Automatically get subtitles in the wanted language

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.19.4.2935
Player Version#: Plex for Mac 1.12.1.1253

When I add a new TV show, everything works perfect except for the selection of the subtitle language. In my account settings under Language, I have:

Automatically select audio and subtitle tracks (checked)

Prefer audio tracks in “Nederlands”
Subtitle mode “Always enabled”
Prefer subtitles in “Nederlands”

Somehow the subtitles are in English always, but when I use ‘Search’, I find many alternative subtitles in Dutch (Nederlands).

Why doesn’t this get selected in the first place, automatically?

2

From what I remember, Plex automatically picks a subtitle from the subtitles that are embedded in your video file or stored alongside the video as local media assets. Plex will not automatically pull subtitles if there’s none.

Do you have the Dutch subtitles in those files / as external SRTs alongside those episodes?

3

They must be in the video files then I guess. Is there a way to always override those?

4

Can you open one of those episodes, click ... > Get Info > View XML and then copy&paste the content of that file (we’ll only need the section <Media> … </Media>)

5

Here it is, but I already overruled the subtitle selection here.

6 
<Media id="64122" duration="2594177" bitrate="4473" width="1280" height="718" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="ac3" videoCodec="h264" videoResolution="720" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="24p" videoProfile="high">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="66287" key="/library/parts/66287/1430951633/file.mkv" duration="2594177" file="/mnt/media/Videos/Series/Forever (2014)/Forever.(2014).S01E01.Pilot.WEBDL-720p.ECI.mkv" size="1451165557" container="mkv" deepAnalysisVersion="4" requiredBandwidths="10092,9576,8033,6836,6836,6836,6836,6836" videoProfile="high">
<Stream id="133721" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="4089" language="English" languageCode="eng" bitDepth="8" chromaLocation="topleft" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" codedHeight="720" codedWidth="1280" colorPrimaries="bt709" colorRange="tv" colorSpace="bt709" colorTrc="bt709" frameRate="23.976" hasScalingMatrix="1" height="718" level="31" profile="high" refFrames="2" requiredBandwidths="9707,9192,7649,6542,6542,6542,6542,6542" scanType="progressive" width="1280" displayTitle="720p (H.264)"/>
<Stream id="133722" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="ac3" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="384" language="English" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" requiredBandwidths="384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384" samplingRate="48000" displayTitle="English (AC3 5.1)"/>
<Stream id="133723" streamType="3" codec="srt" index="2" bitrate="0" language="English" languageCode="eng" requiredBandwidths="1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1" title="CC" displayTitle="English (SRT)"/>
<Stream id="142412" key="/library/streams/142412" streamType="3" selected="1" codec="srt" language="Nederlands" languageCode="dut" format="srt" providerTitle="OpenSubtitles" score="48" sourceKey="/library/streams/1954404608?provider=OpenSubtitles&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdl.opensubtitles.org%2Fen%2Fdownload%2Fsrc-api%2Fvrf-19a40c52%2Ffile%2F1954404608.gz&enc=CP1252" title="Forever.S01E01.1080p.WEB-DL.DD5.1.H.264" transient="1" userID="1" displayTitle="Nederlands (SRT OpenSubtitles)"/>
</Part>
</Media>
7

What happens if you turn off Always enabled?
(Shown with Foreign Audio - is the blaring other choice…)

Logic would imply the native language sub track would be selected when a non native audio track is in play. That should happen automatically since there’s a button right there that says it will. If Logic is applied…lol

8

Not with Subtitle Mode set to Always enabled. In this case Plex should automatically select every available Dutch subtitle (even if the audio is in Dutch).
I must admit I’m not 100% sure how this behavior plays out if there’s a mix of subtitles embedded in that file (here: English SRT) and a subtitle obtained via the OpenSubtitles agent (here: Dutch SRT)

@Jasper: according to that snippet the last subtitle (Dutch SRT obtained from OpenSubtitles) is selected. Did you select that before manually?

9

Me either - that’s why I asked what would happen…

Let’s all find out together…
(stand back)
:slight_smile:

10

Yes, I already chose a different subtitle for this one manually. If it helps, I can try to find an episode I didn’t override the subtitles for.

So I should disable the Subtitle Mode and set it to ‘Shown with Foreign Audio’ like JuiceWSA suggests?

11

Isn’t that what you want?

I have mine Always on.
The hearing, the knees, the mental faculties… you know…
I can turn 'em off, or my Roku has ‘On Replay’ so I can back up and catch what happened and if they’re Always on, they’ll be there for that to happen. They go off in a moment after you get back where you were.

In your case I would think Shown With Foreign Audio would be your thing.

I am only dealing, usually, with English/English.
When Parasite comes on in Korean - the subs are already on - and it’s a good thing too, but if they were set to be shown with foreign audio - they should come on automatically. <—and one would hope it wouldn’t matter where they were, so long as they were the right ones and marked as such.

12

I changed the settings, moved a show, deleted the Trash, moved the TV show back, did a Library Scan, but the show still has no Dutch subtitles:

<Media id="64661" duration="2474976" bitrate="3434" width="1280" height="720" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="2" audioCodec="mp2" videoCodec="h264" videoResolution="720" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="PAL" videoProfile="high">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="66924" key="/library/parts/66924/1532518617/file.mkv" duration="2474976" file="/mnt/media/Videos/Series/Stargate SG-1/Season 1/Stargate.SG-1.S01E19.Tin.Man.HDTV-720p.4P.mkv" size="1062355235" container="mkv" videoProfile="high">
<Stream id="142740" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="3306" bitDepth="8" chromaLocation="left" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" codedHeight="720" codedWidth="1280" frameRate="25.000" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="720" level="41" profile="high" refFrames="5" scanType="progressive" width="1280" displayTitle="720p (H.264)"/>
<Stream id="142741" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="mp2" index="1" channels="2" bitrate="128" language="English" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="stereo" samplingRate="48000" displayTitle="English (MP2 Stereo)"/>
</Part>
</Media>
13

It depends where they hold that info - if they put it in with the Watched State - a Plex Dance won’t touch it. Since this is in Account Territory. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s in the vault - as it were.

I’ll go quiet.

More knowledge/experience with this sort of thing is warranted.
If you can seek out a Virgin Show…

14

Actually it even has no subtitles at all, not even English. When I search manually, I can find the Dutch subtitles easily. I would really want Plex to just pick the best suggestion for me automatically. Right now I have to do it manually for each eposide (can’t do it for the complete show)

15

I don’t think the search is automatic.

?

How easy are subs for you?
For instance, what would your success rate here be:
https://subscene.com/
(where you might find all of 'em for a season in one go)

16

Thank your for that! However, I’d still love Plex to just find it all for me. I’m kind of a lazy person who wants everything automated. :wink:

1 Like
17

Yea, me too, Man…

But the next best thing may be finding your own - maybe better ones - and doing it with a reasonable amount of effort when you add the material then - it’s done.

When I’m ripping - I never let those subs get away.
When I’m acquiring - I cuss like a sailor if there is none - and take steps to get some - while they’re young.

18

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