How to AirPlay a video with subtitles from your Mac
The video plays on your TV, but the subtitles are gone. Here is why that happens and how to keep them.
Why subtitles disappear
- Separate .srt files. A subtitle file sitting next to the video isn't part of it, so most players don't send it over AirPlay.
- Subtitles inside an MKV. If the Mac can't send the MKV at all, its subtitles don't get sent either.
- Picture subtitles. Blu-ray and DVD rips often carry subtitles as images (PGS or VobSub) instead of text. Many players can't convert these for AirPlay.
Free ways to keep them
- Mirror your screen. Play the video with subtitles in VLC or IINA and use Screen Mirroring from Control Center. Your TV shows whatever is on your Mac screen, subtitles included, but at lower quality.
- Burn them in. A converter such as HandBrake can draw the subtitles permanently into a new MP4. It works on any TV, but you can't turn them off, and converting takes time.
Keep them without converting
Snork sends text subtitles to your TV as real subtitles you can switch on and off. It reads subtitles inside MKV and MP4 files, and it adds an .srt, .vtt, .ass or .ssa file automatically when it has the same name as the video and sits in the same folder. You can also add a subtitle file by hand. Picture subtitles (PGS and VobSub) are not supported yet.
Snork plays MKV, AVI, WebM, MP4 and more from your Mac on your AirPlay TV, with subtitles and a choice of audio track. There is nothing to convert first. Try it free on your TV: the free version plays the first five minutes of each video. If you like it, unlock it once. No subscription.