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Use FFmpeg’s drawtext filter to put a title directly into the video picture. For a title that changes during a stream, have FFmpeg read a UTF-8 text file and reload it periodically while a separate script or process updates that file atomically. This requires an FFmpeg build with drawtext enabled, and a separate way to obtain the current song or video title.
Choose the right kind of title
There are three different things that can be called a stream title, and only one appears over the video image:
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- In-frame overlay: FFmpeg’s
drawtextfilter composites text onto video frames. Viewers see it as part of the picture. - YouTube broadcast title: YouTube’s broadcast resource has a
snippet.titlefield. This is platform metadata, not text rendered into the video. Google distinguishes a live stream, which carries transmitted content, from a live broadcast, which represents the event or video. - FFmpeg output metadata:
-metadata title=...writes metadata; it does not draw visible text. FFmpeg documents this option in its command-line documentation.
If viewers must read the current song or video title inside the stream image, use the overlay approach below. Changing YouTube metadata or FFmpeg output metadata is not a substitute.
Check that your FFmpeg build supports drawtext
Before assembling the stream command, confirm that your installed FFmpeg includes the drawtext filter. Run:
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ffmpeg -filtersLook for drawtext in the output. If it is absent, install or build an FFmpeg version that includes it. FFmpeg’s filter documentation says libfreetype is required to compile drawtext; font fallback and text shaping features may require additional optional dependencies. Availability and exact options can therefore differ between builds.
Set up a dynamic title overlay
The reliable pattern has two parts: FFmpeg reads and renders a text file, while another process supplies the current title. The drawing filter does not discover the playing track by itself.
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1. Create a UTF-8 title file
Create a plain-text file containing the title to display, for example /path/to/current-title.txt:
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Now playing: Example SongSave it as UTF-8, especially if titles may contain accented characters, non-Latin scripts, or symbols. Choose a path that the FFmpeg process can read.
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2. Add drawtext to the video filter graph
The essential filter shape is:
drawtext=fontfile=/path/to/font.ttf:textfile=/path/to/current-title.txt:reload=30:x=40:y=40:fontsize=32:fontcolor=white:box=1:[email protected]This is a filter fragment, not a complete streaming command: place it in the video filter graph for your own input and output. Set fontfile to a font available on your system and choose x, y, fontsize, fontcolor, and optional box styling for your video dimensions and background. A contrasting box can help keep text legible over changing footage.
In this example, reload=30 tells the filter to reload the text file every 30 frames. Choose an interval that fits the frame rate and the delay you can tolerate when a title changes. For example, at 30 frames per second, 30 frames is about one second. The precise behavior and accepted options should be checked against your FFmpeg version and build.
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3. Update the file from a separate process
Your player, playlist manager, or another helper must determine the current title and write it to the file. The correct way to obtain that title depends on the media source: there is no single universal current-track detector for every input. Keep title detection separate from the drawing filter.
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Keep escaping and text handling manageable
Putting changing text directly into a filter string can require escaping characters for both the shell and FFmpeg’s filter syntax. A file-backed source avoids much of that complexity and is also suited to repeated title changes. Keep the title file’s encoding consistent, make sure it is readable by the FFmpeg process, and test representative titles containing punctuation or non-English characters before relying on them in a live broadcast.
Update YouTube metadata separately if needed
If you also want to change the title shown on YouTube’s video page, that is a separate metadata task. Google documents the broadcast title as a field on the broadcast resource and documents update restrictions for the liveBroadcasts.update operation. Those API fields do not alter pixels already being sent. Use the overlay for on-screen text, and handle YouTube metadata through the applicable YouTube Studio or API workflow independently.
Troubleshoot common problems
drawtextis not recognized: The installed FFmpeg build may lack the filter. Checkffmpeg -filtersand use a build compiled with the required support, includinglibfreetype.- The overlay is blank or stale: Verify the text-file path and permissions, confirm the helper is writing the expected title, and check that the filter has a reload interval. The helper must run independently of FFmpeg.
- Text briefly disappears or is garbled during an update: The active file may be overwritten in place or saved with an unexpected encoding. Write a complete UTF-8 temporary file and replace the active file atomically.
- Special characters break the filter command: Prefer
textfileto embedding a changing title in the filter string; filter and shell escaping can interact. - The title changed in YouTube Studio but not on the video image: Studio changes broadcast/video metadata. Render the title into frames with
drawtextif it must appear in the picture. - The text is clipped or hard to read: Adjust its coordinates and size for the actual output resolution, select a suitable font, and consider a contrasting box. Validate the result using your own video layout.
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