Removing watermarks and burned-in subtitles: inpainting vs cropping
Rule of thumb: if the watermark sits on the picture itself, inpaint it away. If it only sits in letterboxing or flat colour, crop — no artefacts, faster, and nothing of value is lost.
The two approaches
| Approach | How it works | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inpainting | Treats the region as missing pixels and reconstructs it from the surrounding picture | Keeps the full frame and composition | Large or highly textured areas may show traces |
| Cropping / masking | Cuts or covers the region | No artefacts, very fast | Loses part of the frame; may clip subtitles or composition |
How to decide
- Watermark over letterbox or flat colour → crop. Nothing worth keeping is lost.
- Watermark over faces, texture or moving detail → inpaint, and keep the frame intact.
- Moving watermark → needs per-frame tracking; use the accurate preset and spot-check frames.
- Subtitles you want to keep sit under the watermark → never crop the bottom strip, or you will cut them too.
Spot-check checklist
- Pull 3–5 frames (start, middle, end, plus fast motion) and look for residue or patchiness.
- Confirm the frame size and aspect ratio — cropping changes both.
- Confirm audio is untouched; only the picture should change.
Frequently asked questions
Should I inpaint or crop a watermark?
Depends where it sits. Over letterbox or flat colour, crop — zero artefacts. Over faces or moving detail, inpaint so you keep the full frame.
Why not just crop the bottom strip?
Because subtitles or composition elements often live there too, and you would remove them along with the watermark.
Does inpainting leave traces?
On flat or smooth areas it is essentially invisible. On faces or dense text there may be traces, in which case cropping is the safer choice.
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