# Can Plex Support Multiple Audio Tracks
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660
**Category:** General Discussions
**Created:** [August 13, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660 "2015-08-13T17:51:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@m0rph7b](https://forums.plex.tv/u/m0rph7b)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/1 "2015-08-13T17:51:28Z")
when ripping a DVD i would like to have three different versions of the audio track:
1. plain stereo
2. full surround
3. commentary
is it possible to switch between these different tracks on Plex? if it makes any difference this is the only thing holding me back from subscribing to Plex Pass.
thanks in advance…
in case it’s useful, i generally rip to MP4, content is consumed on a variety of handheld devices as well as home theatre. i probably missed some critical info out that i’m not aware is critical. 😉
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/2 "2015-08-13T18:27:28Z")
As long as your ripper software can embed several audiotracks at once into the mp4 file, then this is possible.
I don’t know if mp4 supports track **titles** though. These would come in handy in identifying the track later so you can select the right one for playback.
I **do** know that MKV as container supports all this. This is exactly what I’ve been doing already.
[Here is a post of mine on the matter](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/832981/#Comment_832981 "Here is a post in the matter"). It is already a bit older but mostly valid still.
except for one thing: Plex reads track titles into its database now. Let’s hope they are exposed someday in the playback controls.
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### Author:  [@m0rph7b](https://forums.plex.tv/u/m0rph7b)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/3 "2015-08-20T14:28:42Z")
hello!
thanks for this - i am ashamed to say that it all seemed very obvious when
i looked at plex again. you are 100% right on the naming point though -
and that has caused me to realise something else about Plex that i would
like to ask you if you don’t mind…
initially, i have been ripping my DVDs/BluRays with MakeMKV and then into
MP4 files with handbrake. at this point i was a free user, although i have
just decided to buy a plexpass and get the apps on various platforms (until
recently i had only used the service on ChromeCast).
following your email, i decided to change my approach - although it takes
up a lot of space the simplest way to make MKVs is to keep the file written
by MakeMKV but that has lead to a problem. despite having selected ‘direct
play’ plex is trying to transcode a file before playing it on a device
within my home (wired) network. for example:
watching something at the highest possible video setting on a PS3 (wired)
causes the media server to work like crazy. same for the Xbox 360 (also
wired). Chromecast is less successful at the top rate (wireless) but even
dropping to 720p causes the server to work very hard. frankly, i am
surprised that it is able to transcode a BluRay on the fly like that at all!
the thing is, that i don’t want it to be transcoded. as it is a wired
network i want the highest possible file to be delivered to the end device
without the server transcoding. have i got the system set up wrong?
thanks in advance for your help!
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/4 "2015-08-20T14:43:59Z")
Avoiding transcoding is a completely different issue. I therefore advise you to open a separate thread about it.
Also there are already some reported issues from users about the latest plexpass release unnecessarily transcoding. So I’d go back to e.g. PMS 0.9.12.5 and see whether that changes anything.
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### Author:  [@Carlos\_Troncoso](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Carlos_Troncoso)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2016, 7:43am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/5 "2016-10-16T07:43:13Z")
Muxing all in a single MKV might work locally, but consider over a network.
If you got 5 languages in 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, that’ll be 15 audio streams in the file. When streaming the mkv, all 15 audio tracks, plus the video stream would have to go through the cable.
The transcoding you see, is just a simple remuxing, in which plex opens up the mkv and rebuilds a stream with just the tracks required. You’ll se that it’s transcoding, but in fact it’s just a lightweight re-muxing.
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### Author:  [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2016, 7:55am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/6 "2016-10-16T07:55:17Z")
> @OttoKerner said:
> As long as your ripper software can embed several audiotracks at once into the mp4 file, then this is possible.
> I don’t know if mp4 supports track **titles** though. These would come in handy in identifying the track later so you can select the right one for playback.
Unfortunately, no…
My personal work around is to always put an AAC 2.0 main audio track first, Commentary tracks next and any backup original multi-channel tracks last (I can’t use them so this is rare).
MakeMKV for DVDs usually results in an MPEG 2 stream - that won’t hardly direct play on anything… not anything I have anyway… and it’s grossly over inflated to boot - taking up much more space than is really necessary. 480p material at 10Mbps is overkill.
I can Handbrake a 90 minute DVD in under 20 minutes to a more reasonable 1.8-2.5Mbps item and these eyeballs can’t see the difference. I also can’t see the difference in a BluRay rip at 30Mbps and one I create at 5-8Mbps, but the mileage on that depends on the eyeballs I guess…
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/7 "2016-10-16T14:42:49Z")
> @“Carlos Troncoso” said:
> Muxing all in a single MKV might work locally, but consider over a network.
> If you got 5 languages in 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, that’ll be 15 audio streams in the file. When streaming the mkv, all 15 audio tracks, plus the video stream would have to go through the cable.
This is only an issue in the Plex world, if the file is being [Direct Played](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201566396-How-are-Direct-Play-Direct-Stream-and-Transcoding-different- "Direct Played")
This is rarely the case when we’re talking about remote streams, especially after the addition of the [Streaming Brain](https://www.plex.tv/blog/mcstreamy-brain-take-world-two-easy-steps/ "Streaming Brain") into Plex.
Most of the times it will be at least Direct Streaming (which then leaves out all unused streams)
or Transcoding where the file is being converted anyway.
> The transcoding you see, is just a simple remuxing, in which plex opens up the mkv and rebuilds a stream with just the tracks required. You’ll se that it’s transcoding, but in fact it’s just a lightweight re-muxing.
This cannot be said in that absoluteness.
When you see ‘transcoding’ in Status - Activity, it can be 3 different things:
- Direct Stream (simple remux)
- Direct Stream (with audio transcoded)
- Transcoding (with video stream transcoded)
The cpu load on the server is quite low in the first case,
moderate in the second
and high in the third.
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### Author:  [@Carlos\_Troncoso](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Carlos_Troncoso)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2016, 7:09am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/8 "2016-10-24T07:09:11Z")
@OttoKerner I agree and that is what I meant. On Plex having multiple streams in a file triggers a transcoding, but not a “heavy” transcoding, but just a simple lightweight remuxing. So he’ll still see a transcoding going on, but not a cpu intensive one. Said that, muxing all streams in a single MKV will still have to be transcoded (remuxed) as to only send the requested streams.
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### Author:  [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-plex-support-multiple-audio-tracks/111660/9 "2020-01-07T20:08:31Z")