Add provider subtitles, embedded captions, and subtitle styling

README.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 Restream brings your IPTV subscription to the browser. Host it on your own computer or server to watch live TV, movies, and shows from a Stalker/MAG provider, with a programme guide, search, watch progress, and a shared library cache. Use it on desktop or mobile, with optional OIDC sign-in through your own identity provider.
 
+[![A tour of Restream: discover titles on Home, browse movies, play with captions, and preview subtitle styles in Settings.](docs/assets/showcase.gif)](docs/assets/showcase.png)
+
+*Home, your library, and playback in one place. The preview uses a fictional demo library; select the image for a still view.*
+
 ## Features
 
 - 📺 **Live TV and programme guide**: browse channels and see what's on now and next.
@@ -11,6 +15,7 @@ Restream brings your IPTV subscription to the browser. Host it on your own compu
 - ⚡ **Shared library cache**: cached listings stay available while the server refreshes them in the background, reducing repeated requests to your provider.
 - 🔐 **Optional OIDC sign-in**: use your identity provider with viewer and administrator roles, or run without a login on your private network.
 - 📱 **Desktop and mobile**: responsive browsing, touch controls, and fullscreen playback.
+- 💬 **Subtitles**: choose provider subtitles or embedded captions from the player's CC menu. Preview your preferred font, size, color, and background in Settings, saved for this browser. Availability varies by movie and episode.
 
 ## Get started
 

go.mod

@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ go 1.27.2
 require (
 	github.com/alexedwards/scs/sqlite3store v0.0.0-20251002162104-209de6e426de
 	github.com/alexedwards/scs/v2 v2.9.0
+	github.com/asticode/go-astisub v0.45.0
+	github.com/bluenviron/gohlslib/v2 v2.4.6
 	github.com/coreos/go-oidc/v3 v3.21.0
 	github.com/go-jose/go-jose/v4 v4.1.6
 	golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.37.0
@@ -13,12 +15,16 @@ require (
 )
 
 require (
+	github.com/asticode/go-astikit v0.30.0 // indirect
+	github.com/asticode/go-astits v1.16.0 // indirect
 	github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.24 // indirect
 	github.com/ncruces/go-strftime v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec // indirect
+	golang.org/x/net v0.61.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.49.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/text v0.43.0 // indirect
 	// SQLite requires the libc version in its own go.mod.
 	modernc.org/libc v1.77.1 // indirect
 	modernc.org/mathutil v1.7.1 // indirect

go.sum

@@ -2,8 +2,19 @@ github.com/alexedwards/scs/sqlite3store v0.0.0-20251002162104-209de6e426de h1:c7
 github.com/alexedwards/scs/sqlite3store v0.0.0-20251002162104-209de6e426de/go.mod h1:Iyk7S76cxGaiEX/mSYmTZzYehp4KfyylcLaV3OnToss=
 github.com/alexedwards/scs/v2 v2.9.0 h1:xa05mVpwTBm1iLeTMNFfAWpKUm4fXAW7CeAViqBVS90=
 github.com/alexedwards/scs/v2 v2.9.0/go.mod h1:ToaROZxyKukJKT/xLcVQAChi5k6+Pn1Gvmdl7h3RRj8=
+github.com/asticode/go-astikit v0.20.0/go.mod h1:h4ly7idim1tNhaVkdVBeXQZEE3L0xblP7fCWbgwipF0=
+github.com/asticode/go-astikit v0.30.0 h1:DkBkRQRIxYcknlaU7W7ksNfn4gMFsB0tqMJflxkRsZA=
+github.com/asticode/go-astikit v0.30.0/go.mod h1:h4ly7idim1tNhaVkdVBeXQZEE3L0xblP7fCWbgwipF0=
+github.com/asticode/go-astisub v0.45.0 h1:Y7bXw4Oa885ebDOfHUbj7rUSjyuYqSJYos1qEn0yUVw=
+github.com/asticode/go-astisub v0.45.0/go.mod h1:WTkuSzFB+Bp7wezuSf2Oxulj5A8zu2zLRVFf6bIFQK8=
+github.com/asticode/go-astits v1.8.0/go.mod h1:DkOWmBNQpnr9mv24KfZjq4JawCFX1FCqjLVGvO0DygQ=
+github.com/asticode/go-astits v1.16.0 h1:MgyLnG30oRiQsHWQNXA29ZS6i7UNN/OGcPdgH86JJqg=
+github.com/asticode/go-astits v1.16.0/go.mod h1:psImoC1BhcAWIsyM/RnbO1OgUW+XSf8fZpFvF5McDyo=
+github.com/bluenviron/gohlslib/v2 v2.4.6 h1:7ME4E0Lh2yAyN1VX9ixQDmn9UR3LKkkfv3FRqYfVy74=
+github.com/bluenviron/gohlslib/v2 v2.4.6/go.mod h1:CEQYq/bNvzE/wjx92Jtl6ib8juZ+ZGKfJ4uldovzoOU=
 github.com/coreos/go-oidc/v3 v3.21.0 h1:wZo4Q9Pum8dYEj0eMUPrqR+kvuGkeUplbLpNCkBqoWM=
 github.com/coreos/go-oidc/v3 v3.21.0/go.mod h1:DYCf24+ncYi+XkIH97GY1+dqoRlbaSI26KVTCI9SrY4=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.1.0 h1:dbKTrvD0klcbBV/h4AWJdMuZogJACoMlvWIWZ5b2xWg=
 github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.1.0/go.mod h1:hc1CvRkJMsgxqjmjMQF3QNRAZBwY8AXBAzKYoSX9sFI=
 github.com/go-jose/go-jose/v4 v4.1.6 h1:sNRkftxFJxwsILiQukqp5z83QBSmntVwmgRY7AqBDO4=
@@ -20,18 +31,42 @@ github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.6 h1:dNPt6NO46WmLVt2DLNpwczCmdV5boIZ6g/tlDrlRU
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.6/go.mod h1:NyWgC/yNuGj7Q9rpYnZvas74GogHl5/Z4A/KQRfk6bU=
 github.com/ncruces/go-strftime v1.1.0 h1:vtPmPWMkb539RGV9WpWT9EwJGvrOCKvMNI4obWL47Hk=
 github.com/ncruces/go-strftime v1.1.0/go.mod h1:yVaq7iwCN09vHRrKBrrflXT0M9tTMG2KmZ9Fj7xeG/g=
+github.com/pkg/profile v1.4.0/go.mod h1:NWz/XGvpEW1FyYQ7fCx4dqYBLlfTcE+A9FLAkNKqjFE=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec h1:W09IVJc94icq4NjY3clb7Lk8O1qJ8BdBEF8z0ibU0rE=
 github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec/go.mod h1:qqbHyh8v60DhA7CoWK5oRCqLrMHRGoxYCSS9EjAz6Eo=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+wExME=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.4.0/go.mod h1:j7eGeouHqKxXV5pUuKE4zz7dFj8WfuZ+81PSLYec5m4=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.12.1 h1:EuwCh5fleGS7H32xRwO3wRGT7DxrDhLAT6FF8MpWDWE=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.12.1/go.mod h1:MDEgiDPPsNp5cuIrHPPCyornHKgEVbtFUmoNlxoYthg=
+go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.5 h1:N6y/pJk8buWs9NY5ERU2HSMfm+IuD/OtfdAnq6kESPw=
+go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.5/go.mod h1:HVTZu1O7/Vkt2N+BFy8Zza+lnLsABggaTM2ZpNIGuKg=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20190308221718-c2843e01d9a2/go.mod h1:djNgcEr1/C05ACkg1iLfiJU5Ep61QUkGW8qpdssI0+w=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20200622213623-75b288015ac9/go.mod h1:LzIPMQfyMNhhGPhUkYOs5KpL4U8rLKemX1yGLhDgUto=
 golang.org/x/mod v0.41.0 h1:qJmnOUb4YB+FsEuM3HcWucdZASCPGhsX6uljO6pog0c=
 golang.org/x/mod v0.41.0/go.mod h1:Ek9pY8RKWXwsWvd3rQiHYtMqkjSUV+s1Rj7j4H5Ur6o=
+golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20190404232315-eb5bcb51f2a3/go.mod h1:t9HGtf8HONx5eT2rtn7q6eTqICYqUVnKs3thJo3Qplg=
+golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20200904194848-62affa334b73/go.mod h1:/O7V0waA8r7cgGh81Ro3o1hOxt32SMVPicZroKQ2sZA=
+golang.org/x/net v0.61.0 h1:RR+6j/BTBCrggOLugxa+66R8FvoN6MHlzDlZIbN9YFw=
+golang.org/x/net v0.61.0/go.mod h1:WgDCOTH8iwtB66T4/GfI94AHo/hhdb7Hah9NDseQfiI=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.37.0 h1:JUlcxA8oAtauLfiH8FX2/FkAWHAdi0QtGCGc+hofE98=
 golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.37.0/go.mod h1:IxwZNxUULJmpBFf9K/9NTMSIfZZuvuTy1gGxhigP/58=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.24.0 h1:iqiDrGoDgyuvAKrhLQthUEzU/R378N78gXbBjxed7oA=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.24.0/go.mod h1:sUUOizhqBxiL6pEWpqNLUiaJn1ShEbZ6BBqskPbjZm0=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190215142949-d0b11bdaac8a/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190412213103-97732733099d/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20200323222414-85ca7c5b95cd/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.49.0 h1:XbzkgYJHdqh/8m2Uu0W/dQv8nktxx4BFHp1M0gROTXA=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.49.0/go.mod h1:hNLxWAXmnKAxqDtdwIYC4bM9oQPEecfsnNMuSxOs3og=
-golang.org/x/tools v0.50.0 h1:c2ifzfcuY7L90lZ2aKd8S4K2NpASF08SZx9ZuJkHmSU=
-golang.org/x/tools v0.50.0/go.mod h1:7ulVMw3831Mwi5EZD6RomGyffr4VFjuNYXf2BbCEAV0=
+golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
+golang.org/x/text v0.3.2/go.mod h1:bEr9sfX3Q8Zfm5fL9x+3itogRgK3+ptLWKqgva+5dAk=
+golang.org/x/text v0.43.0 h1:1QivrlhwAsnMOcqgOdl9my7s9OyZl8O5/UGUTJVXoWc=
+golang.org/x/text v0.43.0/go.mod h1:hbSIYA/amXcRXTFSZqh8tWHEoqRvvbKPJ2uz/KU+a+s=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.0.0-20180917221912-90fa682c2a6e/go.mod h1:n7NCudcB/nEzxVGmLbDWY5pfWTLqBcC2KZ6jyYvM4mQ=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.51.0 h1:k4Xc/1Om9jwkBJBo4NVLMSARBoWtK10mx+W5BnXCeAI=
+golang.org/x/tools v0.51.0/go.mod h1:9eEncMayCV6zRMGhR5eZEC2iBx98qWcF1HZ9Z7wJOoA=
+gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.2.2/go.mod h1:hI93XBmqTisBFMUTm0b8Fm+jr3Dg1NNxqwp+5A1VGuI=
 modernc.org/cc/v4 v4.29.7 h1:q+NXGJ0bK3b4TXFYQQVr9pYETGnmwFWkrUzJnMya/Tg=
 modernc.org/cc/v4 v4.29.7/go.mod h1:OnovgIhbbMXMu1aISnJ0wvVD1KnW+cAUJkIrAWh+kVI=
 modernc.org/ccgo/v4 v4.36.1 h1:ZNIUZAryN0UgnJwtyxrdEzcFc3yD4Cu4AzjfPXsLsIE=

internal/app/auth_playback_integration_test.go

@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ func TestOIDCPlaybackBelongsToItsUser(t *testing.T) {
 		{"DELETE", "/api/sessions/test-1", ""},
 		{"GET", "/api/streams/test-1/1/index.m3u8", ""},
 		{"GET", "/api/streams/test-1/1/seg-000001.ts", ""},
+		{"GET", "/api/streams/test-1/1/subtitles-0.json?start=30", ""},
 	}
 	for _, request := range paths {
 		resp := authPlaybackRequest(t, other, request.method, request.path, request.body)

internal/app/embedded_captions_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+package app
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"math/bits"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/pushpinderbal/restream/internal/model"
+	"github.com/pushpinderbal/restream/internal/stream"
+)
+
+func TestEmbeddedCaptionsAcrossPlaybackModes(t *testing.T) {
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("ffmpeg"); err != nil {
+		t.Skip("ffmpeg required")
+	}
+	movie := embeddedCaptionFixture(t)
+	upstream := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		http.ServeFile(w, r, movie)
+	}))
+	defer upstream.Close()
+	for _, mode := range []string{"copy", "transcode"} {
+		t.Run(mode, func(t *testing.T) {
+			m, err := stream.New(stream.Config{MaxStreams: 1, SessionTTL: time.Minute, DataDir: t.TempDir(), TranscodeMode: mode}, func(context.Context, model.Item) (model.Source, error) {
+				return model.Source{URL: upstream.URL + "/captions.mp4"}, nil
+			})
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			defer m.Close()
+			media := httptest.NewServer(m.MediaHandler())
+			defer media.Close()
+			for _, offset := range []float64{0, 43} {
+				s, err := m.Start(context.Background(), model.Item{Kind: "episode", ID: "episode:4:1:1"}, offset)
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+				deadline := time.Now().Add(10 * time.Second)
+				for s.State == "starting" && time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+					time.Sleep(20 * time.Millisecond)
+					s, err = m.Get(s.ID)
+					if err != nil {
+						t.Fatal(err)
+					}
+				}
+				if s.State != "ready" && s.State != "ended" {
+					t.Fatalf("caption relay did not start: %+v", s)
+				}
+				ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 15*time.Second)
+				input := strings.ReplaceAll(media.URL+s.URL, ":", "\\:")
+				cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "movie='"+input+"'[out0+subcc]", "-map", "0:s:0", "-t", "4", "-c:s", "webvtt", "-f", "webvtt", "-")
+				output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+				cancel()
+				if err != nil || !bytes.Contains(output, []byte("Embedded caption fixture")) {
+					t.Fatalf("embedded captions lost in %s at %.0fs: %v %s", mode, offset, err, output)
+				}
+				if err := m.Stop(s.ID); err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// Generate a deterministic H.264 stream with real CEA-608 popup captions in
+// registered A53 SEI messages. The fixture has no subtitle stream or sidecar.
+func embeddedCaptionFixture(t *testing.T) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	raw := filepath.Join(dir, "raw.h264")
+	cmd := exec.Command("ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "testsrc2=size=320x180:rate=25", "-t", "64", "-c:v", "libx264", "-preset", "ultrafast", "-g", "200", "-bf", "0", "-x264-params", "aud=1", "-f", "h264", raw)
+	if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("generate caption video: %v %s", err, output)
+	}
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	startCode := []byte{0, 0, 0, 1}
+	var out bytes.Buffer
+	frame := -1
+	for _, nal := range bytes.Split(data, startCode) {
+		if len(nal) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		out.Write(startCode)
+		if nal[0]&31 != 9 { // Access unit delimiter: one per frame.
+			out.Write(nal)
+			continue
+		}
+		frame++
+		if frame%25 != 0 {
+			out.Write(nal)
+			continue
+		}
+		out.Write(nal[:2])
+		pairs := [][2]byte{{0x14, 0x2c}} // Clear the displayed caption.
+		if frame%50 == 0 {
+			pairs = [][2]byte{{0x14, 0x20}, {0x14, 0x2e}, {0x11, 0x40}}
+			text := []byte("Embedded caption fixture")
+			for i := 0; i < len(text); i += 2 {
+				pairs = append(pairs, [2]byte{text[i], text[i+1]})
+			}
+			pairs = append(pairs, [2]byte{0x14, 0x2f}) // Display loaded popup.
+		}
+		payload := []byte{0xb5, 0, 0x31, 'G', 'A', '9', '4', 3, 0x40 | byte(len(pairs)), 0xff}
+		for _, pair := range pairs {
+			parity := func(b byte) byte {
+				if bits.OnesCount8(b)%2 == 0 {
+					return b | 0x80
+				}
+				return b
+			}
+			payload = append(payload, 0xfc, parity(pair[0]), parity(pair[1]))
+		}
+		payload = append(payload, 0xff)
+		sei := append([]byte{4, byte(len(payload))}, payload...)
+		sei = append(sei, 0x80)
+		out.Write(startCode)
+		out.WriteByte(6)
+		zeros := 0
+		for _, b := range sei {
+			if zeros == 2 && b <= 3 {
+				out.WriteByte(3)
+				zeros = 0
+			}
+			out.WriteByte(b)
+			if b == 0 {
+				zeros++
+			} else {
+				zeros = 0
+			}
+		}
+		out.Write(nal[2:])
+	}
+	captioned := filepath.Join(dir, "captions.h264")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(captioned, out.Bytes(), 0600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	movie := filepath.Join(dir, "captions.mp4")
+	cmd = exec.Command("ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error", "-r", "25", "-i", captioned, "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=sample_rate=48000", "-t", "64", "-c:v", "copy", "-c:a", "aac", "-movflags", "+faststart", movie)
+	if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("mux caption fixture: %v %s", err, output)
+	}
+	return movie
+}

internal/app/playback_integration_test.go

@@ -30,13 +30,26 @@ func TestPortalToBrowserPlayback(t *testing.T) {
 	movie := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "sample.mp4")
 	// Leave enough footage after the browser's late seek to check that settings
 	// and library filtering preserve playback before the fixture reaches its end.
-	cmd := exec.Command("ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "testsrc2=size=320x180:rate=25", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=frequency=440:sample_rate=48000", "-t", "60", "-c:v", "mpeg4", "-q:v", "5", "-c:a", "aac", "-movflags", "+faststart", movie)
+	cmd := exec.Command("ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "testsrc2=size=320x180:rate=25", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=frequency=440:sample_rate=48000", "-t", "60", "-c:v", "libx264", "-preset", "ultrafast", "-g", "200", "-sc_threshold", "0", "-bf", "2", "-c:a", "aac", "-movflags", "+faststart", movie)
 	if b, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("generate test media: %v: %s", err, b)
 	}
+	captionedMovie := embeddedCaptionFixture(t)
 	var mediaRequests atomic.Int32
 	var portal *httptest.Server
 	portal = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if r.URL.Path == "/media/subtitles.vtt" || r.URL.Path == "/media/spanish.srt" {
+			if !strings.Contains(r.Header.Get("Cookie"), "mac=00%3A11%3A22%3A33%3A44%3A55") {
+				t.Error("subtitle identity missing")
+			}
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/vtt")
+			if strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "spanish") {
+				io.WriteString(w, "1\n00:00:00,000 --> 00:01:00,000\nSubtítulos del proveedor\n")
+				return
+			}
+			io.WriteString(w, "WEBVTT\n\n00:00:00.000 --> 00:01:00.000\nProvider subtitle fixture\n")
+			return
+		}
 		if r.URL.Path == "/media/sample.mp4" {
 			if !strings.Contains(r.Header.Get("Cookie"), "mac=00%3A11%3A22%3A33%3A44%3A55") {
 				t.Error("server did not forward provider media identity")
@@ -45,6 +58,10 @@ func TestPortalToBrowserPlayback(t *testing.T) {
 			http.ServeFile(w, r, movie)
 			return
 		}
+		if r.URL.Path == "/media/captions.mp4" {
+			http.ServeFile(w, r, captionedMovie)
+			return
+		}
 		q := r.URL.Query()
 		var data any
 		switch q.Get("action") {
@@ -65,11 +82,30 @@ func TestPortalToBrowserPlayback(t *testing.T) {
 				data = []any{map[string]any{"id": "7", "title": "Test films"}}
 			}
 		case "get_ordered_list":
-			data = map[string]any{"total_items": 1, "data": []any{map[string]any{"id": "2", "name": "Test movie", "cmd": "private-vod-command"}}}
+			data = map[string]any{"total_items": 3, "data": []any{
+				map[string]any{"id": "2", "name": "Test movie", "cmd": "private-vod-command"},
+				map[string]any{"id": "4", "name": "Captioned episode", "cmd": "private-captioned-command"},
+				map[string]any{"id": "5", "name": "Captioned movie", "cmd": "private-captioned-sidecar-command"},
+			}}
 		case "get_epg_info":
 			data = map[string]any{"1": []any{map[string]any{"name": "Fixture guide", "start_timestamp": time.Now().Unix(), "stop_timestamp": time.Now().Add(time.Hour).Unix()}}}
 		case "create_link":
 			data = map[string]any{"cmd": "ffmpeg " + portal.URL + "/media/sample.mp4"}
+			if strings.Contains(q.Get("cmd"), "captioned") {
+				data = map[string]any{"cmd": "ffmpeg " + portal.URL + "/media/captions.mp4", "subtitles": []any{
+					map[string]any{"url": portal.URL + "/media/spanish.srt", "language": "es", "name": "Spanish"},
+				}}
+				if strings.Contains(q.Get("cmd"), "sidecar") {
+					data.(map[string]any)["subtitles"] = []any{
+						map[string]any{"url": portal.URL + "/media/subtitles.vtt", "language": "en", "name": "English"},
+					}
+				}
+			} else if !strings.Contains(q.Get("cmd"), "live") {
+				data.(map[string]any)["subtitles"] = []any{
+					map[string]any{"url": portal.URL + "/media/subtitles.vtt", "language": "en", "name": "English"},
+					map[string]any{"url": portal.URL + "/media/spanish.srt", "language": "es", "name": "Spanish"},
+				}
+			}
 		default:
 			t.Errorf("unexpected action %q", q.Get("action"))
 			http.Error(w, "unsupported", 400)
@@ -93,7 +129,7 @@ func TestPortalToBrowserPlayback(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	manager, err := stream.New(stream.Config{MaxStreams: 1, SessionTTL: time.Minute, DataDir: cfg.DataDir}, provider.Resolve)
+	manager, err := stream.New(stream.Config{MaxStreams: 1, SessionTTL: time.Minute, DataDir: cfg.DataDir, TranscodeMode: "transcode"}, provider.Resolve)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -158,18 +194,22 @@ func TestPortalToBrowserPlayback(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("stopped media still accessible")
 	}
 	if os.Getenv("RESTREAM_BROWSER_TESTS") == "1" {
-		script, err := filepath.Abs("../../web/tests/real-playback.mjs")
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 90*time.Second)
-		defer cancel()
-		cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "bun", script, server.URL)
-		output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("real browser playback failed: %v\n%s", err, output)
+		for _, check := range []struct{ script, mode string }{{"subtitles-playback.mjs", "copy"}, {"subtitles-playback.mjs", "transcode"}, {"embedded-captions-playback.mjs", "copy"}, {"embedded-captions-playback.mjs", "transcode"}, {"real-playback.mjs", "transcode"}} {
+			if err := manager.Configure(1, check.mode); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			script, err := filepath.Abs("../../web/tests/" + check.script)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 90*time.Second)
+			output, err := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "bun", script, server.URL, check.mode).CombinedOutput()
+			cancel()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("%s %s browser playback failed: %v\n%s", check.script, check.mode, err, output)
+			}
+			t.Log(string(output))
 		}
-		t.Log(string(output))
 	}
 
 }