Ffmpeg captions

Ffmpeg Captions

Context: $ARGUMENTS

CEA-608/708 closed captions are carried inside the H.264 video stream (A53 SEI NAL units) or in sidecar SCC/MCC/STL files. They are NOT subtitle tracks. For subtitle-file workflows (SRT/ASS/VTT), use the ffmpeg-subtitles skill.

Quick start

• Preserve captions during H.264 re-encode: → Step 3, -a53cc 1 recipe
• Check whether a file has embedded 608/708: → Step 1, detect
• Extract embedded CC to SRT: → Step 3, ccextractor recipe
• Remux without losing captions: → Step 3, passthrough recipe
• Burn captions into the picture: → Step 3, extract then hand off to ffmpeg-subtitles

When to use

• Source is MPEG-TS, MP4, MOV, or MXF with embedded 608/708 (broadcast, ATSC, FCC-compliant deliverables).
• You have a sidecar .scc, .mcc, or .stl and need to mux or convert it.
• You are re-encoding H.264 and must not lose the SEI caption data.
• You need a plain .srt from 608/708 for downstream tools.

Step 1 — Identify caption location

Captions can live in one of five places. Check all of them:

1. Embedded SEI A53_CC in H.264 video (MPEG-TS, MP4, MOV, MXF) — invisible to ffprobe -show_streams.
2. Dedicated c608/c708 track in MOV/MP4 — appears in ffprobe as codec_name=eia_608 or closed_caption.
3. SCC sidecar file (.scc) — timecoded hex byte pairs, NTSC drop-frame usually.
4. MCC sidecar file (.mcc) — MacCaption, SCC's modern descendant with explicit frame-rate header.
5. STL sidecar file (.stl) — EBU 3264, European broadcast.
6. Open (burned-in) captions in the picture on NTSC line 21 — read via readeia608 filter.

To detect embedded SEI captions:

ffprobe -loglevel error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries frame=side_data_list \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 in.ts | grep -i a53 | head -5

If nothing is returned, try the filter path (picture line 21):

ffmpeg -hide_banner -i in.mov -vf "readeia608,metadata=mode=print" -an -f null - 2>&1 | head -40

Or hand off to the external detector:

ccextractor in.mov --stdout > /dev/null    # exits nonzero if no CC found

Step 2 — Pick the operation

Goal	Operation	Command
Keep captions when transcoding H.264	preserve	-a53cc 1 on libx264
Keep captions when remuxing (no re-encode)	passthrough	-c copy
Get a .srt from embedded 608/708	extract	ccextractor
Get a .srt from .scc / .mcc	convert	ccextractor
Burn captions into the picture	burn	extract to SRT, then ffmpeg-subtitles
Import SCC as a subtitle stream into TS	mux	-f scc -i ... -c:s copy

Step 3 — Run the command

Preserve embedded 608 during H.264 re-encode

ffmpeg -i in.ts -c:v libx264 -crf 20 -a53cc 1 -c:a copy out.ts

Without -a53cc 1, libx264 silently discards SEI CC data. This flag only preserves what the source already has — it does not create captions.

Passthrough remux (fastest, lossless)

ffmpeg -i in.ts -c copy -map 0 out.mp4

Copying the video stream preserves the A53 SEI NAL units automatically. MPEG-TS → MP4 and MP4 → MOV generally survive; verify with Step 4.

Extract 608/708 to SRT via ccextractor

ccextractor in.ts -o out.srt
ccextractor in.mov -out=srt -o out.srt           # explicit
ccextractor in.ts -o out.vtt -out=webvtt          # VTT instead
ccextractor in.mcc -o out.srt                     # MCC → SRT
ccextractor in.scc -o out.srt                     # SCC → SRT

Install on macOS: brew install ccextractor. On Debian/Ubuntu: apt install ccextractor.

readeia608 filter (open captions on line 21 of NTSC)

ffmpeg -i in.mov -vf "readeia608,metadata=mode=print:file=captions.txt" \
  -an -f null -

This only works when 608 bytes are drawn into the picture on lines 0–1 (legacy NTSC line 21). It does NOT read SEI-embedded CC. Output is frame-level metadata (lavfi.readeia608.0.cc, .sub, etc.) which you then parse into SRT yourself.

Import SCC sidecar as a subtitle stream

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -f scc -i captions.scc \
  -c:v copy -c:a copy -c:s copy -map 0:v -map 0:a -map 1 out.mp4

SCC demuxer support depends on ffmpeg build; verify with ffmpeg -formats | grep -i scc. If missing, fall back to ccextractor round-trip: SCC → SRT → mux as soft subtitle (see ffmpeg-subtitles).

Burn broadcast captions into the picture

Two-step: extract to SRT, then hand off.

ccextractor in.ts -o captions.srt
# now use the ffmpeg-subtitles skill:
ffmpeg -i in.ts -vf "subtitles=captions.srt" -c:a copy out.mp4

Step 4 — Verify captions survived

# 1. Probe for A53 side data on first video frames
ffprobe -loglevel error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries frame=side_data_list -read_intervals "%+#20" out.ts \
  | grep -i a53

# 2. Decode and re-read via readeia608 (after on-screen render)
ffmpeg -i out.ts -vf "readeia608,metadata=mode=print" -an -f null - 2>&1 \
  | grep -i 'lavfi.readeia608' | head

# 3. External sanity check
ccextractor out.ts -o /tmp/verify.srt && wc -l /tmp/verify.srt

If all three return empty, captions were dropped.

Available scripts

• scripts/cc.py — detect / preserve / extract / passthrough helper around ffmpeg + ccextractor. Subcommands: detect, preserve, extract, passthrough. --dry-run, --verbose.

uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/cc.py detect --input in.ts
uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/cc.py preserve --input in.ts --output out.ts --crf 20
uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/cc.py extract --input in.ts --output captions.srt
uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/cc.py passthrough --input in.ts --output out.mp4

Reference docs

• Read references/formats.md for CEA-608 vs 708 protocol differences, per-container carriage matrix, SCC / MCC / STL file layouts, ccextractor flag reference, SEI A53 NAL details, and the verification checklist.

Gotchas

• Embedded captions are invisible to most tools. 608/708 live as SEI NAL units inside the video bitstream — they are not a separate subtitle track, do not appear in ffprobe -show_streams, and tools unaware of SEI will silently ignore them.
• -a53cc 1 does NOT create captions. It only preserves existing SEI CC data during libx264 encode. Source must already have them.
• Re-encoding without -a53cc 1 silently drops captions. No warning, no error. Always set the flag when re-encoding H.264 broadcast source.
• -c:v copy preserves SEI automatically because it copies the raw NAL units. Prefer passthrough when possible.
• MPEG-TS preserves 608 natively inside the video PID. Round-tripping through TS is the safest transport.
• MP4 has two caption carriage modes: SEI passthrough (via -a53cc 1) or a dedicated c608/c708 track. They are different; check which one your target player expects.
• MOV (QuickTime) uses c608/c708 track types — FCP, Resolve, Adobe Media Encoder expect this, NOT SEI.
• ccextractor is a separate tool, not bundled with ffmpeg. Install with brew install ccextractor / apt install ccextractor.
• readeia608 reads lines 0–1 of the DECODED picture, NOT SEI or side-data. Only useful for open/burned captions on NTSC line 21.
• 708 supersedes 608 (UTF-16 vs 7-bit, more colors, positioning, languages). Most broadcast content carries both for backward compatibility.
• 608 has 4 channels (CC1–CC4) plus text (T1–T4). CC1 is primary English; CC3 is often Spanish. Specify with ccextractor --cc=1.
• 608 → modern formats is lossy. Roll-up, pop-on, paint-on modes, per-character colors, and precise positioning all flatten to plain SRT.
• SCC files are timecoded to the video's SMPTE timecode (usually 29.97 drop-frame). Mismatched timecode = shifted captions.
• MCC has an explicit frame-rate header; SCC assumes 29.97 DF. Never rename .mcc to .scc.
• STL (EBU 3264) is European broadcast — binary, not ASCII. Requires dedicated parsers.
• Some MP4 muxers strip SEI NAL units even with -c:v copy. Verify with Step 4 after every transcode.
• -bsf:v filter_units=... can accidentally strip SEI. Avoid when captions must survive.

Examples

Example 1: Comcast deliverable, re-encode to h264 while keeping captions

ffmpeg -i master.mxf -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow -a53cc 1 \
  -c:a aac -b:a 192k -ac 2 out.ts
ccextractor out.ts -o /tmp/verify.srt  # confirm CC1 present

Example 2: Convert SCC sidecar to SRT for a web player

ccextractor broadcast.scc -o broadcast.srt

Example 3: Burn CC1 into a social-media cut

ccextractor in.ts --cc=1 -o cc1.srt
ffmpeg -i in.ts -vf "subtitles=cc1.srt:force_style='FontSize=28'" \
  -c:a copy social.mp4

Example 4: Remux TS → MP4 without losing captions

ffmpeg -i broadcast.ts -c copy -movflags +faststart broadcast.mp4
ffprobe -loglevel error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries frame=side_data_list -read_intervals "%+#10" broadcast.mp4 \
  | grep -i a53

Troubleshooting

Error: "No closed captions found" (ccextractor exits nonzero)

Cause: source has no embedded CC, or they are in a c608 track not SEI. Solution: run ffprobe -show_streams in.mov | grep -i eia_608 to check for a dedicated CC track. If present, extract with ffmpeg -i in.mov -map 0:s -c:s copy out.srt — try ffmpeg-subtitles skill for the mux. If neither, the file truly has no captions.

Captions disappeared after ffmpeg -c copy

Cause: the target muxer stripped SEI NAL units (some MP4 builds, WebM always). Solution: mux to MPEG-TS instead, or re-encode with -c:v libx264 -a53cc 1. WebM/Matroska cannot carry 608/708 SEI — convert to a separate subtitle track.

Captions shift by ~2 seconds after SCC → SRT

Cause: SCC timecode is drop-frame (29.97), tool interpreted as non-drop (30). Solution: pass --ucla to ccextractor or explicitly set -ff=30000/1001 on the video side. MCC files avoid this because they carry a frame-rate header.

readeia608 returns no output on broadcast capture

Cause: captions are in SEI, not drawn on picture line 21. Solution: use ccextractor instead. readeia608 only reads pixels from decoded video, not bitstream metadata.

-a53cc 1 rejected: "Option not found"

Cause: your libx264 build is too old, or you applied the flag to a non-libx264 encoder. Solution: verify with ffmpeg -h encoder=libx264 | grep a53cc. Upgrade ffmpeg if missing. HEVC/AV1 have separate mechanisms (hevc: -udu_sei 1 for SEI passthrough; AV1: -enable-cdef etc.).