Find and download movie subtitles from multiple sources with Sublight

Find and download movie subtitles from multiple sources with Sublight:

If I told you that these days you can download subtitles for any movie in almost any language would that surprise you? Probably not; however, finding the correct subtitle files that sync with your specific video file can be a hassle to say the least, which is why Sublight, a local subtitle downloader, is such a great program.

This program can connect to multiple subtitle sources from within Windows, and will quickly overlay and preview various available subtitles onto your local video files to help you make quick decisions on whether the subtitles are the ones you want, and whether they are in sync. Note that Sublight is not free without restrictions; it employs a point system and request that you buy points or wait 10 seconds before downloading each subtitle file (which in most cases should not be a huge deal).

What I like about Sublight:

• If the subs are out there, it will probably find them: a single-stop shop for many sources of subtitles on the net. You can find subs for videos in one part of two parts (2 cds)


• “Play video with subtitles”: right clicking on many of the search results will let you quickly preview your video with the subtitles, allowing for quick confirmation on whether the subtitles are in sync.


• Explorer integration: your can right click on a video file and select “Find Subtitles” in the Windows context menu. (There is an option to perform this in batch on a folder full of videos, but in that will prompt a not very attractive command line interface).


• Connects to multiple sources: the Sublight internal database is the primary source (and is excellent). There are 7 external sources as of this writing (DivxTitLovi, PrijevodiOnIine, PodnapisiNet, AllSubs, Shooter, Subscene, and Addic7ted). External sources are available via plugins that can be switched on or off, and you can even make your own to add more sources. Some of these require user registration. which can be done from within Sublight itself. Some will allow Sublight to download directly; while for others you will be referred to a web page and will have to download from there.


• Finds subs in multiple languages: just check the languages you are interested in from the (big) list, and they will appear in the results.


• Edit or publish subs: yes, you can edit subtitles (from the ‘view’ tab), you can also confirm that a particular subtitle file is is synced with your video, which will be duly noted in the database, and you can even create your own subtitles and upload to share with the Sublight community.

What I don’t like about the program:

• The points system: which makes this nagware rather than freeware. The system is supposed to encourage you either earn points by participating in the Sublight community, or to pay for points *$1=100 points) in order not to wait 10 seconds before each download. But I am willing to bet that this complicated system only serves to harass the user base and achieves neither the participation nor revenue goals it was conceived for.

The verdict: this definitely is an awesome program! I recommend it if you download subtitles frequently or even if you download them only occasionally. The points system used in it is rather unfortunate (and annoying), but even with a 10 second delay before downloading obtaining subtitles with Sublight is a much better experience than hunting for them on the web, which is a crapshoot at best (not to mention much more EFFICIENT, as you are much more likely to find what you are looking for much more quickly). I highly recommend it.

Version tested: 3.0.0

Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, Windows 7; Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 or later.

Go to the program home page to download the latest version (approx. 3.81 megs)