Burned-in subtitles
Burned-in / hardcoded subtitles
Subtitles rasterized into the video pixels during export. Identical on every platform, but viewers can't toggle them off.
In depth
'Burned-in' is the post-production term for subtitles rendered permanently into video frames. The captions become part of the image, so they survive any codec, container, or platform — but they can't be turned off, restyled, or language-switched. Burned-in is the default for short-form social (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, X) where soft captions don't survive cross-posting. The term is interchangeable with 'hardcoded' and 'open captions' in casual use.
When to use it
Burn captions in for short-form social, ad creative, and any deliverable where you don't trust the destination platform's caption rendering. Use soft captions for long-form (YouTube long-form, Vimeo, courses, sermons).
Frequently asked
Are burned-in subtitles the same as hardcoded subtitles?+
Yes — different terms for the same thing. 'Burned-in' is the editor's term; 'hardcoded' is the engineer's term; 'open captions' is the broadcast term.
Do burned-in captions count as accessibility-compliant?+
They make content visible to everyone, but they don't satisfy the 'closed captions' standard that requires toggleable tracks. For broadcast or enterprise compliance, deliver an SRT alongside the burned-in MP4.
Hardcoded subtitles (also called burned-in or open captions) are permanently rendered into the video pixels — identical on every player and platform, but viewers can't turn them off. Required for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts where caption tracks are hidden during feed autoplay.
Captions burned permanently into the video frame so every viewer sees them. The opposite of closed captions, which can be toggled.
Captions that the viewer can toggle on or off, typically delivered as a separate text track encoded into or alongside the video.