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VVideoTextRemove

Dual-language subtitle removal

Remove bilingual subtitles from video

Bilingual subtitles stack two lines in one band: a translation over the original, or two languages side by side. The band is taller than a single-line caption, the glyphs are denser, and the gap between the lines is often only a few pixels — which makes it a different removal problem, not simply a bigger one.

The whole band has to go in one pass. Removing the top line first leaves a hole that the model fills from frames which still contain the bottom line, and the result is a smear across the join.

Before — burned inAfter — reconstructed

Drag the handle — the caption band is rebuilt from neighbouring frames, not covered with a blur box.

Doing it for this case

  1. 1

    Box the entire band in one selection: both lines, the gap between them, and any outline or shadow.

  2. 2

    If the lines move independently, size the box for their combined path rather than for the current frame.

  3. 3

    Check the seam between the lines at 100% — that is where an under-marked band shows first.

Why two lines are harder than one

A single-line caption occupies roughly eight percent of a 1080p frame. A bilingual pair commonly takes fifteen to eighteen percent, and that larger area has to be rebuilt from surroundings further away from the centre of the hole.

The lines also interact. If you mark only one of them, the model samples the other as if it were real background, and the repaired strip inherits ghosting from the line you left in place.

  • Mark the full band, including the gap between the lines
  • Do not run two passes — the second pass repairs against a frame the first pass already altered
  • A bilingual band leaves less clean background to sample from, so textured footage degrades faster

What we have tested, and what we have not

Our published tests used two-line captions at 46 px with a 3 px stroke — the same geometry as a bilingual pair, so the two-line layout is covered directly by the numbers below.

What we have not tested is mixed scripts. Chinese glyphs carry more ink per character than Latin ones, and a CJK line with a heavy outline can be twice as dense as the Latin line above it. We have no measurement for that case, so treat it as unverified rather than supported.

When it goes wrong, and what it looks like

The failure is usually a horizontal seam where the two lines met, or a strip that is uniformly soft compared with the rest of the frame. Both mean the band was under-marked.

Re-run with a box that includes the outline and any drop shadow. A three-pixel stroke is part of the text — leaving it behind leaves a ghost of the letters in the shape of their edges.

Tested, not assumed

Our tests used two-line captions — the same layout a bilingual pair produces.

The caption in case A is two lines of 46 px text with a 3 px stroke, removed in a single pass across 240 frames. The band scored 28.3 dB against the untouched original, against a 37.4 dB ceiling outside the repair.

Where it breaks

  • Mixed Chinese and Latin lines are untested. Glyph density differs enough that the result may not carry over.
  • A bilingual band over moving subjects fails the way a single line does: people get smeared. That case measured 19.8 dB.
  • Very tight line spacing leaves little clean background between the lines to sample from.
See the footage and the measurements

Frequently asked questions

Can it remove Chinese and English subtitles at once?+

Mark both lines as one band and they are removed in a single pass. We have measured two-line Latin captions; a mixed Chinese/English pair is untested, so run a short clip before committing a long one.

Do I need to select each line separately?+

No, and you should not. Selecting one line leaves the other in the frame, and the model will sample it as background — the repaired strip inherits ghosting from it.

The two lines have different font sizes. Does that matter?+

Only for the box. Size it for the larger line and include its stroke. The model does not need the text to be uniform; it needs the whole text area covered.

What about vertical Chinese subtitles down one side?+

Select the column as a box. Automatic detection is tuned for horizontal bands in the lower half of the frame, so a vertical column needs manual selection.

Will the gap between the lines be rebuilt?+

Yes, if it is inside the box. Leaving the gap outside splits the repair into two strips and usually leaves a visible seam where they meet.

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