diff --git a/daily_sunrise_video.sh b/daily_sunrise_video.sh
index d262b1f..1118685 100644
--- a/daily_sunrise_video.sh
+++ b/daily_sunrise_video.sh
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ echo "Speed-adjusted: ${sped_dur}s  (saved — overlay still pending)"
 SR_TIME=$(echo "$sunrise_time_local" | cut -d'-' -f1,2 | tr '-' ':')
 DT=""
 if [ "${SUNRISE_OVERLAY_ENABLED:-true}" = "true" ]; then
-    SR_VERT=$(echo "$SR_TIME" | awk 'BEGIN{FS=""}{for(i=1;i<=NF;i++){printf "%s",$i; if(i<NF)printf "\\n"}}')
+    SR_VERT="${SR_TIME:0:1}\\\\n${SR_TIME:1:1}\\\\n${SR_TIME:2:1}\\\\n${SR_TIME:3:1}\\\\n${SR_TIME:4:1}"
     DT="drawtext"
     [ -n "$FONT" ] && DT="${DT}=fontfile='${FONT}'" || DT="${DT}"
     DT="${DT}:text='${SR_VERT}'"
diff --git a/test-sunrise.sh b/test-sunrise.sh
index d4596c5..d603001 100755
--- a/test-sunrise.sh
+++ b/test-sunrise.sh
@@ -49,8 +49,11 @@ mid_hms=$(basename "$mid_frame" .jpg)          # HH-MM-SS
 MID_TIME=$(echo "$mid_hms" | cut -c1-5 | tr '-' ':')   # HH:MM
 echo "Mid-point frame: $mid_hms  →  overlay time: $MID_TIME"
 
-# Vertical text: each character on its own line (matches daily_sunrise_video.sh)
-MID_VERT="${MID_TIME:0:1}\\n${MID_TIME:1:1}\\n${MID_TIME:2:1}\\n${MID_TIME:3:1}\\n${MID_TIME:4:1}"
+# Vertical text: each character on its own line.
+# Inside ffmpeg single-quoted text values, \ is an escape prefix so \n → n.
+# We need \\n so ffmpeg parses it as \n which drawtext renders as a newline.
+# In bash double-quotes \\\\n → \\n (the value stored in the variable).
+MID_VERT="${MID_TIME:0:1}\\\\n${MID_TIME:1:1}\\\\n${MID_TIME:2:1}\\\\n${MID_TIME:3:1}\\\\n${MID_TIME:4:1}"
 
 # ── Font detection ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 FONT=""
@@ -74,7 +77,13 @@ TMP_AUDIO=$(mktemp --suffix=.m4a)
 cleanup() { rm -f "$TMP_LIST" "$TMP_RAW" "$TMP_SPED" "$TMP_AUDIO" 2>/dev/null || true; }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
-printf "file '%s'\n" "${frames[@]}" > "$TMP_LIST"
+# Write concat list with explicit duration per frame so raw video represents
+# real elapsed time: 12 frames × CAPTURE_INTERVAL seconds = ~2 minutes.
+# The final entry needs a duplicate without duration (ffmpeg concat requirement).
+for f in "${frames[@]}"; do
+    printf "file '%s'\nduration %s\n" "$f" "${CAPTURE_INTERVAL:-10}"
+done >> "$TMP_LIST"
+printf "file '%s'\n" "${frames[-1]}" >> "$TMP_LIST"
 
 # ── Step 1: raw video from frames ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 echo ""
@@ -111,7 +120,7 @@ if [ -n "$RTSP_URL" ]; then
         -i "$RTSP_URL" \
         -t "$SUNRISE_TARGET_SECS" \
         -vn -c:a aac -b:a 64k \
-        -y "$TMP_AUDIO" 2>/dev/null; then
+        -y "$TMP_AUDIO"; then
         HAS_AUDIO=true
         echo "  Audio: captured OK"
     else