Practical guide

Burned captions, subtitle files or caption overlays?

Last materially reviewed 2026-09-25

Quick answerAsk for the exact deliverable: visible words inside a video, a timed-text file and a compositing overlay are not interchangeable.
What to know

Separate three different objects

Burned captions are part of the rendered picture. A subtitle sidecar stores timed text for a compatible player. A visual overlay is media designed to be composited with another video. A client saying “send the subtitles” may mean any of these. Confirm the format and intended use before choosing the tool or beginning the styling work.

What to know

Read the export documentation carefully

Submagic’s “export only subtitles” article describes captions on a green or blue background for compositing; it does not establish SRT delivery. VEED explicitly documents SRT, VTT and TXT downloads. Plan restrictions and current behavior still need checking. Do not sell a sidecar deliverable based on a feature label that actually refers to a video overlay.

What to know

Inspect a sample in the receiving workflow

A timed file needs correct timing, text and encoding. A keyed overlay needs appropriate dimensions, duration and clean compositing. Burned captions need legibility because the viewer may not be able to turn them off. Test the format in the intended receiving environment where authorized, rather than assuming a successful download means compatibility.

What to know

Keep the editable source

Save the approved text and timestamps separately from a final burned-in export when future corrections matter. If a name changes later, the video may need rerendering. Do not promise that a delivered MP4 contains recoverable editable captions. Clear file labels and a small handoff note avoid expensive misunderstandings.

What to know

Use an explicit acceptance sentence

A useful handoff specification might say: “One portrait MP4 with visible captions, plus one UTF-8 SRT matching that exact edit.” This is a fictional example, not a claim that a particular plan supplies both. The sentence makes a missing file easy to identify before work begins. If the tool cannot produce one part, agree the alternative before delivering a different object under the same label.

Continue when useful

Next: Check the exported clip before client delivery

Review the actual delivered file for meaning, captions, framing and sound; a successful render is not acceptance.

Open Check the exported clip before client delivery →

Sources used for this page

These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.

  1. VEED caption editing and subtitle-file exports — Merchant documentation · veed.io · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-25
  2. Submagic caption-overlay export—not proof of SRT — Merchant documentation · care.submagic.co · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-25
DELIVERY CHECK / ORIGINAL DECISION MATRIX

“Send the captions”
is not a file specification.

Required objectWhat it doesWhat to verify
Captioned videoWords rendered into the pictureReadability, timing and final export
Timed-text sidecarText and timing for a compatible playerExact format and matching edit
Caption overlayVisual layer for compositingDimensions, keying and duration

These are different deliverables, not interchangeable feature labels. Check the documented export boundaries →