CONVERT
SUB → TXT
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Situation. SUB is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. Solution: a TXT, produced below. Converting SUB to TXT keeps the document's content but changes how it is distributed. MicroDVD Subtitle may be the right editing format; Plain Text may be the right delivery format (or vice-versa). KaijuConverter renders the document through a LibreOffice + pandoc pipeline so headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, images and hyperlinks survive the round-trip intact. Keep in mind SUB is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. And remember that TXT is the plain-text format — just characters and line breaks, no formatting.
MicroDVD Subtitle
Source formatSUB (MicroDVD) is a subtitle format that uses frame numbers for timing instead of timestamps.
Plain Text
Target formatTXT files contain unformatted plain text with no styling, images, or layout information. They are universally readable by any device and operating system, making them the simplest document format.
Why convert SUB to TXT
SUB and TXT both describe paginated text, but they target different parts of the document life cycle. SUB is usually editable; TXT is usually final. Converting is about moving from editing to distribution (or the other way round) without losing headings, styles, tables or embedded images along the way.
HOW TO CONVERT
SUB → TXT
Upload your SUB
Drop the document onto the uploader. We transfer over HTTPS and keep the file in an isolated processing container.
Render with LibreOffice
LibreOffice opens the SUB headlessly and writes it as TXT with styles, tables and images mapped across.
Download the TXT
The TXT is ready to download; typography, pagination and embedded assets match what you saw in the source.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send TXT files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for SUB.
Embed in documents
Drop TXT output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
TXT often produces smaller files than SUB for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
SUB vs TXT — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
SUB Strengths
- VobSub preserves DVD subtitle appearance exactly.
- MicroDVD is trivially editable text.
- Universal player support (VLC, mpv, MPC).
- Historical format for DVD-era subtitle preservation.
Limitations
- Bitmap subtitles (VobSub) cannot be edited as text.
- MicroDVD frame-based timing breaks on framerate changes.
- Two incompatible formats sharing one extension causes confusion.
TXT Strengths
- Universally readable — every operating system, every editor, every programming language.
- Zero metadata overhead: the file size equals the character count (for ASCII).
- Safe to diff, grep, version-control, and pipe through command-line tools.
- Immune to format obsolescence: a text file from 1970 still opens today.
- Tiny footprint for structured data like logs or configuration.
Limitations
- No styling, images, or embedded structure — just characters.
- Character encoding ambiguity (ISO-8859-1 vs UTF-8 vs Windows-1252) causes "mojibake".
- Line-ending differences between OSes still cause subtle bugs today.
SUB vs TXT — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
SUB
- MIME type
- text/x-microdvd (MicroDVD); image/vnd.dvb.subtitle (VobSub)
- Extension
- .sub (paired with .idx for VobSub)
- Variants
- MicroDVD (text), VobSub (bitmap)
- Common conversion
- OCR VobSub → SRT
TXT
- MIME type
- text/plain
- Common encodings
- UTF-8, UTF-16, ASCII, ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252
- Line endings
- LF (Unix), CRLF (Windows), CR (classic Mac)
- Max file size
- Limited only by filesystem (no format-level limit)
- Structure
- None — flat sequence of characters
| Specification | SUB | TXT |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | text/x-microdvd (MicroDVD); image/vnd.dvb.subtitle (VobSub) | text/plain |
| Extension | .sub (paired with .idx for VobSub) | — |
| Variants | MicroDVD (text), VobSub (bitmap) | — |
| Common conversion | OCR VobSub → SRT | — |
| Common encodings | — | UTF-8, UTF-16, ASCII, ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252 |
| Line endings | — | LF (Unix), CRLF (Windows), CR (classic Mac) |
| Max file size | — | Limited only by filesystem (no format-level limit) |
| Structure | — | None — flat sequence of characters |
SUB vs TXT — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
SUB
- MicroDVD .sub for 2-hour movie 50-100 KB
- VobSub .sub (2-hour movie) 1-10 MB
- VobSub .idx metadata 50-200 KB
TXT
- Short note < 1 KB
- README file 2–20 KB
- Full novel (~90,000 words) 500 KB – 1 MB
- Server log file (daily) 10 MB – 1 GB
Quality & Compatibility
LibreOffice handles the heavy lifting and maps the overwhelming majority of SUB features to their TXT equivalents. Standard system fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times, Helvetica) transfer exactly; corporate or custom fonts are substituted with the closest available match, which can shift line breaks by a character or two. Inline images embed at original resolution.
Tips for Best Results
- Embed fonts in the SUB before uploading if you use non-system fonts — it guarantees the TXT renders identically on any viewer.
- Check tables, figure captions and page headers after conversion; complex layouts occasionally need a minor nudge in the target application.
- For documents with a table of contents, refresh the TOC field after opening the TXT so page numbers reflect the new pagination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as the fonts are standard (system fonts or common office fonts like Arial, Calibri, Times, Helvetica). Custom corporate fonts survive if they are embedded in the source document; otherwise the conversion substitutes the closest available match, which can shift line breaks by a character or two.
Yes. Inline images are embedded into the TXT at full resolution, editable tables become native TXT tables, and hyperlinks keep their URLs. Complex features unique to SUB — macros, form fields, track-changes — are mapped where an equivalent exists in TXT and flattened into static content otherwise.
All uploads go over TLS, files are processed in isolated containers and both the source and the output are deleted within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never indexed or used for training, and the paid plan adds a signable data-processing agreement for regulated workflows.
Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
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Read guideSecure & Private Conversion
Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.