ffmpeg-captions-subtitles

To burn subtitles into an MP4 video using FFmpeg, you hardcode the text directly onto the video frames. This process permanently embeds the subtitle file so it displays without requiring a separate track.

You can extract subtitles from an MKV file and convert them to SRT or VTT formats. This allows you to pull existing soft subtitle tracks from a container and transform them for use in different video editing workflows.

FFmpeg can integrate with Whisper AI to generate subtitles automatically from audio. This enables automatic transcription of dialogue, such as from lecture recordings, directly into an SRT file without manual typing.

You can add custom font styling and positioning to subtitles in FFmpeg to ensure optimal readability. This includes modifying text size, color, and placement for professional presentation, particularly with ASS format support.

Burning subtitles permanently hardcodes text into the video frames, while adding soft subtitle tracks keeps them as selectable data within the file. Soft tracks allow viewers to toggle subtitles on or off during playback.

FFmpeg supports batch processing for adding CEA-608 and CEA-708 closed captions to video files. It also provides troubleshooting guidance for common issues encountered during these advanced closed captioning operations.