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Turn "Burn Subtitles" on permanently?
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Is there a way to turn "Burn Subtitles" on permanently? I always watch with subtitles and hate when they're not burned in so go in a do it manually every time I watch something, but curious if there's a way to automate it.
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When you say you, "hate when they're not burned in so go in a do it manually every time", do you mean you just want to have a subtitle track selected automatically, or are you actually talking about burning in subtitles, which is the process of adding the subtitles to the video itself (forcing a transcode) instead of them being displayed over the video as a separate layer? If it's the former, you can adjust your subtitle preferences in your account settings to always show subtitles in your preferred language if they're available. If you're talking about the latter, most clients have a setting that allows you to choose how aggressive Plex is about burning in subtitles (e.g. in the web app, Settings > Plex Web > Player > Burn Subtitles > Always: https://i.imgur.com/G9p8BO2.png).
The latter. And thanks! Looked around in the settings but couldn't find it. Will try this in a bit.
Why do you prefer burning them? That's a bit unusual.
No OP, but I like the Plex burned in subtitles because they use a better font and don't have a black background. They look much better.
Isn’t the result the same whether you turn subtitles on or burn them in?
Burning in requires a transcode which some folks try to avoid. it is also done by the server in the video stream. For letterboxed content a client can put the subtitles in in the black space and not cover up the video when not burned in. If burned in it will always be overlayed on the video image ( granted that the black space can actually be part of the video) see example of both here https://imgur.com/a/QvDVcTQ
Specifically in anime, some releasers will stylize the subtitles so it seamlessly covers things on the screen that are in a different language (building signs, stat sheets, books/papers, etc). If it is not burned in, it'll either show up at the bottom of the screen, or random gibberish will show up.
The good ones will make it look seamless and was actually part of the production.
Do you want to burn them in or just always have them enabled?
Burning subtitles forces a video transcode. If watching 4K HDR media, you'll lose HDR, since Plex currently transcodes to H.264. Also, playback of Dolby Vision profile 5 will fail, as Plex has no license from Dolby to transcode Dolby Vision video.
Not available on all clients, but look in the Plex client settings. Set Burn Subtitles = Always. In Plex Web: Settings -> Player + Show Advanced -> Burn Subtitles = Always.
You can also choose to have subtitles always enabled. That is a Plex account setting. Settings -> Account -> Audio & Subtitle Settings. Auto Select Subtitle Mode = Always.
Note that if forced subtitles are available, Plex will pick them over full subtitles. Once you choose full subtitles, Plex will remember the choice for that specific movie or tv episode and remember it the next time you play it.
Like impossible to turn off?
This is known as hardsubs and they are part of the picture. That's something that has to be done as the file is being created or edited to add them.
I actually like them for some things, as there are certain pieces of media where there's an artistic vision behind them, like Night Watch (2004) where a hardsub is actually animated into the image in multiple artistic styles to evoke comic books, or the Apple+ Series Pachinko (2022) where 3 colors of subtitles are used to distinguish languages. Or Star Trek: Discovery (2017) as they play games with the subtitles in the first scenes of the show.
I remember several years ago I re-encoded some .mkv files with the subtitles turned on to make them permanent, but that was in my pre-Plex days when I was playing off of sticks in the usb port of my TV. But I don't do that anymore because Plex does subtitles pretty well.
Set up PlexAutoLanguages (PAL) in docker. I also have it where subs are always enabled for foreign audio to english through plex, but if you have other users, setting up this way can be annoying to them
PAL automatically adjusts your subs and audio for shows based on only setting it up one time for them, for all users. I always watch with subs on, too, except for stand up comedy or comedy shows (dont want to ruin punch lines). PAL is great for this.