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I hardcoded subtitles into an .m4v video file. When I upload that .m4v file to YouTube however, the subtitles don't appear. I thought since I hardcoded the subtitles into the file, they should appear. Why doesn't YouTube show hardcoded subtitles, and how to make it show hardcoded subtitles?

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    What did you do to hardcode them?
    – Seth
    Jul 12, 2017 at 5:20
  • Originally I had a .mkv video file without subtitles, and a .srt file for the subtitles. I opened the .mkv file in Handbrake, and added the .srt file to it by clicking "Subtitles" in Handbrake, and then let Handbrake make a .m4v file of it. When I play that .m4v file in VLC, the subtitles show up, but not when I upload it to YouTube.
    – LB7979
    Jul 12, 2017 at 11:10
  • Did you select "Burn In" for the subtitle or not? A M4V file is still a container format that might contain soft subtitles. If it is a soft subtitle you should be able to deselect it in VLC. With hardcoded subtitles the subtitle becomes part of (at least) every keyframe of the file. Which also means it will be affected by compression and so on.
    – Seth
    Jul 12, 2017 at 11:37
  • UPDATE: I now realize I didn't correctly hardcode the subtitles when using Handbrake, because when I change the name of the .srt file the subtitles don't show up. Used Handbrake again, this time using "Burn In" like you said, and now it works
    – LB7979
    Jul 12, 2017 at 12:41
  • Nice that it helped, as you didn't do it yourself I took the time to write an actual answer to your question explaining some more the differences. If you feel like maybe check out what you could do if someone answers your question.
    – Seth
    Jul 13, 2017 at 5:54

1 Answer 1

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If Youtube doesn't show the subtitles, it's likely that they're not hardsubs. If you do have a file that has hardsubs they can't be hidden or formatted differently as they become an integral part of the frames for the movie. Think of it as using paint and adding text to every single frame. After you change that frame you won't be able to remove the text again in a fashion that allows you to see the original picture. This is because you've replaced part of the original data that made up the frame and that can not be recovered.

This setup also means that any distortions (e. g. caused by recompression) will affect the subtitles. This is in part why some of the DVD subtitles look so horrible.

If you look at the official handbrake documentation for the subtitle options you'll find that you have to check whenever you want handbrake to "burn in"/"hard burn" the subtitles in order to make them hardsubs.

If you're using a media player of your choice you should be able to deactivate subtitles if they're part of the file. Also be aware that some players will read subtitles files that are in the same directory as the file you're watching.

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  • Yep, checking "burn in" in Handbrake did really hard-code them, and I now realize I didn't do that properly before. Problem is solved now.
    – LB7979
    Jul 14, 2017 at 19:46
  • Good to hear. Maybe consider writing a more in-depth answer yourself or consider checking out what you can do if your question receives an answer if you haven't already.
    – Seth
    Jul 17, 2017 at 5:50

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