Adding subtitles is a recurrent question of fans of Pinnacle video editor.
But Does Pinnacle have auto captions? Can I import subtitles instead of typing them out manually? What’s the way to create professional-looking auto captions on Pinnacle?
In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about creating subtitles in Pinnacle Studio — both manually and automatically.
The short answer is no — at least not yet.
Unlike some video editors that offer built-in speech-to-text tools, Pinnacle Studio doesn’t have a native feature to automatically generate subtitles based on your video’s audio. That means you won't find a button that says “auto-transcribe” or “generate captions” inside the software.
However, Pinnacle Studio does give you full control over adding manual subtitles. You can create title tracks, insert text blocks, and sync each subtitle manually with the audio on your timeline. It also provides decent formatting options — letting you adjust font size, color, background, and positioning.
So yes, you can create captions in Pinnacle. But you have to do all the work yourself: typing each subtitle line, aligning it with the audio, and repeating that process for your entire video. If your video is longer than a few minutes, this gets pretty tedious, fast.
So if you were hoping for an AI-powered tool, you'll need an external tool that we're going to talk about later.
Since Pinnacle Studio doesn’t have an auto caption tool, the main way to create subtitles is by adding them manually. That means typing out each line of dialogue, syncing it to your video, and adjusting the style to make sure it’s easy to read.
It’s not the fastest method — but it gives you full control over how your subtitles look and behave.
First, launch Pinnacle Studio and open your video project. Make sure your video clip is placed on the timeline. Then move the playhead to the part of the video where you want your first subtitle to appear.
This will help you sync your captions correctly as you go.
In Pinnacle Studio, subtitles are created using titles. To add one, click on the “Create Title” button at the top of the timeline (or press Ctrl + 5 as a shortcut). This opens the Title Editor.
Now, type your first subtitle line in the text box that appears on the screen. You’ll want to place this text toward the bottom center of your video frame — that’s the most common position for subtitles.
Use the Title Editor to style your text. You can change:
Make sure your captions are easy to read. Use high contrast colors — like white text with a dark shadow — to help them stand out against your video.
Once you’re happy with the styling, click OK to return to the timeline.
Back on the timeline, you’ll see your new title as a clip above your video. Drag the ends of the subtitle clip to adjust how long it stays on screen. Match it to the section of dialogue you just subtitled.
Then, move your playhead to the next line of dialogue and repeat the process: create a new title, type your text, style it (or copy/paste the format), and set the timing.
Continue adding titles for every spoken line in your video. It takes some time, but this method works well when you want precise control over timing and appearance.
When you're done, preview your video to make sure everything is synced and readable. Then you can export your final video — subtitles and all.
Manually adding subtitles in Pinnacle Studio gives you total control — but let’s be honest, it’s time-consuming. If you’re working on long videos, or if you just want to speed things up, there’s a better way: use an external auto-captioning tool to generate subtitles, then bring them into Pinnacle.
While Pinnacle Studio doesn’t offer built-in auto transcription, you can still automate 90% of the work by combining outside tools with Pinnacle’s editing features.
Here’s how to do it.
Start by exporting the video (or audio) from your Pinnacle project. You’ll use this file to generate your subtitles.
There are several tools you can use to do this, including:
Upload your video to one of these tools and let it transcribe the speech into timed subtitle lines. Once done, export the subtitles as an SRT or VTT file.
These are standard subtitle formats supported by most video editing platforms and media players.
Here’s the tricky part: Pinnacle Studio doesn’t officially support importing SRT files like some other editors do. But there’s a workaround.
You can open the SRT file in a text editor or subtitle editor and use it as a visual reference to manually copy and paste the lines into Pinnacle’s Title Editor — but now, all the transcription and timing are already done for you. You’re just syncing them visually.
If you’re using Pinnacle Studio Ultimate or newer versions, some third-party plugins or workflows might allow you to convert SRT into a format Pinnacle can recognize — such as pre-made title overlays.
Another option is to use a third-party captioning tool that burns subtitles into your video (hardcoded) and then import the burned video back into Pinnacle for final editing or export. That's what Checksub can do as well.
Once your subtitle lines are in Pinnacle — whether manually copied from an SRT file or burned into the video — you can still make visual edits. Change the font, size, position, or timing directly on the timeline.
This hybrid approach is faster than doing everything by hand, but still gives you the flexibility of Pinnacle’s editing tools.
Next, we’ll show you the easiest way to do all of this in one click — with Checksub, an AI-powered platform that’s built to make subtitle creation effortless.
If you're looking for a faster, smarter, and more professional way to subtitle your videos in Pinnacle Studio, Checksub is the tool you need. It’s an AI-powered platform that takes the manual work out of subtitling — letting you generate soft or hardcoded subtitles in just a few clicks.
Even though Pinnacle Studio doesn’t offer built-in speech-to-text, Checksub fills that gap perfectly. Let’s walk through how it works.
Start by visiting checksub.com and signing into your account. If you don’t have one yet, creating an account is quick and free to try.
Click on “Upload Video” and choose the file you’re working on in Pinnacle. Checksub supports a wide range of formats, so you won’t need to convert your file first.
Once uploaded, select your video’s original language. Need subtitles in more than one language? Checksub supports over 267 languages and gives you the option to generate translations automatically.
After setup, Checksub’s AI will get to work — automatically transcribing your audio, breaking it into subtitle lines, and syncing everything with your video timeline. This process only takes a few minutes and is far more accurate than most basic transcription tools.
When it’s done, you’ll have a full set of subtitles, already synced and ready to go.
Inside Checksub’s subtitle editor, you can:
You can also fully customize your subtitles' appearance — something Pinnacle Studio doesn’t support natively. Change the font, size, color, position, and even add background boxes or animations for hardcoded subtitles.
Once you’re happy with the result, you can export your subtitles in the format that works best for your workflow:
You want to get fast subtitles & captions on Pinnacle? Try Checksub for free now.
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