Subtitles duplicated/skipping

[mjdbb1 6]

Hi there.  I'm using the latest version of the Emby app for iOS (appears to be 2.2.22) and Emby server as well (4.8.8.0).  I have a problem that's only occurring on the iOS app.  If I pause a video or skip around, the subtitles are duplicated.  In fact if you pause 4 times, you'll get 4 sets of subtitles.  An example is attached.  Server log is also attached.  If I disable subtitles and re-enable them it seems to fix the problem for a little while.

Possibly unrelated, but I have to use external SRT subtitles for all my files.  If I use the subtitles in the video files themselves (it seems any format at all) they work intermittently, skipping a bunch of whole sentences.  Not sure if this is related.

Any ideas what might be going on?

embyserver.txt

[Luke 42077]

Hi, we'll take a look at this. Thanks for reporting.

[mjdbb1 6]

Not to bump my own topic, but I wanted to add something I just noticed as well. It seems that even when using the external subtitles, the subtitles also seem to disappear after about 10 minutes or so of watching.  Need to disable and re-enable them to get them back for another 10. 
 

Thanks for looking into it. 

[Luke 42077]

Thanks for the info. We are looking into it.

[EVIDENCEBOT1055 0]

I am writing to state I have also experienced this issue. For my case though I am accessing my emby server via https://app.emby.media/ 

I am on ios 17.4.1 on iPhone 13 Pro Max.

[ryates 0]

I'm also having this issue and have been for awhile on iOS 17, now on iOS18, Emby for IOS 2.2.30, Server version 4.8.8.0.

[Luke 42077]

Hi, we're looking into it. Thanks.

[mjdbb1 6]

Just wondering if anybody had a chance to take a look at this.  Subtitles are still missing/doubled/unreliable in the latest iOS app version.

[Luke 42077]

On 12/26/2024 at 6:01 PM, mjdbb1 said:

Just wondering if anybody had a chance to take a look at this.  Subtitles are still missing/doubled/unreliable in the latest iOS app version.

HI, yes we are still looking at this. Thanks.

[mannyrothman 10]

This is still a major problem for all my users. Is there an update to fixing it?

[Luke 42077]

On 3/17/2025 at 8:14 PM, mannyrothman said:

This is still a major problem for all my users. Is there an update to fixing it?

Hi, we are still looking at this. Thanks.

[derycklong 0]

Facing double subtitles. Still not fixed ?

[Luke 42077]

Hi, we are still looking at it. Thanks.

[rechigo 364]

This is happening to me as well. Why has this been an issue for over a year? Every time someone asks they are just told it is being looked into. 

 

The subtitles issues need to be made a bigger priority here. I have subtitle issues with all 3 of my main clients iOS, Android, and Roku.

Edited December 5, 2025 by rechigo

[NotTodayZurg 0]

I just wanted to bump this as well because it is happening only on my IPad not IOS. I use only SRT subtitle files in all my media and for some reason I get the duplicated subtitles if I pause or briefly move away from the app to send a text etc. It also occurs if I move things into the mini player. 

There is also more of a lag to load the first initial subtitle on the Ipad OS compared to IOS on my phone.

 

I can provide any information from my server setup that you need.

[issmail82 6]

Hi, we are still looking at it. Thanks.

[ryates 0]

This has been happening to me for over a year - I feel like no one is actually looking into this.. PLEASE help? Makes it impossible to watch shows at times. Come on guys..

[visproduction 315]

FYI: AI response to search on this issue.  Apparently this happens also with Jellyfin and VLC.  I would think that this indicates also an issue with an iOS bug.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Ios+Video+playback+duplicated+subtitles+error&ia=web

===

Duplicated Subtitles in iOS Video Playback
Common Issues
Duplicated subtitles can occur in various iOS video playback apps. Users have reported this issue across different platforms, including Jellyfin and Emby. The problem often arises when:

• Multiple subtitle tracks are enabled.
• The video is paused or skipped during playback.

Specific Cases - App    Issue Description    Possible Solutions

• Jellyfin    Both subtitles show simultaneously on certain shows.    Disable one subtitle track.
• Emby    Subtitles duplicate when pausing or skipping.    Disable and re-enable subtitles temporarily.
• VLC    Subtitles cut off when video is filled to screen.    Adjust subtitle settings or update the app.

Troubleshooting Steps

• Check Subtitle Settings: Ensure only one subtitle track is selected.
• Update the App: Make sure you are using the latest version of the video playback app.
• Restart the App: Close and reopen the app to reset playback settings.
• Re-enable Subtitles: Temporarily disable and then re-enable subtitles to refresh them.
• Conclusion

If issues persist, consider reaching out to the app's support or community forums for further assistance. Regular updates from developers may also address these bugs in future releases.

[mjdbb1 6]

FWIW, VLC on iOS works fine for me and doesn’t have this issue. 

[visproduction 315]

I suspect it's the media.  It's worth testing with media files from another source or online demo test files, to see if subtitles start working.  If the subs are still a problem, then you know that something needs fixing elsewhere, possibly an Emby code issue.  If the demos work, then you are dealing with a media issue.  You can also use ffmpeg to test for media timeline errors.
https://thetestdata.com/download-sample-video.php

Subtitles depend on media time code being correct to find the start and end times.  I wonder if the media has a timeline data issue, would that not result in odd subtitle issues?  You can try remux the media to repair timeline errors and see if that fixes it. Bad timeline data seems to be common with media files that are not original masters. If it plays on VLC might only mean that VLC auto corrects timeline errors.  It doesn't prove the media is error free.

I seem to remember that one method to protect content on blu-ray was to mess with the timeline causing copies to skip around and not play back correctly when not being played from the original blu-ray.  

I always remux media to prep for streaming and I never see this subtitle issue but I only test Web and Android playback. 

Remuxing is pretty quick. Typical Core i7 average older computer still takes about 1 minute per 2 hour 1080P media with one audio track.  You can remux with a full ffmpeg install, Mkvtools or AVIDemux.  Some will say this is too much effort, but with the proper script on these apps, you can remux an entire library and all subdirectory files .mkv or .mp4 by just running a script with a click or pressing the "Enter" key to remux thousands of media files. If you learn how to use an app with a script, it's fast.  Not using a script and doing it one at a time will take longer.  Here are some pages going over the script prep.

https://www.thelinuxvault.net/blog/how-to-use-ffmpeg-to-convert-multiple-media-files-at-once-on-linux/
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffmpeg/comments/17a6yom/batch_remux_with_files_from_different_folders/

I am not sure that there is any Emby control to so a remux, backup and replace the original.  Does anyone know if Emby can do this?

Also see: https://superuser.com/questions/863183/how-to-fix-ffmpeg-inaccurate-time-stamp-that-corrupts-thumbnail-generation

 

Quote

You can usually fix this by creating a new copy of the video without re-encoding:

ffmpeg -i input -c:v copy -c:a copy output

Professional media streaming services prep all their videos, so everything streams correctly. You can ask, why can't Emby do this automatically?  Well, in order to protect a bad media timeline issue from being streamed, each media would need to be tested and possibly remuxed by Emby and have an admin on / off switch to test and remux files.  I think this would cause a lot of delays and is outside the scope of Emby app features.  It's more the responsibility of the admin of the collection to prepare media files that are not damaged.

[mjdbb1 6]

Appreciate the detailed post, but the files work fine in other players like VLC and also work perfectly in the other Emby apps. So I’m not convinced it’s something wrong with the files.