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Subtide

Generic Sites

Generic Sites

Section titled “Generic Sites”

Using Subtide on any website with video content.

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Subtide works on any website with <video> elements, not just YouTube and Twitch. This includes:

  • Educational platforms (Coursera, Udemy, etc.)
  • News sites
  • Social media (Twitter/X video, etc.)
  • Self-hosted video players
  • Any HTML5 video

How It Works

Section titled “How It Works”
  1. Subtide detects <video> elements on the page
  2. A floating control bar appears above the video
  3. Click to start translation
  4. Subtitles overlay the video

Note: Detection The extension automatically finds videos. On some sites, you may need to start playing the video first for detection.

Controls

Section titled “Controls”

Control Bar

Section titled “Control Bar”

A floating control bar appears at the top of the video:

  • Translate Button - Start/stop translation
  • Language Selector - Choose target language
  • Size Options - Adjust subtitle size
  • Settings - Additional options

Info: Why Top Positioning? The control bar is at the top to avoid blocking native video controls (play, pause, volume, etc.) which are typically at the bottom.

Subtitle Display

Section titled “Subtitle Display”
  • Position: Draggable anywhere on the video
  • Size: S / M / L / XL
  • Style: Consistent dark theme with teal accents

Supported Features

Section titled “Supported Features”
FeatureSupport
TranscriptionYes (Tier 2+)
TranslationYes
Dual SubtitlesYes
Export (SRT/VTT/TXT)Yes
Draggable PositionYes
Keyboard ShortcutsYes

Site-Specific Notes

Section titled “Site-Specific Notes”

Educational Platforms

Section titled “Educational Platforms”

Most work well:

  • Coursera - Works on course videos
  • Udemy - Works on lecture videos
  • Khan Academy - Works on educational content
  • LinkedIn Learning - Works on course videos

Social Media

Section titled “Social Media”
  • Twitter/X - Works on embedded videos
  • Facebook - May require video to be playing
  • Instagram - Limited support due to dynamic loading

News Sites

Section titled “News Sites”

Generally works well on:

  • Major news outlets with HTML5 video
  • Documentary sites
  • Video archives

Configuration

Section titled “Configuration”

For generic sites, ensure:

Extension Settings

Section titled “Extension Settings”
Operation Mode: Tier 2 (Enhanced)
Backend URL: http://localhost:5001

Backend

Section titled “Backend”

Whisper transcription is required since most sites don’t have caption tracks:

Terminal window
WHISPER_MODEL=base ./subtide-backend

Keyboard Shortcuts

Section titled “Keyboard Shortcuts”

Keyboard shortcuts work on generic sites too:

KeyAction
TToggle subtitles
DToggle dual mode
SDownload subtitles

Note: Focus Required The video or page must have focus for shortcuts to work.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Video not detected

Section titled “Video not detected”
  1. Start playing the video first
  2. Refresh the page after the video loads
  3. Check if the video is in an iframe (some sites block extension access)
  4. Wait for dynamic content to load

Controls not appearing

Section titled “Controls not appearing”
  1. The video may be in a shadow DOM (limited support)
  2. The site may have custom video implementation
  3. Try refreshing after the video fully loads

Translation not working

Section titled “Translation not working”
  1. Verify backend is running
  2. Check browser console for CORS errors
  3. Ensure the site isn’t blocking the extension

Subtitles misaligned

Section titled “Subtitles misaligned”
  1. Drag subtitles to reposition
  2. Check if the video container has unusual styling
  3. Try different subtitle sizes

Limitations

Section titled “Limitations”
  1. DRM Content - Videos with DRM protection cannot be transcribed
  2. Shadow DOM - Some modern frameworks use shadow DOM which limits detection
  3. iframes - Cross-origin iframes may block extension access
  4. Canvas-based players - Non-standard video implementations may not work

Sites Known to Work

Section titled “Sites Known to Work”
  • Vimeo
  • Dailymotion
  • Educational platforms (Coursera, Udemy, etc.)
  • News sites (CNN, BBC, etc.)
  • Self-hosted video (video.js, plyr, etc.)

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”