Does Elmedia Player support subtitles when streaming to devices?

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FAQ
Does Elmedia Player support subtitles when streaming to devices?

Sep 19, 2024

Yes, it does. Elmedia Player uses 3 methods to stream subtitles:

1. External subtitles are stored in separate files and are streamed directly to the receiving device. It’s the most effective way to cast subtitles for a video since it does not require any processing from Elmedia Player.

Note: Unfortunately, some devices don’t support external subtitles, e.g. Sony Bravia TVs. In this case, in order for subtitles to be shown, they need to be burned into the video (see paragraph 3 below).

2. Embedded subtitles are stored inside the video file/video container as streams. The same way video and audio streams are stored inside video files. If the file is 100% compatible with the receiving device, Elmedia Player sends it as-is to the device.

Devices usually list all the embedded subtitles on the screen, so you can choose the proper ones by using the device’s remote control. You can also choose the preferred subtitle language.

Note: Support for displaying embedded subtitles depends on the device model. The most popular video container with embedded subtitle support is Matroska (MKV). WD, Samsung, and Panasonic devices display embedded subtitles in MKV video files.

Some devices don’t support embedded subtitles. For e.g. Chromecast devices can display only subtitles out-of-the-box delivered as a text file. Elmedia Player has to extract such text-based subtitles from the video file before streaming.

Note: It may take a long time for large files or files on remote drives.

3. Burned subtitles are drawn (or superimposed) over the video frames in the video. Elmedia Player burns image-based subtitles (DVD VOBSUBs, Bluray PGS) into the video during on-the-fly transcoding. In order to do the same with text subtitles, you need to turn on the option “Burn subtitles into video” that’s found in Preferences – Streaming – General. This can be used in situations where the receiving device doesn’t support both external and embedded subtitles.