Subtitling is the conversion of spoken dialogue into timed on-screen text, either in the same language as the audio or in a second language for a different audience. Sim Trans provides subtitling services in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and across the UAE for broadcast programming, streaming platforms, corporate and training video, government communications, live events, and recorded footage held as evidence.Most requests arrive as one of two jobs. Either the client needs same-language captions so the audio is readable with the sound off, or they need video translation subtitles so a film shot in one language reaches an audience that speaks another. Video captioning covers the first. Translation and subtitling together cover the second, and the two are built differently: a translated file has to carry meaning at a reading speed a viewer can actually keep up with, which usually means condensing the line rather than rendering it word for word.Sim Trans handles both as post-production work with defined delivery specifications, not as a text file emailed back without timing. Where subtitling forms part of a wider content programme, it connects to our localization services for teams adapting a full library rather than a single asset
libraries, ministry and authority communications, conference recordings, product films, and social cuts. Every file runs through two passes. Timing is built first against the audio, then translation or caption text is written into those timings and reviewed by a native speaker of the target language. Splitting the work that way stops the two most common faults in the field, which are subtitles that read accurately but sit off the dialogue, and subtitles that land on cue but read like a machine wrote them.
Delivery is specification-led. Files go out as SRT, WebVTT, EBU-STL, SCC, TTML or IMSC, or burned into the picture where a platform will not accept a sidecar. Timecodes are conformed to the frame rate of the master, line length and line count are held to platform limits, and cues are pulled off shot changes so text does not straddle a cut. Translation subtitles are set to a lower character-per-second ceiling than same-language captions, because a viewer reading a second language needs more time on each line.
covers 750+ pairs. Teams already working with us on Arabic translation services, English translation services, or German translation services keep the same terminology across their documents and their video.
Regional streaming platforms each publish their own delivery specification, and a file that misses it is rejected at QC no matter how strong the translation is. Our Arabic subtitling and dubbing is built to those specs from the first pass, not corrected after a rejection.
Deadline tomorrow? The file can still ship
Sim Trans returns most subtitle and caption files the next working day. Broadcast, corporate, government, live
Sim Trans works as a full-service subtitling company, from a single translated file to live captioning on the day of an event. Each format below suits a different platform, audience, and deadline. Pick the one that matches your material or send the video to a coordinator for a recommendation.
A subtitle translation service for films, programmes, corporate video, and campaign assets moving into a second language. Source dialogue is transcribed and timed, then translated and condensed to a readable pace by a native speaker. Video caption translation follows the same route when a caption file already exists: the text is translated and the timings are re-conformed to the new language.
Closed captioning services for accessibility, including speaker identification, sound effects, and music cues so a viewer who cannot hear the audio still follows the scene. Captions are supplied as toggleable files for broadcast, streaming, and web players.
Frame-accurate transcripts with verbatim or clean-read options, produced as the base layer for everything else. This is also the format used for recorded interviews and evidentiary footage where an exact record of what was said, and when, matters more than presentation.
Subtitles rendered permanently into the picture for social platforms, LED walls, exhibition loops, and any player that will not carry a sidecar file. Font, position, and background are set to stay legible on small screens and bright rooms.
Real-time live translation subtitles for multilingual audiences, where the on-screen text appears in a language other than the one being spoken. Suited to summits and launches with delegates who read a second language more comfortably than they hear it.
Live captioning services for conferences, town halls, streamed sessions, and internal broadcasts, with captions appearing on screen as the speaker talks. Sim Trans supplies the caption operator and the encoding, on-site in Dubai and Abu Dhabi or remotely into your stream.
An existing file checked against reading speed, line length, shot changes, timecode offset, and the receiving platform's specification. Useful when a file has been rejected on delivery and the deadline has not moved.
Automatic closed captioning from platform tools and AI subtitles translation output is fast, and it is rarely broadcast-ready. Sim Trans takes the machine file and corrects names, terminology, punctuation, speaker changes, and timing drift, then re-conforms it to your delivery specification.
For events where delegates also need spoken interpretation alongside the on-screen text, live captioning is booked together with our interpretation services under one coordinator
Most subtitling agencies ask one linguist to translate and cue at the same time, and the file suffers in both directions. Sim Trans builds the timing against the audio first, then writes the text into it. Cues sit where the dialogue sits, and the translator works within a known character budget instead of guessing at one.
Every subtitle file is read by a native speaker of the target language before it ships, in Arabic and in every other language we deliver. They check register, names, numbers, and whether a line can actually be read in the time it is on screen.
A subtitle translation agency that covers only Arabic and English forces you to split a multi-language release across several vendors, and the terminology drifts between them. Sim Trans runs 750+ pairs through one glossary and one project record, so episode one and episode nine use the same words.
Live work is where most subtitling companies subcontract. Sim Trans already runs on-site teams and technicians across Dubai and Abu Dhabi for live events, so live closed captioning is staffed from existing capability rather than brokered out to a third party the week of your conference.
NDAs are available on request, and pre-broadcast material is held under restricted access limited to the linguists assigned to it. Embargoed programming, unannounced product films, and internal executive video are handled on that basis by default.
A subtitle file is rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with translation quality. The frame rate was wrong. Lines ran to three rows when the platform allows two. Captions crossed a shot change. The encoding broke the Arabic. Sim Trans treats subtitling videos as a delivery job with a specification attached, which is why files arrive in a state the receiving platform accepts the first time. One coordinator holds the project from the moment the master lands to the moment the last file is signed off.
What our clients say
Very professional and fast. Acceptable pricing! Recommend for any translations!
Very professional,polite and fast service, can only advise really,nothing else and will come back again
fast online translation with good price👍
Fast and easy to communicate service!
Highly recommend Sim-trans Legal Translation in Abu Dhabi — fast, friendly, accurate, and great service for certified/legal translation in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
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Excellent, professional, and reliable legal translation and interpretation service in Abu Dhabi — accurate, detail-oriented, on-time delivery with smooth communication. Highly recommended.
I used Sim Trans for translation of birth certificate. Very helpful and very fast service. Awad was thoughtful and helpful with all my questions. Great job.
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Always very quick and on point Mohamed Metwally
A subtitling service converts spoken dialogue into timed on-screen text. The audio is transcribed and cued to timecode, the text is written or translated into those cues, and the file is conformed to the platform’s specification. Delivery is either a sidecar file, such as SRT or WebVTT, or subtitles burned into the picture.
Subtitling assumes the viewer can hear the audio and usually renders dialogue only, often in a second language. Closed captioning services assume the viewer cannot hear it, so the file also carries speaker labels, sound effects, and music cues. Closed captions can be switched on and off by the viewer.
Pricing is quoted per finished video minute and moves with the language pair, whether the file is same-language captioning or translation, audio quality, number of speakers, and turnaround. A clean two-speaker corporate film costs less per minute than a multi-speaker panel translated into four languages. Sim Trans quotes a fixed rate after reviewing the video.
There is no single answer, and any subtitling agency claiming the title is selling rather than informing. Judge on evidence: hours delivered, whether timing and translation are separate passes, whether a native speaker reviews the target language, which file formats are supported, and whether live captioning is staffed in-house or subcontracted. Ask every agency on your shortlist those five questions in writing. Ours are answered on the subtitling services page: timing and translation run as separate passes, every target language is reviewed by a native speaker, sidecar delivery covers six formats, and live captioning is staffed in-house in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. .
Not for delivery. Automatic translation subtitles and machine transcription get a usable first draft quickly, then fail on proper nouns, technical terms, overlapping speech, dialect, and Arabic punctuation. Sim Trans uses machine output as a starting point where it helps, with a human pass before any file ships.
Most top 10 subtitling company lists compare things that are not comparable. Self-serve closed captioning companies sell a fixed price per minute and work well when volume is high and the language does not change. Full-service subtitling agencies sell managed delivery, and they are the right fit when a release runs across several languages, has to pass a platform QC spec, or goes out live.
Sidecar files in SRT, WebVTT, EBU-STL, SCC, TTML, and IMSC, plus burned-in subtitles rendered into the video. Files are conformed to the frame rate of your master and to the line-length, line-count, and reading-speed limits of the receiving platform.
Next-day delivery is achievable on most projects and is confirmed against current workload when the quote is issued. Short corporate and social assets often return the same day. Long-form series work, multi-language releases, and files needing full video captioning services with a glossary are scheduled by volume.
Send the published file or link. We transcribe and time it, produce the caption file, and return it for upload to the same asset, so the view count and URL are preserved. Where automatic closed captioning has already been generated by the platform, we correct and re-conform that file instead of starting again.
Yes. Files are conformed to the receiving platform’s delivery specification from the first pass, covering file format and frame rate, Arabic reading speed and line limits, right to left rendering, SDH style, and regional content review, with two stage QC before delivery.
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