A Guide to Burnt-in Subtitle Styles: Which Best Fits Your Content?

Hard-coded or burnt-in subtitles are a type of subtitles permanently embedded onto the video itself. They’re often used in multilingual videos or videos with a high level of background noise, where traditional subtitles may not be as effective.

Burnt-in subtitles are also commonly used for accessibility purposes, allowing viewers with hearing impairments to fully understand the content.

They’re different from traditional subtitles, as they cannot be toggled on or off and are always visible throughout the video.

With that in mind, it means the style of hard-coded subtitles chosen is an important decision, as they’ll become a part of the video file permanently.

There are a few different styles or ways in which burnt-in subtitles can be displayed, and the choice can depend on where the video will be shown, aesthetic elements already in your video (like the background, colours used etc.), as well as the technical requirements of your video.

If you’re looking for advice on how to add subtitles to your video or which is the most appropriate style for your content, this guide will explain the five most popular styles and when to use them.

The Benefits of Burnt-in Subtitles

Subtitles do much more than just add an extra element to your content.

For large viewing audiences, burnt-in subtitles can be a crucial component in making your content available to the widest audience possible. People with disabilities that affect hearing, people who speak different languages, or those who may have difficulty following the audio, can all be catered for with burnt-in subtitles.

The European Accessibility Act 

With The European Accessibility Act (EAA) coming into force in June 2025, it’s actually more important than ever for businesses and organisations to ensure their content (including videos) is accessible.

The EAA will affect a vast majority of products and services, including electronics and tech, banking, eCommerce, and video streaming platforms, which will all be required to make changes to the way they market their products. This could include improving website readability and, of course, adding captions or subtitles to visual-audio content.

Stats on Subtitle Effectiveness

There are also some impressive stats surrounding the effectiveness of subtitles. 

Verizon Media and Publicis Media carried out a study on this, discovering that 80% of consumers are more likely to watch a full video when captions are available, and that adding captions helped increase ad performance, “contributing to an 8% lift in ad recall, a 10% lift in ad memory quality, and a 13% lift in brand linkage”.

If you were ever debating whether to subtitle or not to subtitle, these benefits alone pretty much clear up the question for you.

Different Styles of Hard-Coded Subtitles

After deciding to incorporate subtitles into your video, the next step is choosing a style that best fits your content and desired aesthetic.

At Matinée, we offer five style presets to our clients, which we have listed below. We can provide advice to you on which is most suitable for your video, but the choice will ultimately be yours.

The font type, size, colour, and position can all be customised for each of these styles.

Style 1: Subtitles with an Outline & Drop-Shadow Effect

This style is a good standard choice due to its simplicity. From the image above, you can see the text is surrounded by a black outline and drop-shadow, which improves visibility against most backgrounds, particularly lighter or busy ones.

It can also be implemented quickly, so if you’re hoping for a quick turnaround time, this is a good option.

Style 2: Black Box Fitted around Width of Subtitle Text

This style is one that we recommend most often, particularly if there are concerns that subtitles may not stand out from the background. The black box creates a solid background for the text, making it easier to read and ensuring its visibility throughout the video.

It’s also great for videos with changing backgrounds or fast-paced scenes, as the text will remain legible and won’t be obscured by any movement or changes in the shot.

Style 3: Subtitles on One Line, Outside Title-Safe Region

This choice is designed for web and multimedia video only and requires the subtitles to be placed outside the title-safe area, meaning that the text may appear cut off if the video is later used on TV screens, so please bear this in mind if your video will be distributed or shared across multiple platforms.

A black box can be added to ensure readability if required, such as when the video has a busy background.

Style 4: Permanent Fixed-Width Black Strip Across Video

This option is similar to Style 2, the main difference being that the black box fits the width of the screen rather than just surrounding the text. This means that, by default, the box stays on screen, even when the subtitles are not.

It’s a popular style for when translated subtitles are being used to cover the original text.

Style 5: Black Box Fits Around Subtitle Text (Title Safe)

Another style that’s similar to Style 2, these burnt-in subtitles display the text surrounded by a black box that’s the width of the subtitles and on individual lines. In the example above, you’ll see two black boxes surrounding each line of subtitle text.

This is good for longer lines of text, and it doesn’t cover up too much of the background, as the black boxes are only the same size as the text rather than the width of the screen.

Custom Burnt-in Subtitle Styles

As well as the above, we can also create hard-coded subtitles using custom styles and layouts. This can include…

• Use of multiple colours
• Varying fonts
• Repositioning individual subtitles to avoid overlap with any existing on-screen text

It may require additional time to complete this, as we’ll need to create the style from scratch, but it can be worth it if you have a specific look in mind for your subtitles. We are more than happy to discuss your ideas and will work with you to produce the perfect style for your video.

Some of our clients provide screenshots of examples they have seen in other films or TV programmes as inspiration for a specific style. We can then use these images as references.

You may also wish to provide a brief description of the font specifications or send us your brand guidelines, from which we can take the exact font and colour codes for your subtitles. 

If you have a text preset, even better! We can use these presets in our software to create the subtitles in the same font, colour, and size.

Custom Subtitle Examples

Below, you can see an example of a customised subtitling solution we produced for Xbox’s social media. We created this custom subtitle text for the video gaming giants, which we have overlaid on our own image as a sample of how this looked.

We have also included some other examples of custom hard-coded subtitles below to give you an idea of the types of effects that can be achieved with this option.

How Much Does It Cost to Add Burnt-in Subtitles to a Video?

Our subtitling service rates start from just £160 for a video up to 10 minutes long. If transcription or translation is required, this is an additional fee, but we always remain competitive in our prices, offering you the very best value for money.

We can provide closed captions and hard-coded subtitles in over 80 languages with the support of our experienced team of skilled linguists and using the latest subtitling software.

For a personalised quote, fill out a Quick Quote form below, including details about your video and preferred subtitle style, and we’ll get back to you with a proposal within an hour.

Can You Help Me Decide Which Burnt-in Subtitle Style is Best for My Video?

Of course! Our team has over 40 years of experience in subtitling and can advise you on the best option for your video. We take into consideration factors such as the length of your video, the type of content it contains, and where it will be distributed or shared.

With our expertise, we can help you choose a subtitle style that not only looks great but also enhances the viewing experience for your audience.

Trust Matinée to Create Your Hard-Coded Subtitles

To find out how we can help your business with professional subtitling, translation, and voiceover services, get in touch with us today! We provide services in over 80 languages including French, Italian, Spanish, and German voice overs and subtitling, producing high-quality, accurate subtitles that will seamlessly integrate with your video content.

Email us at project@matinee.co.uk, or call us on +44 (0) 118 958 4934 to get started.

FAQs

What are Hard-Coded Subtitles? + –

Hard-coded subtitles are burned-in or embedded into the video itself, rather than being a separate file that can be turned on or off. This means that the subtitles will always appear when the video is played, regardless of where it’s being viewed.

Can Burnt-in Subtitles Be Turned Off? + –

No, burnt-in subtitles cannot be turned off. They are permanently embedded into the video and will always appear when the video is played.

Is There an Alternative to Burnt-in Subtitles? + –

The alternative to burnt-in subtitles is delivering a subtitle file, which allows you to turn the subtitles off if you wish.

How Do I Make Subtitles More Readable? + –

There are a few ways to make subtitles more readable, including choosing the right font and size, using appropriate background colours or boxes, and adding a black box behind the text to increase contrast against a busy background.

We can provide advice for the best subtitle style for your video, based on the type of content, and the target audience.

How Long Does It Take to Create Burnt-in Subtitles? + –

The time it takes to create burnt-in subtitles will depend on the length of your video and the complexity of the required subtitle style. We work efficiently to ensure all projects are completed to the highest standard and within a reasonable time frame.

When you fill out a project brief, we’ll get back to you with a quote and an estimated timeframe for the project.