Can I customize which bracket types are removed (parentheses, square brackets, curly braces)?

The sound-effects rule treats bracketed sound annotations as one group. You can separately toggle sound effects, speaker labels, music-note lines, and uppercase-only mode, but not individual bracket styles.

What is the difference between SDH and HI subtitles?

SDH means Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, while HI means hearing impaired. Both terms describe subtitles that add sound-effect descriptions and speaker labels. This remover strips those non-dialogue annotations and leaves clean text.

How do I remove HI annotations from subtitles?

Load the file, keep sound effects, speaker labels, and music notes enabled, then review the cleaned and removed cue counts. You can check the result in the [subtitle editor](/subtitle-editor/) or repair remaining structural issues with [Auto Fix](/subtitle-autofix/).

Remove SDH & Audio Annotations

Instantly strip hearing-impaired annotations (e.g., [APPLAUSE], (MUSIC)), speaker names, and musical notes from subtitle files.

Drag & drop your subtitle file here

Drag and drop subtitle files here or click to browse

SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, LRC, SBV, TTML, SCC, STL, SMI, TXT, JSON

Browser-Based Processing · Files Stay on Device

Core Processing Architecture

What the SDH Remover Cleans

Engineered for video editors and localization teams. Helps enforce common subtitle timing rules and formatting.

Removes sound effect annotations in brackets: [APPLAUSE], (LAUGHTER), {WIND BLOWING}, *SIGHS*.

Safe mode removes only fully-uppercase effects to avoid deleting normal parenthetical text.

Strips speaker name prefixes: JOHN:, MAN 1:, NARRATOR -, and title-case names.

Removes standalone music note lines and music note characters.

Cleans up empty cues left behind after removing SDH content.

Recognizes dozens of common sound keywords: applause, laughter, music, engine, phone, doorbell, and more.

Reads SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, LRC, SBV, TTML, SCC, STL, and SMI files; output preserves the input format when reliable round-tripping is available, with SRT as the fallback.

Review cleaned-cue and removed-cue counts before downloading the result.

Live Preview & Execution Pipeline

Remove SDH & Audio Annotations Live Execution Demo

dirty.srt

READYRaw Input

01.200♪ [Upbeat Synth Music] ♪
04.500Hello...   world!!
08.100Duplicate line
08.100Duplicate line

cleaned.srt

READYCleaned

04.500Hello, world!
08.100Duplicate line
11.400Verified syntax check

In-Memory Processing

File parsing, mutations, and time shifts for standard tools run in browser memory without sending subtitle files to our servers.

Millisecond Precision

Millisecond-accurate timecode parsing and arithmetic prevent synchronization drift across desktop and web players.

Fault-Tolerant Engine

Automatic multi-encoding detection and syntax sanitization gracefully handle malformed cues and unexpected linebreaks.

Production Workflows

Who Needs SDH Removal?

Real-world scenarios across video post-production, course transcription, and global localization.

SCENARIO #1

Translators & Localization

SDH annotations like [APPLAUSE] and speaker names become noise when translating. Remove them before translating to keep the clean dialogue.

SCENARIO #2

Normal Viewing

Public subtitle files often include SDH for the hearing impaired. Strip the annotations for a cleaner viewing experience.

SCENARIO #3

Re-editing & Re-timing

Sound effects and speaker labels interfere with editing workflows. Clean them out first, then work with pure dialogue.

SCENARIO #4

Second-pass Compression

Before compressing or shortening subtitles, remove all non-speech content so you only edit actual dialogue.

SCENARIO #5

HI Annotation Cleanup

Turn SDH or hearing-impaired (HI) subtitles into a dialogue-only track by removing sound effects, speaker names, and music symbols before translation or playback.

Execution Pipeline

How It Works

Streamlined end-to-end processing pipeline engineered for speed and precision.

STEP 01

Upload & Import

Upload your subtitle file.

PHASE 01

STEP 02

Format Analysis

Toggle which cleaning rules to apply: sound effects, speaker labels, music notes, and uppercase-only mode.

PHASE 02

STEP 03

Configuration

The remover scans every cue and strips SDH annotations using pattern matching.

PHASE 03

STEP 04

Processing

Cues that become empty after cleaning are automatically removed.

PHASE 04

STEP 05

Verify & Export

Download the clean subtitle file ready for translation or normal viewing.

PHASE 05

Engine Capabilities

Why Choose AllSubConverter?

Client-Side Privacy

Standard tools run in your browser so standard files are not uploaded to our servers.

Fast Local Parsing

Optimized processing engine parses and converts files directly in your browser.

Generous Batches

Up to 50 MB per file, 200 files or 1 GB total per batch.

Universal Compatibility

Runs in modern browsers across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Tool Suite

More Subtitle Tools

Subtitle Format Cleaner

Remove formatting, tags and noise

Subtitle Editor

Edit subtitle content and timings

Subtitle Sync & Timing Calibration

Adjust timing with millisecond precision

Subtitle Merger

Combine multiple subtitle files

AI Subtitle Translator

Translate to 19 built-in target languages

Frequently Asked Questions

SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) includes sound-effect descriptions like [applause], (music), and [doorbell] in addition to dialogue. For normal viewing or machine translation, these annotations are distracting noise — removing them gives you clean, pure dialogue text.

It removes all-caps labels like JOHN:, MAN 1:, NARRATOR -, and title-case names like John: or Mary Smith:. Labels must be at the start of a line and followed by a colon or dash.

Input: SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, LRC, SBV, TTML, SCC, STL, SMI. Output preserves the input format where reliable round-tripping is available; otherwise it falls back to SRT.

Enable Uppercase Only mode (on by default). This only removes bracketed content that is fully uppercase, which matches how sound effects are written. Normal parenthetical text like (see page 5) is preserved.

Cues whose text is entirely SDH content become empty after cleaning. These are automatically removed so your file stays clean with no blank subtitles.

Yes, it is free with no sign-up. Files can be up to 50 MB each, and processing runs entirely in your browser.

Ready to convert your subtitles?