diff --git a/src/hflow/ffmpeg/_contact_sheet.py b/src/hflow/ffmpeg/_contact_sheet.py
index 022afc5b..7daa526b 100644
--- a/src/hflow/ffmpeg/_contact_sheet.py
+++ b/src/hflow/ffmpeg/_contact_sheet.py
@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@
 we ship -- there is deliberately no bundled VLM client.
 
 Implementation: a single ffmpeg invocation over the frame files
-(``concat`` + ``scale`` + ``tile``). Timestamp burn-in uses ``drawtext``
-when a usable font is found (``fc-match`` or common font paths); if none is
-available the sheet is still produced without burn-in and
+(``concat`` + ``scale`` + ``tile``). Timestamp burn-in uses ``drawtext`` when
+both the filter and a usable font are available (``fc-match`` or common font
+paths); otherwise the sheet is still produced without burn-in and
 ``ContactSheet.timestamps_burned`` is False -- callers can pass timestamps in
 the prompt instead. If more frames are given than ``max_tiles``, frames are
 sampled evenly and the drop is reported on the result, never silent.
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import tempfile
 from collections.abc import Sequence
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from functools import cache
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
@@ -64,6 +65,22 @@ def _find_usable_font_file() -> Path | None:
     return None
 
 
+@cache
+def _ffmpeg_supports_drawtext(ffmpeg_binary: Path) -> bool:
+    completed = subprocess.run(
+        [str(ffmpeg_binary), "-hide_banner", "-filters"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        check=False,
+    )
+    if completed.returncode != 0:
+        return False
+    return any(
+        len(columns := line.split()) > 1 and columns[1] == "drawtext"
+        for line in completed.stdout.splitlines()
+    )
+
+
 def _evenly_sampled_indices(total_count: int, max_count: int) -> list[int]:
     """Up to ``max_count`` indices evenly spread over ``range(total_count)``,
     always including the first and last frame."""
@@ -132,9 +149,12 @@ def contact_sheet(
     selected_frames = [frames[index] for index in _evenly_sampled_indices(len(frames), max_tiles)]
     rows = math.ceil(len(selected_frames) / columns)
 
+    ffmpeg_binary = ffmpeg_path()
     font_file = _find_usable_font_file()
+    timestamps_burned = font_file is not None and _ffmpeg_supports_drawtext(ffmpeg_binary)
     filter_chain: list[str] = [f"scale={tile_width}:-1"]
-    if font_file is not None:
+    if timestamps_burned:
+        assert font_file is not None
         filter_chain.extend(_drawtext_filters(selected_frames, font_file, tile_width))
     filter_chain.append(f"tile={columns}x{rows}")
 
@@ -143,7 +163,7 @@ def contact_sheet(
         concat_list_path = Path(staging_dir_name) / "frames.txt"
         _write_concat_list(selected_frames, concat_list_path)
         command = [
-            str(ffmpeg_path()),
+            str(ffmpeg_binary),
             "-hide_banner",
             "-nostats",
             "-y",
@@ -171,6 +191,6 @@ def contact_sheet(
         columns=columns,
         rows=rows,
         tile_log_times_ns=[frame.log_time_ns for frame in selected_frames],
-        timestamps_burned=font_file is not None,
+        timestamps_burned=timestamps_burned,
         frames_sampled_from=len(frames),
     )
diff --git a/tests/test_ffmpeg.py b/tests/test_ffmpeg.py
index 79ed0b99..a7bbc11c 100644
--- a/tests/test_ffmpeg.py
+++ b/tests/test_ffmpeg.py
@@ -582,7 +582,10 @@ def test_contact_sheet_grid_geometry(
     width, height = _probe_dimensions(output)
     assert width == 4 * 320
     assert height == 3 * 240  # 320x240 sources scaled to width 320 keep height 240
-    assert sheet.timestamps_burned == (_find_usable_font_file() is not None)
+    assert sheet.timestamps_burned == (
+        _find_usable_font_file() is not None
+        and _contact_sheet._ffmpeg_supports_drawtext(ffmpeg_path())
+    )
 
 
 def test_contact_sheet_max_tiles_sampling(
@@ -601,6 +604,30 @@ def test_contact_sheet_max_tiles_sampling(
     assert width == 4 * 160
 
 
+def test_contact_sheet_without_drawtext_still_produces_sheet(
+    ten_extracted_frames: list[ExtractedFrame],
+    tmp_path: Path,
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        _contact_sheet,
+        "_find_usable_font_file",
+        lambda: Path("/a/usable/font.ttf"),
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        _contact_sheet,
+        "_ffmpeg_supports_drawtext",
+        lambda _ffmpeg_binary: False,
+    )
+
+    output = tmp_path / "sheet-without-drawtext.jpg"
+    sheet = contact_sheet(ten_extracted_frames[:2], output, columns=2)
+
+    assert output.is_file()
+    assert _probe_dimensions(output) == (640, 240)
+    assert sheet.timestamps_burned is False
+
+
 def test_contact_sheet_accepts_apostrophes_in_external_paths(
     ten_extracted_frames: list[ExtractedFrame],
     tmp_path: Path,