Suggestions\ **Created:** [February 23, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335 "2017-02-23T16:04:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/1 "2017-02-23T16:04:03Z")
My films play PERFECTLY in QuickTime, subtitles and all. However, in Plex, the subtitle menu gets ludicrously complex to navigate, and none of them actually work. I’ve tried [opensubtitles.org](http://opensubtitles.org) (inaccurate/way off the mark). I’ve tried various conversion programs to extract .srt files, which either don’t work properly or give poor results. What I’d like to see is essentially QuickTime quality, versatility and reliability in the Plex player. Plex should be able to read the CC already embedded in the file and play it back without the need for us to faff around with re-coding, exporting, creating additional files or adjusting settings using trial and error. No more frustration/wasted time trying to get it right/figure it out ourselves. It should just work. As is. Out of the box. Add file to server. Play. End of. ---
**Author:** ![AgentDrTran](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/agentdrtran/32/6840_2.png) [@AgentDrTran](https://forums.plex.tv/u/AgentDrTran)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/2 "2017-02-24T21:42:44Z")
what subtitles are you having issues with? I’ve never had an issue plex and subtitles, either in the file or as an external .ass/.srt etc. ---
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/3 "2017-03-02T16:04:46Z")
Literally all closed caption subtitles. All of them. On all of my films. I know I’m not supposed to, but I remove DRM for films I’ve purchased (because I’ve actually bought them and feel I should be able to watch them however I like!) via iTunes using M4VGear, which ONLY removes the DRM from the film, and does so flawlessly. This leaves me with a flawless HD film with built in closed captions, which plays absolutely perfectly using CC-compatible software like QuickTime. But when playing these films back in Plex I get a HUGE list of available subtitles (different to the compact list I see in QuickTime) and none of them actually work. Only a couple of them actually show anything at all, and it’s usually just a few phrases of gibberish and then it stops working altogether. Plex doesn’t offer support for CC. If you’ve never had issues, congratulations! Your files are obviously very different to mine… From what I understand Plex currently requires inbuilt srt (or other compatible non-cc) subtitles, or external srt files (either created as an additional file, or sourced from elsewhere on the internet) in order to process subtitles correctly. My files don’t use those, because they have CC, which is (in my opinion) superior. SRT is a much more basic technology. Hence my suggestion that the player get an upgrade 😛 ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/4 "2017-03-02T16:18:59Z")
I haven’t heard of a special subtitle _format_ called ‘closed captions’. Although I cannot proof that this is not ‘a thing’. 🙂 I do however know of subtitles which are of the _type_ closed captions. These can be in any format, e.g. TX3G, VOBSUB, PGS, ASS etc pp… To get a hint what subtitle format you have, a complete mediainfo of a file with these subtitles would be useful. [download mediainfo here](https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo "download mediainfo here") (pay attention during installation, it comes with a ‘piggybacked’ installer which asks to install additional crapware. Make sure to set/clear the right checkboxes!) Once it is installed, analyse the file, then go to: File - Export - Text (Advanced mode) Later the developers would also need a sample file with embedded subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/5 "2017-03-02T18:58:39Z")
Thanks for the advice! Have downloaded and installed mediainfo, and analysed one of my film purchases. Subtitle format seems to be either TX3G or c608 (which I’m fairly certain is a closed caption file type). Full text file below: General Complete name : /Volumes/Jon\_Ext/Media/Films/Conversions/Doctor Strange (2016).mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media / Version 2 Codec ID : mp42 (mp42/isom) File size : 4.35 GiB Duration : 1h 55mn Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 5 386 Kbps Movie name : Doctor Strange (2016) Performer : Scott Derrickson Performer/Sorted by : Scott Derrickson Director : Scott Derrickson Actor : Benedict Cumberbatch / Chiwetel Ejiofor / Rachel McAdams / Benedict Wong / Michael Stuhlbarg / Benjamin Bratt / Scott Adkins / Mads Mikkelsen / Tilda Swinton / Zara Phythian / Alaa Safi / Katrina Durden / Topo Wresniwiro / Umit Ulgen / Linda Duan / Mark Anthony Brighton / Meera Syal / Amy Landecker / Adam Pelta-Pauls / Sarah Malin / Eben Young / Kobna Holdbrook-Smith / Elizabeth Healey / Guillaume Faure / Daniel Dow / Stan Lee / Ezra Khan / Kimberly Van Luin / Pat Kiernan Screenplay by : Scott Derrickson / Jon Spaihts / C. Robert Cargill Producer : Kevin Feige Production studio : Marvel Genre : Action & Adventure ContentType : Short Film Description : From Marvel comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, whose Recorded date : UTC 2017-02-28 08:00:00 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:33:27 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:13:00 Copyright : © 2016 Marvel Cover : Yes Rating : None Title/Sort : Doctor Strange (2016) LongDescription : From Marvel comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing, and hope, in an unlikely place – a mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj. He quickly learns that this is not just a center for healing but also the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality. Before long Strange – armed with newly acquired magical powers – is forced to choose whether to return to his old life or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence. PurchaseDate : 2017-02-15 16:37:39 AppleStoreCountry : United States AppleStoreCatalogID : 1164294784 GenreID : 4401 ContentRating : mpaa|PG-13|300|for sci-fi violence and action throughout, and an intense crash sequence. Video ID : 6 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : High@L4 Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 1h 55mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 4 501 Kbps Maximum bit rate : 768 Kbps Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 804 pixels Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1 Frame rate mode : Variable Frame rate : 23.976 fps Minimum frame rate : 23.077 fps Maximum frame rate : 35.294 fps Original frame rate : 25.000 fps Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel\*Frame) : 0.122 Stream size : 3.63 GiB (84%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 18:07:50 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:35 Audio #1 ID : 1 Format : AAC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Format profile : LC Codec ID : 40 Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 124 Kbps Maximum bit rate : 215 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : Front: L R Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Frame rate : 46.875 fps (1024 spf) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 102 MiB (2%) Language : English Default : Yes Alternate group : 1 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:33:28 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:40:35 Menus : 14 Audio #2 ID : 2 Format : AC-3 Format/Info : Audio Coding 3 Mode extension : CM (complete main) Format settings, Endianness : Big Codec ID : ac-3 Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 384 Kbps Channel(s) : 6 channels Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Frame rate : 31.250 fps (1536 spf) Bit depth : 16 bits Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 316 MiB (7%) Language : English Default : No Alternate group : 1 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:40:36 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:46:13 Audio #3 ID : 3 Format : AAC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Format profile : LC Codec ID : 40 Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 125 Kbps Maximum bit rate : 197 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : Front: L R Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Frame rate : 46.875 fps (1024 spf) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 103 MiB (2%) Language : French Default : No Alternate group : 1 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:46:14 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:53:21 Audio #4 ID : 4 Format : AAC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Format profile : LC Codec ID : 40 Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 124 Kbps Maximum bit rate : 212 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : Front: L R Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Frame rate : 46.875 fps (1024 spf) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 102 MiB (2%) Language : Spanish Default : No Alternate group : 1 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 17:53:22 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 18:00:34 Audio #5 ID : 5 Format : AAC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Format profile : LC Codec ID : 40 Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 123 Kbps Maximum bit rate : 210 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : Front: L R Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz Frame rate : 46.875 fps (1024 spf) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 101 MiB (2%) Language : English Default : No Alternate group : 1 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 18:00:35 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 18:07:49 tagc : public.accessibility.describes-video Text #1 ID : 7 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 2 bps Stream size : 1.47 KiB (0%) Language : French Default : Yes Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:35 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:35 Text #2 ID : 8 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 86 bps Stream size : 72.3 KiB (0%) Language : French Default : No Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:36 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:40 Forced Alternative : 7 Text #3 ID : 9 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 0 bps Stream size : 177 Bytes (0%) Language : Spanish Default : No Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:41 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:41 Text #4 ID : 10 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 82 bps Stream size : 68.9 KiB (0%) Language : Spanish Default : No Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:41 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:45 Forced Alternative : 9 Text #5 ID : 11 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 81 bps Stream size : 68.0 KiB (0%) Language : English Default : No Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:46 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:50 Text #6 ID : 12 Format : Timed Text Muxing mode : sbtl Codec ID : tx3g Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 82 bps Stream size : 68.6 KiB (0%) Language : Portuguese Default : No Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:51 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:54 Text #7 ID : 13-CC1 Format : EIA-608 Muxing mode : Final Cut Codec ID : c608 Duration : 1h 54mn Bit rate mode : Constant Stream size : 0.00 Byte (0%) Language : English Default : No Forced : No Alternate group : 2 Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:55 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:12:59 CaptionServiceName : CC1 Menu ID : 14 Codec ID : text Duration : 1h 55mn Encoded date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:13:00 Tagged date : UTC 2017-02-15 19:13:00 Menu For : 1 00:00:00.000 : Prologue 00:04:34.000 : The Good Doctor 00:10:17.000 : Medicine And Mania 00:18:32.000 : Kamar-Taj 00:24:37.000 : Open Your Eye 00:31:40.000 : The Mystic Arts 00:38:33.000 : Surrender 00:43:16.000 : Infinite Dangers 00:48:24.000 : Eye Of Agamotto 00:55:34.000 : Sanctum Siege 01:05:04.000 : Astral Battle 01:12:38.000 : Manhattan Mirror Dimension 01:22:14.000 : It’s Not About You 01:28:28.000 : Defending Hong Kong 01:35:01.000 : The Dark Dimension 01:45:06.000 : End Credits Bit rate mode : VBR ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/6 "2017-03-02T21:13:49Z")
I guess the one you are after is the last subtitle stream: `EIA-608` > **[EIA-608](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIA-608)** > > EIA-608, also known as "line 21 captions" and "CEA-608", used to be the standard for closed captioning for NTSC TV broadcasts in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It also specifies an "Extended Data Service", which is a means for including a VCR control service with a now/next EPG for NTSC transmissions that operates on the even line 21 field, similar to the TeleText based VPS that operates on line 16 which is used in PAL countries. > It was developed by the Electronic Industries Alliance and ... Notice that support for that is very rare in the opensource world. I think only very few or even none of the playback software now used in Plex clients is able to play these natively. Apparently there was some support for EIA-608 ‘baked’ into ffmpeg, but this means that you at least need a server that is fast enough for video transcoding, so these subtitles can be ‘burned’ into the video picture. I found a file online that claims to have EIA-608 subtitles in it. I was able to select them. But upon playback I saw only garbage. I very much like to get my hands on a file with confirmed working subtitles. Do you have a sample file one for me to pass on to the developers? You can send me a download link per PM. ---
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/7 "2017-03-02T21:28:20Z")
It is, yeah. That said, none of the TX3G subtitles work for me, either. I’ll PM you with a download link now. If you play it back in QuickTime you’ll see what I mean. Subtitles work flawlessly there. Thanks for your help! Jon ---
**Author:** ![leelynds](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/leelynds/32/82049_2.png) [@leelynds](https://forums.plex.tv/u/leelynds)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/8 "2017-03-02T21:38:03Z")
I would suggest CC Extractor to get the subtitles. I use it when ripping older DVD’s that specifically say “Closed Captions” with the CC logo on the cover, as opposed to “Subtitles” Very quick extraction and conversion to standard srt files with a little configuration. It might be a “windows” only program, but it is open source. The website is here, [https://www.ccextractor.org/start](https://www.ccextractor.org/start) they have several samples to test with [https://www.ccextractor.org/public:general:tvsamples](https://www.ccextractor.org/public:general:tvsamples) (@OttoKerner - maybe one of these would work) ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/9 "2017-03-02T22:15:17Z")
> @leelynds said: > I would suggest CC Extractor to get the subtitles. Interesting! Maybe it’s possible to turn this into an automatic script which “treats” all new content. ---
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/10 "2017-03-02T22:28:33Z")
Good suggestion. Thank you. I did download CC Extractor to try, at the same time as I did MCEBuddy. I may give it a try. It just seemed like such a ball ache - working with the command line interface, figuring out all the various export settings etc - for something that (in my opinion) should work out of the box. MCEBuddy was supposed to be able to do the same thing: extract the subtitles to a separate .srt file. And that failed miserably, after about 5 wasted hours trying to get it to work. ---
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/11 "2018-01-06T20:30:30Z")
Still no solution to this… some worked intermittently for a while, perhaps while someone was experimenting on the back end, but have since gone back to not working at all. Any updates on compatibility? ---
**Author:** ![jonwatson87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jonwatson87](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jonwatson87)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/12 "2018-03-23T15:23:36Z")
Okay… almost three months on and still no reply/support. Considering I’m paying for this “service” it’s a bit of a joke! XD Still no support for embedded CC. I was just trying to watch the latest Planet of the Apes, and there are no subtitles appearing for any of the sign language, making it unwatchable. Plays PERFECTLY. FLAWLESSLY in QuickTime player on my Mac (playing the file directly). Sign language subtitles are there. Other subtitles appear when selected. Absolutely perfect. Just not on Plex… This is an issue that’s spanned YEARS now… and still no solution. The devs seem determined to create as many new features as possible, but none of the old/basic/core/essential stuff ever seems to get fixed or addressed… I’m in the midst of spinning up Kodi/Emby etc to test them out, because it’s beyond ridiculous at this point… ---
**Author:** ![cayars](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/cayars/32/6296_2.png) [@cayars](https://forums.plex.tv/u/cayars)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/13 "2018-03-29T15:49:38Z")
> @jonwatson87 said: > Okay… almost three months on and still no reply/support. Considering I’m paying for this “service” it’s a bit of a joke! XD > > Still no support for embedded CC. > PM me a link to a file you can provide with the EIA-608 track in it and let me see what I can do for you. I’ve been able to pull and convert different CC/subtitle formats so I’ll give it a shot for you. Carlo ---
**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/14 "2018-03-29T16:28:36Z")
> @jonwatson87 said: > Still no support for embedded CC. > Are you actually using closed captions or subtitles? These are not the same things. Plex supports subtitles. Closed captions are supported on some clients. If you are not sure, please provide the XML for the movie you were trying. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/15 "2021-02-28T20:09:00Z")
Early 2021 clean-up: implemented > **[Adding Local Subtitles to Your Media | Plex Support](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200471133-adding-local-subtitles-to-your-media/)** > > Enable “Local Media Assets” If your media contains embedded subtitles or you have an external subtitle file, you have local... ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/add-support-for-cc-closed-captions/181335/16 "2021-06-10T00:18:25Z")