How to crop a lower-third watermark out of a video
- Step 1Locate the watermark and confirm it's on an edge — Cropping only helps if the watermark sits in a strip along one edge (bottom, top, left, right, or a corner). If it's centred or overlaps key content across the frame, crop is the wrong tool — blur it instead with video-redactor.
- Step 2Drop the file and load the frame — The picker paints frame 0 so you can see the bug. Persistent watermarks usually appear from the first frame, so frame 0 is representative. If the bug fades in later, type coordinates or check a later frame.
- Step 3Draw the keep box above (or beside) the watermark — Drag the box so its edge sits just inside the picture, excluding the watermark strip. For a 60-px-tall bottom bug on a 1920×1080 frame, the keep box is the top 1020 rows: drag the bottom edge up to y≈1020.
- Step 4Set exact coordinates to shave minimally — Type the numbers to cut only the strip. Bottom bug 60 px tall:
X=0, Y=0, Width=1920, Height=1020. The watermark occupied rows 1020–1080; the keep window is rows 0–1020. - Step 5Run the crop — JAD applies
crop=W:H:X:Y(W/H even) and re-encodes to MP4, H.264, CRF 20, audio copied. The watermark strip — and the picture in it — is gone; the result is the kept region at its new (smaller) dimensions. - Step 6Confirm and tidy aspect if needed — Play the output to confirm no trace of the bug remains. Because cropping changed the aspect ratio, follow up with video-resizer or a platform formatter if a destination needs a fixed shape — this tool only crops.
Crop window by watermark position
Keep-window math for an edge watermark of thickness t, on a 1920×1080 source. Corner bugs require cutting a full row or column, sacrificing more picture.
| Watermark position | X | Y | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom lower-third (t tall) | 0 | 0 | 1920 | 1080 − t |
| Top banner (t tall) | 0 | t | 1920 | 1080 − t |
| Left edge bug (t wide) | t | 0 | 1920 − t | 1080 |
| Right edge bug (t wide) | 0 | 0 | 1920 − t | 1080 |
| Bottom-right corner bug | 0 | 0 | 1920 − t (cut the column) | 1080 (or cut the row instead) |
Crop vs blur — pick the right removal
Cropping deletes pixels (and the picture under them) and shrinks the frame. Blurring keeps the frame size and surrounding picture but leaves a visible smudge. Choose by where the watermark sits.
| Watermark location | Best removal | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Thin strip on one edge | Crop (this tool) | Little picture lost; watermark gone completely |
| Corner bug | Crop a row/column, or blur | Cropping a corner cuts a full edge; blur if that picture matters |
| Centred or over key content | Blur — video-redactor | Cropping would remove essential picture |
| Moving / animated watermark | Blur a covering region | A static crop can't follow a moving bug |
| Faces to anonymise, not a logo | face-pixelate or face-blur | Purpose-built redaction, not a crop |
Cookbook
Watermark-removal-by-crop recipes. Each shows the watermark size and position, the keep window, and the FFmpeg filter.
Shave a 60-px bottom lower-third bug
A persistent lower-third occupies the bottom 60 px of a 1920×1080 frame. Keep the top 1020 rows. Aspect becomes 1920:1020 ≈ 1.88:1.
Source: 1920 × 1080, bug in bottom 60 px (rows 1020–1080) Inputs: X=0 Y=0 Width=1920 Height=1020 FFmpeg runs: crop=1920:1020:0:0 Result: 1920×1020 MP4 — lower-third gone.
Remove a top channel banner
A network banner sits in the top 90 px. Drop those rows by starting the keep window at Y=90 and reducing Height to match.
Source: 1920 × 1080, banner in top 90 px Inputs: X=0 Y=90 Width=1920 Height=990 FFmpeg runs: crop=1920:990:0:90 Result: 1920×990 MP4 — banner removed.
Crop out a bottom-right corner logo by cutting the column
A corner bug 200 px wide hugs the right edge. Cutting the right 200 columns removes it (and the picture in that column). Aspect changes to 1720:1080.
Source: 1920 × 1080, logo in right 200 px
Inputs: X=0 Y=0 Width=1720 Height=1080
FFmpeg runs:
crop=1720:1080:0:0
Result: 1720×1080 MP4 — right-corner logo gone
(right edge of picture sacrificed).Shave a stock-footage bottom watermark precisely
Stock previews often stamp a thin bar in the bottom ~48 px. Crop just that, keeping maximum picture. Round the keep height to even.
Source: 1280 × 720, watermark in bottom ~48 px Math: keep Height = 720 - 48 = 672 (already even) Inputs: X=0 Y=0 Width=1280 Height=672 FFmpeg runs: crop=1280:672:0:0 Result: 1280×672 MP4 — stock bar removed.
When cropping is wrong — switch to blur
A logo sits centred over the speaker's chest. Cropping it out would remove the speaker. The correct fix is to blur the logo region, not crop. This shows the decision, then the right tool.
Logo region: 240×120 at (840, 480) — centred, over subject Cropping to exclude it would cut the speaker → wrong. Use video-redactor with the same rectangle instead: blur region 240×120 @ (840,480) Result: speaker preserved, logo blurred, frame size unchanged.
Edge cases and what actually happens
Watermark is centred or over key content
Wrong toolCropping deletes the picture in the strip you cut, so a centred logo can only be removed by cutting away the subject too. Use video-redactor to blur the rectangular logo region instead — it keeps the surrounding picture and the original frame size.
Watermark is animated or moves around the frame
Wrong toolA static crop can't follow a watermark that drifts or animates. If the bug stays within one edge band the whole time, a generous edge crop still works; otherwise blur a covering region with video-redactor.
Cropping the bug changed the aspect ratio
ExpectedRemoving a strip makes the frame smaller and non-standard (e.g. 1920×1020). That's inherent to cropping. If a destination needs 16:9 or a fixed size, resize or re-format afterwards with video-resizer — this tool will not pad or scale to restore the ratio.
Keep height is odd after subtracting the watermark
By designWidth/Height snap down to even before FFmpeg runs (a computed 1019 becomes 1018), which is required for H.264. The extra one-pixel shave is invisible and never re-exposes the watermark.
You cut too little and a sliver of the bug remains
Under-croppedYour keep edge was a pixel or two short. Re-run with the kept dimension reduced by a few more pixels (and the offset increased if cutting a top/left strip). One extra picture row beats a visible watermark remnant.
Watermark spans two edges (e.g. a full bottom bar plus a corner stamp)
Two crops or blurOne rectangle keeps one contiguous region, so two separate edge watermarks may need two sequential crops, or a blur for the second. Crop the bottom bar first; if a corner stamp remains and you don't want to cut more picture, blur it with video-redactor.
Removing the bug loses too much picture
Trade-offA thick or deeply-inset watermark forces you to cut a lot of frame. If the lost picture matters more than the watermark's visibility, blur instead of crop. There's no way to crop a strip without losing the picture in it — that's the nature of the operation.
Bug fades in after the first frame
ExpectedThe picker shows frame 0, where a fading bug may be invisible. Either type the coordinates from a later frame, or assume the watermark's eventual position and crop the band it occupies. The static crop applies to the whole clip regardless of when the bug appears.
Source has DRM or is protected
Not supportedDRM-protected streams can't be decoded in the browser; the file won't process. This tool operates on plain video files you can open locally. (And removing watermarks from content you don't own may breach its licence — that's on you, not the tool.)
Audio must be preserved exactly
SupportedAudio is stream-copied (-c:a copy), so removing a visual watermark never re-compresses or re-times the soundtrack. Narration, music, and sync are untouched.
Frequently asked questions
Can I remove a watermark by cropping?
Only if the watermark sits in a strip along one edge of the frame. Cropping cuts that strip away entirely — the bug is gone, but so is the picture in that strip and the frame gets smaller. For a centred logo or one over important content, cropping would remove the subject too; blur it with video-redactor instead.
How do I crop a bottom lower-third out?
Keep the rows above the bug. For a 60-px lower-third on a 1920×1080 frame, that's X=0, Y=0, Width=1920, Height=1020 → crop=1920:1020:0:0. The picker lets you drag the bottom edge up to just above the bug so you cut only the strip.
Does cropping the watermark reduce quality of the rest?
The kept region is re-encoded once with libx264 at CRF 20 (visually near-lossless), so quality is preserved at that level. Audio is stream-copied untouched. You only lose the pixels in the strip you deliberately cut.
What if the watermark is in the centre of the frame?
Then cropping is the wrong tool — you'd have to cut away the subject. Use video-redactor to blur the watermark's rectangular region, which keeps the surrounding picture and the original frame size.
Will the cropped video still be 16:9?
No — removing a strip changes the aspect ratio (e.g. 1920×1080 becomes 1920×1020). That's inherent to cropping. If a platform needs 16:9 or a fixed size, follow up with video-resizer; this cropper doesn't pad or scale.
Can I remove a corner logo without losing much picture?
A corner bug forces you to cut a full row or column to clear it, which sacrifices an edge of picture across the whole frame. If that edge matters, blur the corner instead with video-redactor. Cropping a corner always costs more picture than cropping a thin edge bar.
What about an animated or moving watermark?
A static crop can't track a moving bug. If it stays within one edge band, a generous edge crop still works. Otherwise blur a region that covers the watermark's full range of motion with video-redactor.
Is my footage uploaded?
No. Cropping runs in your browser with WebAssembly FFmpeg — licensed or sensitive footage stays local. The Free tier processes files up to 1 GB with no transfer to any server.
A thin line of the watermark is still showing — what happened?
You cut a pixel or two short. Re-run with the kept dimension reduced by a few more pixels (and the offset bumped if you're cutting a top or left strip). It's cheap to iterate — the source is re-read fresh each time with no cumulative loss.
Can I remove two watermarks (a bottom bar and a corner stamp) at once?
One crop keeps one contiguous rectangle, so two separate watermarks may need two sequential crops, or a crop plus a blur. Crop the edge bar here, then blur any remaining corner stamp with video-redactor if you don't want to cut more picture.
Does removing the watermark touch my audio?
No. Audio is stream-copied (-c:a copy), so narration, music, and sync are bit-identical to the source. Only the video frame is cropped.
What format do I get out?
Always an MP4 with H.264 video at CRF 20 and the source audio copied in. There's no format choice. To convert to another codec or container afterwards, use video-transcoder.
Privacy first
Every JAD Video tool runs entirely in your browser via WebCodecs and FFmpeg (WebAssembly). Your video files never leave your device — verified by zero outbound network requests during processing.