What Are Burned-In Captions? Definition Explained
Burned-in captions are caption text rendered directly into the video's pixels at export time, they become a permanent part of the image.
Definition
Burned-in captions are caption text rendered directly into the pixels of a video at export time, making them permanent and impossible for the viewer to toggle off.
Also known as: hardcoded captions, hardsubs
Full Explanation
Burned-in captions, also called hardcoded captions or hardsubs, are caption text that has been merged into the video frames themselves rather than stored as a separate track. This happens at the export or rendering stage: the captioning tool composites the text onto each frame and re-encodes the video. The result is a single self-contained MP4 (or other video file) where the captions are visually part of the image. Burned-in captions are functionally identical to open captions, the difference is in terminology emphasis: 'burned-in' describes the technical process, while 'open' describes the user experience (always visible). Use burned-in captions when uploading to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, or anywhere caption tracks aren't supported. Avoid them when accessibility customization matters, viewers can't change font size, color, or turn them off.
Examples
- -An exported MP4 from a caption tool like VideoCaptions.AI.
- -A YouTube Short uploaded with the captions baked in.
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