Captions burning into video even when not selected to

[Olga_B5414]

Hello, Community Members!

I know that this issue was discussed a couple of years ago but it seems to be a recurring one!

When I sent my video with captions to Export, I chose Captions to be rendered separately.

However, every time I tried I had them burnt into the video together with a .srt file. Eventually, I disabled a Caption track, had the video file exported (someone else's clever idea) and rendered Captions separately. 

Perhaps, a much more simple solution is hidden somewhere in the Settings which I'm missing?

Thank you!

[Stan Jones]

@Olga_B5414,

Yes, there is an old, long, and confusing thread from the past. It is confusing because a) I think there was a bug that was solved (probably prior to version 24.2) and b) the testing method sometimes led users to think captions were burned in when they were not (VLC player for example may see a previously exported srt and show the captions).

What version are you using? (Release 25.4.0 just came out.)

Mac (version?) vs PC?

Do you have linked AE comps in your sequence?

As a test, I recommend reimporting the file to PR - are the captions burned in?

In PR export settings with the Captions setting as None or Sidecar, before exporting, look at the preview window. Are the captions visible? If so, they will burn in.

You have done this one: Disable the captions (turn off visibility with the eyeball in the caption track header), and confirm that they do not burn in.

Are you using a custom export preset?

Is there any difference if you send to AME vs export directly from PR?

What is the caption format (Subtitle/608/etc), the export format (H.264/mxf/etc), and what export settings (Other than burn-in) result in the captions burning in (embed/sidecar/none).

Stan

[Olga_B5414]

Hello Stan,

Thank you very much for the answer! 

What version are you using? (Release 25.4.0 just came out.) Mac (version?) vs PC? Do you have linked AE comps in your sequence?

I'm using the latest version for PC and I haven't used AE for my work nor I have it linked.

...look at the preview window. 

For some reason Preview Mode doesn't work during exporting.

Is there any difference if you send to AME vs export directly from PR?

I exported directly from PR - will try AME.

What is the caption format (Subtitle/608/etc), the export format (H.264/mxf/etc), and what export settings (Other than burn-in) result in the captions burning in (embed/sidecar/none).

The settings were: H.264/mxf/etc 4K. Cannot find where to check the caption format (Subtitle/608/etc). Just now launched the whole process again and got srt. file + video with captions burnt in!

Will try AME - if no changes will stay with the option: captions disabled - for video + captions exported separately (

Olga

[PaulMurphy]

Are your captions in a nested sequence? This can cause them to be burnt in regardless of what you've selected.

[Olga_B5414]

No , they were not. And I will avoid it in future ) Thank you!

And I've just realized that it is my oversight: I opened the rendered file in VLC and a subtrack was automatically turned on ( In reality everything if fine!

[Sumeet Kumar Choubey]

Hi Olga,

Welcome to the community. Please share a detailed screenshot of the Export Settings used & also let us know if the exported media shows burned-in captions after importing & previewing it in Premiere Pro.

Thanks,

Sumeet

[Olga_B5414 · Accepted solution]

Hi Sumeet,

Thank you!

I just realized my mistake.

I was checking the rendered video in VLC player, and it automatically displayed the subtitle track along with the video.

When I opened the same file in other media players, I saw that the captions weren’t actually burned in!

I’m so glad the program works fine—and very grateful to everyone who took the time to explain what could have been wrong.

All my best,

Olga

[Sumeet Kumar Choubey]

Glad to hear that everything is working properly! Feel free to reach out if you experience any issues in the future. We're here to help.

Thanks,

Sumeet