WebVTT

WebVTT
Filename extension
.vtt
Internet media type
text/vtt
Developed byWorld Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Initial release10 August 2010; 14 years ago (2010-08-10)[1]
Latest release
4 April 2019; 5 years ago (2019-04-04)
Type of formatTimed text
Extended fromSRT
StandardW3C WebVTT
Open format?Yes
Free format?Yes

WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks) is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard for displaying timed text in connection with the HTML5 <track> element.

The early drafts of its specification were written by the WHATWG in 2010 after discussions about what caption format should be supported by HTML5—the main options being the relatively mature, XML-based Timed Text Markup Language (TTML) or an entirely new but more lightweight standard based on the widely used SubRip format. The final decision was for the new standard, initially called WebSRT (Web Subtitle Resource Tracks).[2] It shared the .srt file extension and was broadly based on the SubRip format, though not fully compatible with it.[3] The prospective format was later renamed WebVTT.[4][5] In the January 13, 2011, version of the HTML5 Draft Report, the <track> element was introduced and the specification was updated to document WebVTT cue text rendering rules.[6] The WebVTT specification is a W3C Candidate Recommendation, and the basic features are supported by all major browsers.

  1. ^ "WebSRT". Archived from the original on 2010-08-16. Retrieved 2015-02-12.
  2. ^ "WebVTT versus TTML: XML considered harmful for web captions?". Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ^ WebSRT, from the WHATWG HTML draft specification, retrieved 2010-10-14
  4. ^ Kennedy, Antony; de Leon, Inayaili (2011). Pro CSS for High Traffic Websites. Apress. ISBN 978-1-4302-3288-9.
  5. ^ Pfeiffer, Silvia (June 27, 2011). "Recent developments around WebVTT".
  6. ^ "HTML5".