Selectable captions or burned subtitles: specify both deliverables clearly

A client asking for a video with subtitles may mean a selectable caption track, words permanently rendered into the picture or both. Clarify the expected deliverables before export so a late wording change does not become an unnecessary full-video revision.

Make the decision explicit

Name the clean video, the sidecar file and any burned version separately. Record which caption revision belongs to each. Selectable captions depend on player support and association; burned text is part of the image. The choice affects language switching, visibility and whether correcting a word requires another video export.

A worked example

In an invented handoff, the editor provides a clean MP4, an English VTT and a burned preview for review. The client approves a corrected surname in caption revision two. The sidecar is updated, but the earlier burned preview still contains the mistake. A versioned manifest makes that mismatch visible rather than letting three similar filenames imply that every asset was updated.

Review before handoff

Check the actual receiving player and audience needs. Captions may need meaningful sound information beyond dialogue; audio description addresses a different need again. A particular file combination is not a universal accessibility certification. Preserve editable timing and source material, and state exactly which delivered versions were watched and approved.

Put the idea to work

Read burned in subtitles and use the related free workflow tool for its stated, limited task. Neither link replaces the review described above.

Reference and editorial notes

• W3C WAI: media accessibility

References checked October 29, 2026. Numerical and fictional scenarios are illustrative unless explicitly identified otherwise. The cover is an original Topicut explanatory diagram, not a product screenshot or a measurement.