Closed Captions vs Subtitles vs SDH: What's the Difference?
People use “captions” and “subtitles” interchangeably, but they describe different things — and picking the wrong one can leave part of your audience behind. Add SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing) to the mix and the terminology gets genuinely confusing. Here's a plain-English breakdown of all three, what each one includes, and which to use for your videos.
Subtitles: translating the dialogue
Subtitles assume the viewer can hear but doesn't understand the language being spoken. They transcribe spoken dialogue into another language (or sometimes the same language) and nothing else. A French film with English subtitles is the classic example: you hear the actors, you read the translation. Subtitles deliberately leave out non-speech audio — music, sound effects, speaker identification — because the viewer can hear all of that already.
Closed captions: describing the full audio experience
Closed captions (CC) assume the viewer cannot hear the audio at all. They include the dialogue plus descriptions of everything else that matters: [dramatic music swells], [door slams], [crowd cheering], and speaker labels like >> NARRATOR: when it's not obvious who's talking. The word “closed” means they can be turned on or off by the viewer — as opposed to “open” captions, which are burned into the video permanently.
SDH: subtitles with caption-level detail
SDH stands for “Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing.” It's the hybrid: presented like subtitles (usually in the video's original language) but with the extra audio descriptions of closed captions. Streaming services like Netflix default to SDH tracks because they serve the widest audience — hearing viewers who want text support get the dialogue, and deaf viewers get the full experience. If you've ever wondered why Netflix “subtitles” include [ominous music], that's SDH.
Quick comparison
- Subtitles: dialogue only; for viewers who hear but don't understand the language.
- Closed captions: dialogue + sound effects + speaker IDs; for viewers who can't hear; toggleable.
- SDH: dialogue + sound effects + speaker IDs, subtitle-style presentation; the streaming-service standard.
- Open captions: any of the above burned into the video image itself — always visible, can't be turned off.
Which should you use?
For YouTube, upload a caption track that includes sound descriptions — in practice, most creators' “subtitles” function as captions, and YouTube labels the toggle “CC” regardless. If you publish the same video on a streaming platform or distribute it professionally, provide a proper SDH track: it satisfies accessibility requirements (including legal ones like the CVAA in the US for online video) and it's what distributors expect. For social clips watched mostly on mute, burned-in open captions often perform best because many viewers never think to enable the CC toggle.
How to create each type
The workflow is the same up to a point: transcribe the dialogue and time it. SubEasy generates that timed transcript automatically in your browser. The difference is in the editing pass: for subtitles, you clean up the dialogue and export; for captions or SDH, you add a second pass inserting sound descriptions in brackets and speaker labels wherever the speaker isn't visible. Export as SRT for maximum compatibility — the format doesn't care which of the three you've made; the content does.
Frequently asked questions
Does YouTube distinguish between captions and subtitles?
Not strictly — YouTube calls everything in the subtitles panel “captions” and shows a CC badge when any track exists. What matters is that your track includes sound descriptions if deaf viewers are part of your audience.
Are captions legally required?
It depends on where and how you publish. In the US, the CVAA requires captions on full-length video programming distributed online that aired on TV with captions, and the ADA has been applied to online video in various cases. When in doubt, caption it — it's good practice regardless.
What's the difference between SDH and closed captions?
Content-wise, very little — both describe non-dialogue audio. The distinction is mostly about presentation and delivery: SDH is typically a subtitle-style track on streaming platforms, while “closed captions” often refers to the CEA-608/708 broadcast standard. For web video, people treat them as the same thing.
Should I burn captions into the video instead?
Burned-in (open) captions guarantee visibility — great for social feeds where viewers won't enable CC. The tradeoff is that viewers can't turn them off or translate them, and they become part of the image permanently. Many creators do both: soft caption tracks for YouTube, burned-in versions for social cuts.
Try it now
Ready to put this into practice? Generate your timed transcript with SubEasy, then add sound descriptions for a proper caption track.