Fix subtitle delay in MPC-HC

How to fix subtitle delay in MPC-HC

1. Load the subtitles. Open the video with the subtitle file next to it, or drag the subtitle onto the player window, and make sure the track is selected.
2. Press F1 or F2. F2 moves the subtitles later, F1 earlier. MPC-HC shows “Sub delay: … ms” at the top left of the video after each press.
3. Change the step if needed. Open View → Options → Subtitles and set Delay step (in milliseconds), for example 100 ms for fine tuning.
4. Save the fix in the file. Enter the final “Sub delay” value below, shift the subtitle file by the same amount and download it.

MPC-HC subtitle delay keys

MPC-HC (the actively maintained clsid2 build, and the older official releases) has two commands for subtitle timing, bound to the function keys:

Key	What it does	Step / where
F2	Subtitle Delay + (subtitles later by one step)	500 ms by default
F1	Subtitle Delay − (subtitles earlier by one step)	500 ms by default

Each press changes the delay by the delay step, which is 500 ms unless you change it. After each press the player shows the total, for example Sub delay: 1500 ms, in the status bar and at the top left of the video. A positive value means the subtitles are shown that many milliseconds later; a negative value shows them earlier. If the message says the delay is not supported by the current subtitle renderer, switch to the built-in renderer in Options → Playback → Output or update MPC-HC; the external VSFilter and XySubFilter renderers are supported in current builds.

Change the delay step

Half a second is fine for big offsets but too coarse to land a line exactly. Open View → Options → Subtitles and change Delay step. Values from 10 ms upward are accepted; 100 ms is a good compromise. The new step applies to F1 and F2 straight away. You can also rebind both commands in Options → Player → Keys, where they are listed as “Subtitle Delay −” and “Subtitle Delay +”.

Worked example

Situation	Presses (500 ms step)	MPC-HC shows	Shift for the file
Subtitles appear 1.5 s before the speech	F2 × 3	Sub delay: 1500 ms	1.5 s later
Subtitles appear 2 s after the speech	F1 × 4	Sub delay: −2000 ms	2 s earlier
About 0.7 s late; step changed to 100 ms	F1 × 7	Sub delay: −700 ms	0.7 s earlier

Make the fix permanent

The delay belongs to the playback session. It is lost when you open another file, and it does not exist for a TV, a phone or a media server that plays the same subtitles. To fix it for good, write the delay into the timestamps:

Player delay → file shift

Sub delay MPC-HC shows (ms)

Shift the file 1.500 s earlier (−1500 ms).

Put it in the shift tool

Copy the number into the box, click the button, open the subtitle file in the tool above and click Apply shift. Download the result, replace the old file (keep the same name as the video so MPC-HC loads it automatically) and set the delay back to 0 with F1/F2 before checking. If the offset changes from one part of the film to the next, use “From the selected cue onward” in the shift tool for each part, or two-point sync if it grows steadily.

Other players

• Fix subtitle delay in VLC
• Fix subtitle delay in KMPlayer
• Fix subtitle delay in PotPlayer
• Shortcut table for all players, including mpv

FAQ

What are the subtitle delay shortcuts in MPC-HC?

F1 decreases the subtitle delay (subtitles earlier) and F2 increases it (subtitles later), by 500 ms per press by default.

How do I change the subtitle delay step in MPC-HC?

Go to View → Options → Subtitles and change Delay step. The value is in milliseconds; 100 ms is a practical choice for fine tuning.

Why does MPC-HC say the subtitle delay is not supported?

The active subtitle renderer cannot apply a delay, or no subtitle track is loaded. Select the subtitle track, use the internal subtitle renderer or update to a current MPC-HC build.