FLAC keeps sound without losing detail, which makes files large but gives clear speech, and it carries no captions of its own. To get SRT and VTT subtitles from FLAC files, send the recording to Potok in Telegram as 1 file. Then check the first lines of the SRT against the audio before using it.
Get the text of your recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram
About 30 languages · speaker labels and timestamps · files up to 2 GB · export to TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT
Facts that matter here
- RFC 9639 allows 1 to 8 channels, bit depths from 4 to 32 and sample rates from 1 to 1048575 Hz.
- Android lists FLAC (.flac) as a supported file type.
- A FLAC stream is metadata blocks followed by audio frames (audio only), with no subtitle track, so an SRT stays a separate file.
- Send .flac files up to 2 GB as they are: Potok decodes them without a separate conversion.
About the FLAC format
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Kind | Lossless audio format |
| Media types | audio/flac |
| What it holds | A stream of metadata blocks followed by audio frames |
How to make subtitles from FLAC files
- Send the FLAC file to the bot. In Telegram, open @potok_now_bot and attach the .flac file to the chat. Larger recordings, up to 2 GB, go through the Upload button in the bot's mini app.
- Keep the format in mind. A FLAC stream is metadata blocks followed by audio frames (audio only), with no subtitle track, so an SRT stays a separate file.
- Export SRT or VTT. Choose SRT or VTT among the export buttons and load the file next to the video in your editor or player; check the first and the last caption against the sound.
- Good to know. Android lists FLAC (.flac) as a supported file type.
What the subtitle file looks like
[00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,400] Caption 1: The song started as a melody on the piano.
[00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,100] Caption 2: Then the drummer joined and changed the tempo.
[00:00:06,300 --> 00:00:09,000] Caption 3: We recorded the whole thing in one evening.
[00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,800] Caption 4: Our podcast guest grew up on a sheep farm in Wales.
Captions written by us to show the layout. They are not output from a real FLAC file.
| Topic | Answer |
|---|---|
| Desktop app | For dictating into other programs there is a separate Potok desktop app that recognises Russian speech |
| Short digest | Press the summary button under a finished transcript for a short digest |
| Other languages | The text keeps the language of the audio and is not translated |
| Where it works | Telegram bot @potok_now_bot; large files go through the bot's mini app |
| Size limit | 2 GB per file |
What to avoid with FLAC
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Looking for a subtitle option inside the FLAC file | FLAC has no subtitle track, so none exists to turn on | Use the SRT as a separate companion file |
| Sending a FLAC of a whole album of talks | One huge caption file is hard to search and edit | Send each talk as its own FLAC file |
| Cutting the FLAC after generating the SRT | Caption times no longer match the shortened audio | Trim the FLAC first, then request the subtitles |
| Editing caption times by hand in the VTT without a backup | One typo can break the file and hide all captions | Keep an untouched copy of the original VTT before editing |
Where to look next
Terms used here are explained in the glossary. Handy helpers live in tools; apps are on the download page.
Common questions
Is FLAC supported?
It is: the bot takes .flac files of up to 2 GB and decodes them itself, so you do not need to convert anything first.
Will the captions be burned into my FLAC file?
No. You get a separate .srt or .vtt text file, and your original FLAC file stays unchanged.
Which apps and devices create FLAC files?
The flac command-line tool encodes audio to FLAC streams (flac encoder tool).
Sources
Each source was opened by hand on the date shown. Pages change, so open the source if a detail matters to you.
- RFC 9639: Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), IETF · checked
- Supported media formats, Android Developers · checked
See the result on your recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Go to @potok_now_bot in Telegram