Burn caption into video

[Oliver]

What's the best way on Windows to offline embed the text in an SRT
companion file to an MP4 video before uploading a short video clip to a web
site?

I made a short (ten second) video with my phone to upload to a web site.
I tried a few methods to remove the exif metadata which probably worked.

Then I created a simple SRT text file with the desired captions.
1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000

This is the first line of text.
This is the second line of text

Then I tried to burn in (embed, hardcode, merge) that SRT into the MP4 so
that I only upload a single MP4 with a caption on the 2nd half of the MP4.

I tried Handbrake, VLC, MkvToMp4, VidCoder, Shotcut & a few others (all of
which failed but probably they failed mostly due to my own user error or
from my following of bad AI-generated instructions found in my searches).

Given that it's not as simple as it may seem, what method on Windows do you
use to burn an SRT file into a short video prior to upload to a web site?

[Alan Browne]

Post by Oliver
What's the best way on Windows to offline embed the text in an SRT
companion file to an MP4 video before uploading a short video clip to a web
site?
I made a short (ten second) video with my phone to upload to a web site.
I tried a few methods to remove the exif metadata which probably worked.
Then I created a simple SRT text file with the desired captions.
1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000
This is the first line of text.
This is the second line of text
Then I tried to burn in (embed, hardcode, merge) that SRT into the MP4 so
that I only upload a single MP4 with a caption on the 2nd half of the MP4.
I tried Handbrake, VLC, MkvToMp4, VidCoder, Shotcut & a few others (all of
which failed but probably they failed mostly due to my own user error or
from my following of bad AI-generated instructions found in my searches).
Given that it's not as simple as it may seem, what method on Windows do you
use to burn an SRT file into a short video prior to upload to a web site?

There may be a way in exiftool.

Da Vinci Resolve will do this, but it's a steep learning curve - though
there is probably a YouTube out there for it.

Da Vinci Resolve is free for non-commercial output.

[Big Al]

Post by Alan Browne

Post by Oliver
What's the best way on Windows to offline embed the text in an SRT
companion file to an MP4 video before uploading a short video clip to a web
site?
I made a short (ten second) video with my phone to upload to a web site.
I tried a few methods to remove the exif metadata which probably worked.
Then I created a simple SRT text file with the desired captions.
1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000
This is the first line of text.
This is the second line of text
Then I tried to burn in (embed, hardcode, merge) that SRT into the MP4 so
that I only upload a single MP4 with a caption on the 2nd half of the MP4.
I tried Handbrake, VLC, MkvToMp4, VidCoder, Shotcut & a few others (all of
which failed but probably they failed mostly due to my own user error or
from my following of bad AI-generated instructions found in my searches).
Given that it's not as simple as it may seem, what method on Windows do you
use to burn an SRT file into a short video prior to upload to a web site?

There may be a way in exiftool.
Da Vinci Resolve will do this, but it's a steep learning curve - though there is probably a YouTube
out there for it.
Da Vinci Resolve is free for non-commercial output.

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text? Then save the video and upload.

[Big Al]

Post by Alan Browne

Post by Oliver
What's the best way on Windows to offline embed the text in an SRT
companion file to an MP4 video before uploading a short video clip to a web
site?
I made a short (ten second) video with my phone to upload to a web site.
I tried a few methods to remove the exif metadata which probably worked.
Then I created a simple SRT text file with the desired captions.
1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000
This is the first line of text.
This is the second line of text
Then I tried to burn in (embed, hardcode, merge) that SRT into the MP4 so
that I only upload a single MP4 with a caption on the 2nd half of the MP4.
I tried Handbrake, VLC, MkvToMp4, VidCoder, Shotcut & a few others (all of
which failed but probably they failed mostly due to my own user error or
from my following of bad AI-generated instructions found in my searches).
Given that it's not as simple as it may seem, what method on Windows do you
use to burn an SRT file into a short video prior to upload to a web site?

There may be a way in exiftool.
Da Vinci Resolve will do this, but it's a steep learning curve - though there is probably a
YouTube out there for it.
Da Vinci Resolve is free for non-commercial output.

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save the video and upload.

Of course that might be what DaVinci is. ...

[Alan Browne]

Post by Big Al

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save
the video and upload.

Of course that might be what DaVinci is. ...

Oh, you replied to a post without checking. How newbie-ish.
Feels bad huh! 😇

[Big Al]

Post by Big Al

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save the video and upload.

Of course that might be what DaVinci is. ...

Oh, you replied to a post without checking.  How newbie-ish.
Feels bad huh! 😇

Olde, not newbie, just sleep walking.

[Alan Browne]

Post by Big Al

Post by Big Al

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save
the video and upload.

Of course that might be what DaVinci is. ...

Oh, you replied to a post without checking.  How newbie-ish.
Feels bad huh! 😇

Olde, not newbie, just sleep walking.

Never happens to me. Never. Not once. No! Really. 🙄

[Paul]

Post by Big Al

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save the video and upload.

Of course that might be what DaVinci is. ...

Oh, you replied to a post without checking.  How newbie-ish.
Feels bad huh! 😇

You should try the prescription he's on.

Paul

[Alan Browne]

Post by Paul

Post by Big Al

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save the video and upload.

Of course that might be what DaVinci is. ...

Oh, you replied to a post without checking.  How newbie-ish.
Feels bad huh! 😇

You should try the prescription he's on.

I don't do drugs. Especially if they are prescribed. 🤣

[Alan Browne]

Post by Alan Browne
Da Vinci Resolve will do this, but it's a steep learning curve -
though there is probably a YouTube out there for it.
Da Vinci Resolve is free for non-commercial output.

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save the
video and upload.

Da Vinci Resolve mean anything to you?

[Paul]

Post by Alan Browne

Da Vinci Resolve will do this, but it's a steep learning curve - though there is probably a YouTube out there for it.
Da Vinci Resolve is free for non-commercial output.

Why not just use some video editor and overlay the text?  Then save the video and upload.

Da Vinci Resolve mean anything to you?

These people have horrible presentation for web pages,
but it is what it is.

https://www.baeldung.com/linux/subtitles-ffmpeg

sample_video_subtitle_ffmpeg.srt subtitle file

1
00:00:04,700 --> 00:00:05,090
You know what

2
00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:05,990
we should all do.

3
00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:08,690
Go see a musical.

4
00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:12,490
sure,

5
00:00:14,770 --> 00:00:16,530
and you know which one we should see

6
00:00:17,580 --> 00:00:19,880
The 1996, Tony Award winner.

ffmpeg -i sample_video_ffmpeg.mp4 -vf subtitles=sample_video_subtitle_ffmpeg.srt output_srt.mp4

That seems to be missing a -c copy, but maybe all the tracks will be there.

Using something like ffprobe.exe afterwards on output_srt.mp4 , should
indicate whether an additional new track is present.

You don't absolutely need an editor for this. I like FFMPEG
because it's the Swiss Army Knife. It has enough constructs
inside to make a full-blown editor and be the engine for it.
It's that good. You can do fade-in and fade-out for example,
from the command line, splice bits of tracks together, and so on.

Of course GUI people don't like that, but you don't get to see
just how good it is, until you find a posting from someone who
edits videos all day long for Internet use. And they'll show
you some amazing multi-line commands.

Paul

[Oliver]

Post by Paul
ffmpeg -i sample_video_ffmpeg.mp4 -vf subtitles=sample_video_subtitle_ffmpeg.srt output_srt.mp4
That seems to be missing a -c copy, but maybe all the tracks will be there.
Using something like ffprobe.exe afterwards on output_srt.mp4 , should
indicate whether an additional new track is present.

Using the simple ten second video clip shot from my phone and this simple
hand-crafted SRT file, the suggested command worked (almost) perfectly.
====================
1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,000

This is line 1.
This is line 2.
====================
ffmpeg -i test.mp4 -vf subtitles=test.srt merged.mp4
ffprobe merged.mp4
move test.srt test.bak
====================
Thanks to your suggested ffmpeg melding of files command,
(most of) the SRT was hard coded merged into the video.

The only thing that didn't work is line 2 never showed up.
But I don't care about that as a line is enough to prove it works.

BTW, I have no idea what you mean by "all the tracks" but I did
run the suggested ffprobe command which output what you see below.

Did the ffprobe output indicate to you any possible missing tracks?

====================
ffmpeg -i test.mp4 -vf subtitles=test.srt merged.mp4
====================
ffmpeg version N-114515-gfa110c32b5-20240329 Copyright (c) 2000-2024 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 13.2.0 (crosstool-NG 1.26.0.65_ecc5e41)
configuration: --prefix=/ffbuild/prefix --pkg-config-flags=--static --pkg-config=pkg-config --cross-prefix=x86_64-w64-mingw32-
--arch=x86_64 --target-os=mingw32 --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --disable-debug --enable-shared --disable-static --disable-w32threads
--enable-pthreads --enable-iconv --enable-libxml2 --enable-zlib --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-gmp --enable-lzma
--enable-fontconfig --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libvorbis --enable-opencl --disable-libpulse --enable-libvmaf --disable-libxcb
--disable-xlib --enable-amf --enable-libaom --enable-libaribb24 --enable-avisynth --enable-chromaprint --enable-libdav1d
--enable-libdavs2 --enable-libdvdread --enable-libdvdnav --disable-libfdk-aac --enable-ffnvcodec --enable-cuda-llvm --enable-frei0r
--enable-libgme --enable-libkvazaar --enable-libaribcaption --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libjxl --enable-libmp3lame
--enable-libopus --enable-librist --enable-libssh --enable-libtheora --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-lv2 --enable-libvpl
--enable-openal --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopenh264 --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt
--enable-librav1e --enable-librubberband --enable-schannel --enable-sdl2 --enable-libsoxr --enable-libsrt --enable-libsvtav1
--enable-libtwolame --enable-libuavs3d --disable-libdrm --enable-vaapi --enable-libvidstab --enable-vulkan --enable-libshaderc
--enable-libplacebo --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxavs2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-libzvbi
--extra-cflags=-DLIBTWOLAME_STATIC --extra-cxxflags= --extra-libs=-lgomp --extra-ldflags=-pthread --extra-ldexeflags=
--cc=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc --cxx=x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++ --ar=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-ar --ranlib=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-ranlib
--nm=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-nm --extra-version=20240329
libavutil 59. 10.100 / 59. 10.100
libavcodec 61. 4.100 / 61. 4.100
libavformat 61. 2.100 / 61. 2.100
libavdevice 61. 2.100 / 61. 2.100
libavfilter 10. 2.100 / 10. 2.100
libswscale 8. 2.100 / 8. 2.100
libswresample 5. 2.100 / 5. 2.100
libpostproc 58. 2.100 / 58. 2.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'test.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : isom
minor_version : 0
compatible_brands: mp41avc1
creation_time : 2024-10-15T06:44:53.000000Z
encoder : vlc 3.0.20 stream output
encoder-eng : vlc 3.0.20 stream output
Duration: 00:00:06.23, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 14964 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1](eng): Audio: mp3 (mp3float) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 127 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2024-10-15T06:44:53.000000Z
handler_name : SoundHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
Stream #0:1[0x2](eng): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 1920x1080 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 14827 kb/s, 30.17 fps, 30 tbr, 1000k tbn (default)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2024-10-15T06:44:53.000000Z
handler_name : VideoHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
Side data:
displaymatrix: rotation of -90.00 degrees
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597957c00] libass API version: 0x1701000
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597957c00] libass source: commit: 649a7c2e1fc6f4188ea1a89968560715800b883d-dirty
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597957c00] Shaper: FriBidi 1.0.13 (SIMPLE) HarfBuzz-ng 8.3.1 (COMPLEX)
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597957c00] Using font provider directwrite (with GDI)
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597957c00] libass wasn't built with ASS_FEATURE_WRAP_UNICODE support
Stream mapping:
Stream #0:1 -> #0:0 (h264 (native) -> h264 (libx264))
Stream #0:0 -> #0:1 (mp3 (mp3float) -> aac (native))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597955800] libass API version: 0x1701000
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597955800] libass source: commit: 649a7c2e1fc6f4188ea1a89968560715800b883d-dirty
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597955800] Shaper: FriBidi 1.0.13 (SIMPLE) HarfBuzz-ng 8.3.1 (COMPLEX)
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597955800] Using font provider directwrite (with GDI)
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597955800] libass wasn't built with ASS_FEATURE_WRAP_UNICODE support
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] using SAR=1/1
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast LZCNT
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] profile High, level 4.0, 4:2:0, 8-bit
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] 264 - core 164 - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2024 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=3 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=hex subme=7 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=1 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=1 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=-2 threads=6 lookahead_threads=1 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=25 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=crf mbtree=1 crf=23.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00
Output #0, mp4, to 'merged.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : isom
minor_version : 0
compatible_brands: mp41avc1
encoder : Lavf61.2.100
Stream #0:0(eng): Video: h264 (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 1080x1920 [SAR 1:1 DAR 9:16], q=2-31, 30 fps, 15360 tbn (default)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2024-10-15T06:44:53.000000Z
handler_name : VideoHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
encoder : Lavc61.4.100 libx264
Side data:
cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 0/0/0 buffer size: 0 vbv_delay: N/A
Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
creation_time : 2024-10-15T06:44:53.000000Z
handler_name : SoundHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
encoder : Lavc61.4.100 aac
[Parsed_subtitles_0 @ 0000025597955800] fontselect: (Arial, 400, 0) -> ArialMT, 0, ArialMTdrop=0 speed=0.171x
[out#0/mp4 @ 00000255978eed00] video:11219KiB audio:102KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: 0.081056%
frame= 189 fps=6.0 q=-1.0 Lsize= 11329KiB time=00:00:06.20 bitrate=14960.4kbits/s dup=1 drop=0 speed=0.196x
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] frame I:5 Avg QP:22.96 size: 94847
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] frame P:52 Avg QP:25.76 size: 67137
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] frame B:132 Avg QP:26.43 size: 56983
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] consecutive B-frames: 6.3% 1.1% 1.6% 91.0%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] mb I I16..4: 17.9% 66.7% 15.4%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] mb P I16..4: 10.8% 57.5% 8.8% P16..4: 13.8% 3.5% 1.1% 0.0% 0.0% skip: 4.5%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] mb B I16..4: 5.7% 31.9% 6.5% B16..8: 26.3% 9.0% 1.6% direct: 3.6% skip:15.5% L0:53.8% L1:40.2% BI: 6.1%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] 8x8 transform intra:72.9% inter:83.4%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] coded y,uvDC,uvAC intra: 60.5% 46.3% 8.0% inter: 26.1% 30.2% 0.9%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] i16 v,h,dc,p: 30% 28% 13% 29%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] i8 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 18% 18% 19% 6% 8% 8% 8% 8% 9%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 18% 19% 13% 6% 11% 9% 10% 6% 7%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] i8c dc,h,v,p: 55% 20% 22% 4%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.0% UV:0.0%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] ref P L0: 56.6% 7.6% 20.0% 15.8%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] ref B L0: 86.1% 10.1% 3.9%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] ref B L1: 94.3% 5.7%
[libx264 @ 0000025597949c00] kb/s:14586.81
[aac @ 0000025599caa040] Qavg: 1098.128
====================
ffprobe.exe merged.mp4
====================
ffprobe version N-114515-gfa110c32b5-20240329 Copyright (c) 2007-2024 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 13.2.0 (crosstool-NG 1.26.0.65_ecc5e41)
configuration: --prefix=/ffbuild/prefix --pkg-config-flags=--static --pkg-config=pkg-config --cross-prefix=x86_64-w64-mingw32-
--arch=x86_64 --target-os=mingw32 --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --disable-debug --enable-shared --disable-static --disable-w32threads
--enable-pthreads --enable-iconv --enable-libxml2 --enable-zlib --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-gmp --enable-lzma
--enable-fontconfig --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libvorbis --enable-opencl --disable-libpulse --enable-libvmaf --disable-libxcb
--disable-xlib --enable-amf --enable-libaom --enable-libaribb24 --enable-avisynth --enable-chromaprint --enable-libdav1d
--enable-libdavs2 --enable-libdvdread --enable-libdvdnav --disable-libfdk-aac --enable-ffnvcodec --enable-cuda-llvm --enable-frei0r
--enable-libgme --enable-libkvazaar --enable-libaribcaption --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libjxl --enable-libmp3lame
--enable-libopus --enable-librist --enable-libssh --enable-libtheora --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-lv2 --enable-libvpl
--enable-openal --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopenh264 --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt
--enable-librav1e --enable-librubberband --enable-schannel --enable-sdl2 --enable-libsoxr --enable-libsrt --enable-libsvtav1
--enable-libtwolame --enable-libuavs3d --disable-libdrm --enable-vaapi --enable-libvidstab --enable-vulkan --enable-libshaderc
--enable-libplacebo --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxavs2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzimg --enable-libzvbi
--extra-cflags=-DLIBTWOLAME_STATIC --extra-cxxflags= --extra-libs=-lgomp --extra-ldflags=-pthread --extra-ldexeflags=
--cc=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc --cxx=x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++ --ar=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-ar --ranlib=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-ranlib
--nm=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-nm --extra-version=20240329
libavutil 59. 10.100 / 59. 10.100
libavcodec 61. 4.100 / 61. 4.100
libavformat 61. 2.100 / 61. 2.100
libavdevice 61. 2.100 / 61. 2.100
libavfilter 10. 2.100 / 10. 2.100
libswscale 8. 2.100 / 8. 2.100
libswresample 5. 2.100 / 5. 2.100
libpostproc 58. 2.100 / 58. 2.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'merged.mp4':
Metadata:
major_brand : isom
minor_version : 512
compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
encoder : Lavf61.2.100
Duration: 00:00:06.30, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 14731 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1](eng): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 1080x1920 [SAR 1:1 DAR 9:16], 14587 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 15360 tbn (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : VideoHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
encoder : Lavc61.4.100 libx264
Stream #0:1[0x2](eng): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 134 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : SoundHandler
vendor_id : [0][0][0][0]
====================

[Carlos E.R.]

Post by Oliver
What's the best way on Windows to offline embed the text in an SRT
companion file to an MP4 video before uploading a short video clip to a web
site?

Please don't do that.

If the subtitles go as a separate text stream, the site can
automatically or manually add translations to other languages of your
video. This is what Youtube does.

You can instead join the video and the text into a single file (but
separate streams) using formats that allow this, and add the metadata
for the language.