Fix subtitle delay in KMPlayer

How to fix subtitle delay in KMPlayer

1. Load the subtitles. Right-click the picture and choose Subtitles → Load Subtitle (Alt+O), or keep the subtitle file next to the video with the same name.
2. Nudge with [ and ]. Press ] when the text comes after the speech and [ when it comes before. Each press moves the subtitles half a second; hold Shift for 5-second jumps.
3. Check the on-screen value. KMPlayer shows the current sync offset after each press. Count the presses or note the value.
4. Write the fix into the file. Enter the presses in the calculator below, copy the result into the shift tool and download the corrected file.

KMPlayer subtitle sync keys

On Windows, KMPlayer’s default keys for subtitle timing sit on the bracket keys. Guides disagree about which bracket means “earlier”, and the bindings can be changed in Preferences (F2), so press a key once and watch the on-screen message before pressing it again. In current versions the defaults are:

Key	What it does	Step / where
]	Subtitles 0.5 s earlier (for subtitles that lag the speech)	0.5 s
[	Subtitles 0.5 s later (for subtitles ahead of the speech)	0.5 s
Shift+]	Subtitles 5 s earlier	5 s
Shift+[	Subtitles 5 s later	5 s
Alt+Y	Reset subtitle sync	—
Alt+G	Show or hide the Control Box with the Sync buttons	—

You can do the same with the mouse: press Alt+G (or click the Control Box button at the bottom left), open the subtitle controls and use Sync−, Sync+ and Re sync. These also move in 0.5-second steps.

Line-by-line sync in Subtitle Explorer

When only one scene is wrong, open Subtitle Explorer (Alt+Q or right-click → Subtitles). Pause the video on a spoken line, select that line in the list and use the sync button to move the timeline so the selected subtitle starts at the current play position. This is handy for finding the right offset, but like the keys, it changes playback only.

KMPlayer on Android

Play the video with its subtitle, tap the screen and open the three-dot menu at the top right, then tap Subtitle. At the bottom of the subtitle settings is the Subsync control with − and + buttons and a field for seconds. Use − when the text lags behind the voice and + when it comes too early, then check against a clearly spoken line.

Turn key presses into a permanent fix

KMPlayer’s sync only lasts while you watch. If you will play the same file again, on a TV or a phone, or share it, fix the timestamps once. Enter how many times you pressed each key (subtract presses that cancelled each other out) and the step; the calculator turns it into a shift for the tool above.

Player delay → file shift

Presses of [ (later)

Presses of ] (earlier)

Step (ms)

Shift the file 2.000 s earlier (−2000 ms).

Put it in the shift tool

Presses	Net change	Shift for the file
] × 4	2.0 s earlier	2.000 s Earlier
[ × 3	1.5 s later	1.500 s Later
Shift+] × 2, then [ × 1	10 s earlier, 0.5 s later = 9.5 s earlier	9.500 s Earlier

Shift+bracket presses count as ten normal presses. After saving the new file, reset KMPlayer’s sync with Alt+Y so the correction is not applied twice. If you need different amounts at the start and end of the video, the subtitles are drifting: two-point sync fixes that in one step.

Other players

• Fix subtitle delay in VLC
• Fix subtitle delay in MPC-HC
• Fix subtitle delay in PotPlayer
• Shortcut table for all players, including mpv

FAQ

How do I delay subtitles in KMPlayer?

Press [ to move subtitles later by 0.5 s, or ] to move them earlier. Hold Shift for 5-second steps, and press Alt+Y to reset. Check the on-screen message, because the keys can be remapped.

Does KMPlayer remember the subtitle sync?

Not reliably across files and devices. The safe way to keep the fix is to shift the subtitle file itself and save a new copy.

Where is subtitle sync in KMPlayer for Android?

During playback tap the screen, open the three-dot menu, tap Subtitle and use the Subsync − and + controls at the bottom.