Worked example: four cues, three kinds of failure
Inputs, measured results, and assumptions.
- Inputs
- Cue 1, 0.000–1.400 s: “This line is far too long for a short-form caption and will fail the length check” (81 characters, one line). Cue 2, 1.000–1.200 s: “Fast” (4 characters). Cue 3, 2.000–5.000 s: “A readable caption.” (19 characters). Cue 4, 4.500–7.000 s: “This cue overlaps the previous one.” Limits: 17 CPS, 42 characters per line, 2 lines.
- Result
- Cue 1 fails length (81 > 42) and speed (81 / 1.4 ≈ 57.9 CPS). Cue 2 fails speed (4 / 0.2 = 20.0 CPS) and overlaps cue 1. Cue 3 passes (19 / 3 ≈ 6.3 CPS, 19 characters, one line). Cue 4 overlaps cue 3 by 0.5 s.
- Assumptions
- Characters are Unicode code points of the trimmed line with spaces preserved and line breaks not counted. CPS uses on-screen seconds. The 17 / 42 / 2 limits are house defaults, not a platform spec. Safe-zone bands were reviewed 4 November 2026 and are illustrative.
Load the sample on checker. Export a trimmed file from timing fixer.