Quantum OCR for Windows: Capture Screen Text and Subtitles
Quantum OCR is a Windows desktop OCR tool that turns visible screen text into copyable text. Press Alt + Q to select a screen region for recognition, or use the subtitle monitor to watch a fixed area and collect new subtitle lines. Core recognition uses models installed on the computer; screenshots are not uploaded for OCR.
Requirements and features
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Platform | Windows 10 or 11, x64 installer |
| Screen capture | Press Alt + Q, then drag around the text to recognize |
| Subtitle monitor | Watch a selected screen region and merge adjacent repeated lines |
| Recognition | Local OCR models; no screenshot upload for core recognition |
| Cost | Core OCR and region capture are free |
Quantum OCR reads text that is currently visible on your screen. It is useful for streaming captions, game dialogue, documents, and application interfaces. It does not transcribe speech from an audio track or create timestamped SRT cues from a video file.
Capture text from the screen
- Download and install the Windows x64 version from the Quantum OCR product page.
- Open Quantum OCR and press Alt + Q.
- Drag to select the screen area containing text or subtitles.
- Review the recognized text, then edit or copy it. You can continue with translation or subtitle editing in the relevant Quantum Subtitle tool.
Monitor subtitles in a fixed region
- Open the subtitle monitor in Quantum OCR.
- Select the area where captions appear in the video, stream, or game.
- Start monitoring while the captions are visible. The monitor follows the selected region and merges adjacent repeated subtitle frames so the result focuses on new lines.
- Review and copy the captured text from the app.
Keep the subtitle area in a stable position and choose a region tight enough to exclude unrelated interface text. Changing scenes, animated text, low contrast, or captions that move outside the selected area can reduce recognition quality.
Which tool should I use?
| What you have | Tool | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Text or captions visible on the Windows screen | Quantum OCR | Copyable text recognized from a screen region |
| A video file with hardcoded subtitles | Subtitle Extractor | Editable subtitle text and SRT output using video OCR |
| Spoken dialogue in an audio or video file | Speech Recognition | Timestamped transcript and SRT output |
For detailed video OCR steps, see the Subtitle Extractor tutorial. To turn recognized speech into captions, follow the Speech Recognition tutorial.
Frequently asked questions
Does Quantum OCR upload screenshots?
Core OCR runs with models installed on the computer, and the product page states that screenshots are not uploaded for this recognition workflow. This is a Windows desktop app rather than a browser upload tool.
Can Quantum OCR create an SRT file from a movie?
Quantum OCR recognizes text in a selected area of the live screen. It does not create timestamped SRT files from video. For a video file with burned-in captions, use Subtitle Extractor; for spoken dialogue, use Speech Recognition.
Is Quantum OCR free?
The Quantum OCR product page lists core OCR and region capture as free features. Check that page for the current Windows download and product details.
Open Quantum OCR
Visit the Quantum OCR for Windows product page to get the current installer and see the latest feature details.