Fix subtitle delay in PotPlayer

How to fix subtitle delay in PotPlayer

1. Play the video with subtitles. Load the subtitle file by dragging it onto the player or keep it next to the video with the same name.
2. Press < or >. If the subtitle comes after the speech press > (period) to move it earlier; if it comes before, press < (comma) to move it later. PotPlayer shows the new sync value after each press.
3. Fine-tune the step. Open Preferences (F5) → Subtitles → Language/Sync/Other and change the sync adjustment unit to 0.1 seconds for fine steps.
4. Save the timing. Either save the subtitle from PotPlayer’s right-click Subtitles menu with the sync applied, or shift the file with the tool below and download it.

PotPlayer subtitle sync shortcuts

PotPlayer’s defaults use the keys that share a key cap with the angle brackets, so you do not need to hold Shift:

Key	What it does	Step / where
> (period key)	Subtitles 0.5 s earlier (sync faster)	0.5 s
< (comma key)	Subtitles 0.5 s later (sync slower)	0.5 s
/	Reset subtitle sync to 0	—

Sources describe the direction differently (“faster” for the period key means the subtitles come sooner), so press once and look at the sync value PotPlayer displays before going on. All shortcuts can be changed in Preferences (F5).

Change the sync step from 0.5 to 0.1 seconds

A half-second step often overshoots: the subtitle is either a bit early or a bit late. Open Preferences (F5) → Subtitles → Language/Sync/Other and set the sync adjustment unit to 0.1 seconds. The same keys then move the subtitles in tenth-of-a-second steps. Remember the step when you count presses later: five presses are 0.5 s with a 0.1 s unit, but 2.5 s with the default.

Save the synced subtitle from PotPlayer

PotPlayer can write the adjusted timing back to disk: right-click the video, open Subtitles → Save Subtitle and choose the option that applies the current sync (Alt+S in Korean guides). How well this works depends on the version and the subtitle format, and users have reported versions where the saved file lost the sync. Open the saved copy in a text editor or in this tool and check a few timestamps before deleting the original.

Shift the file instead (works for SRT, VTT and ASS)

If you prefer a predictable result, or need the subtitles for another device, count your presses and convert them here. Enter the presses of each key and the step you used; the result fills the shift tool above with the same correction.

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

You pressed	Step	Shift for the file
> × 5	0.5 s	2.500 s Earlier
< × 8	0.1 s	0.800 s Later
> × 6, then < × 2	0.5 s	2.000 s Earlier

After downloading, press / in PotPlayer to reset the sync so you see the corrected file as it really is. A gap that grows from start to end is drift, not delay — fix it with two-point sync or a frame-rate conversion.

Other players

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

FAQ

What are the subtitle sync keys in PotPlayer?

By default > (the period key) moves subtitles 0.5 s earlier, < (the comma key) moves them 0.5 s later and / resets the sync. The keys can be changed in Preferences (F5).

How do I make PotPlayer subtitle sync finer than 0.5 seconds?

Open Preferences (F5) → Subtitles → Language/Sync/Other and set the sync adjustment unit to 0.1 seconds.

Can PotPlayer save the subtitle sync?

Yes, from the right-click Subtitles → Save Subtitle menu, but results vary by version and format. Shifting the file with a dedicated tool gives a file you can check and use in any player.