AFAIK: Correct on all accounts.As a follow up to my previous post/question - still haven't been able to get forced subtitles to display. But I want to make sure I'm preparing my MKV's properly.
I'm assuming that unlike a disc player, plex will not recognize forced subtitles out of a standard subtitle track (that has subtitles for both the english and non-english part of a movie), and that the forced subtitles must be in their own separate track and that the entire track must have a forced flag, is that correct? I've tried it both ways, to no avail, but still want to verify that is the correct setup.
Then as far as knowing that plex is recognizing the forced subs, I should see that track selected instead of "none", correct?
So even without PMS for some reason not seeing the forced subs, I could simply select the appropriate subtitle track within PMS then it would always play. Not a terrible workaround if that is what I have to do.
The best way to do this with a subtitle track that contains non-forced and forced subs within the main track is to extract the forced subs into their own track and mux that in as default and not forced. then mux in the full track as non-default and not forced. That way the forced subs will always play default and the full subs are still there if you want them. Regardless of whether the player/server supports the forced flag or not you're good to go.
So there is no way to set a global default for forced subs in something like a .mkv? Maybe a setting for a specific library section (i.e. a section for anime which I have to manually force subs on 90% of things anyway)?
The best way to do this with a subtitle track that contains non-forced and forced subs within the main track is to extract the forced subs into their own track and mux that in as default and not forced. then mux in the full track as non-default and not forced. That way the forced subs will always play default and the full subs are still there if you want them. Regardless of whether the player/server supports the forced flag or not you're good to go.
I've tried forced+default, forced only, default only with my forced sub tracks and plex won't recognize them, or rather it won't automatically select the subtitle track. I still have to manually select the forced track.
So there is no way to set a global default for forced subs in something like a .mkv? Maybe a setting for a specific library section (i.e. a section for anime which I have to manually force subs on 90% of things anyway)?
PMS is supposed to recognize the forced track flag on a subtitle track within MKV and then automatically select that subtitle track to play. So in a way, yes, it does incorporate a global default for recognizing forced subs, in theory.
One interesting development, Plex is now showing a "PGS Forced" Subtitle track available with a new title I just tried. So it is clearly recognizing the forced subtitle track, but still no auto selection on my end. Typically I designate a track as forced during a remuxing process. This time I just used the header editor within mkvtoolnix and I now see the "Pgs Forced" track. So, I guess that's something.
I've tried forced+default, forced only, default only with my forced sub tracks and plex won't recognize them, or rather it won't automatically select the subtitle track. I still have to manually select the forced track.
PMS is supposed to recognize the forced track flag on a subtitle track within MKV and then automatically select that subtitle track to play. So in a way, yes, it does incorporate a global default for recognizing forced subs, in theory.
I have a bunch of movies with forced subs and they are all automatically detected in my Plex Server. I you put the forced flag on a subtitle track it should show up like this when moved into your movie directory:
I can go in and select None manually if I wanted to but the forced track is selected by default.
Mine looks the same with the exception that Plex won't automatically select the subtitle track. But it is indicated as a forced subtitle track. I just have to select it myself. I've just resigned myself to manually selecting for now. Don't know why it won't. But I always verify the files are working correctly anyway, so not a big deal to manually select that.
I'd appreciate some clarification here.
I'm a MakeMKV user, and I'm having some problems figuring out how to deal with movies like Avatar and Avengers. Their subtitles are problematic to rip for different reasons, but I imagine the solution is largely the same.
In the case of Avatar, MakeMKV will identify a single set oif english subtitles, which creates two subtitle tracks in the MKV. The forced subtitles end in one of those tracks, which is marked as the "default" track, but not a "forced" track.
Avengers is little more complicated. There are three english subtitles: one is the full subtitles, one is subtitles for the directors commentary, and one contains the forced subtitles. None of these end up getting marked as default or forced.
I know how to go into mkvmerge and modify the flags, but do I need to to set the appropriate tracks as default or default+forced? Ideally, I'd like Plex to identify the forced subtitles (the subtitle for non-english parts, I mean) by default, but I want to be able to "over rule" it, by deselecting the subtitle track in Plex when I watch it. Is there a way to do that?
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Some additional testing suggests this isn't possible. Subtitle tracks marked "default" appear to get no special treatment from Plex. Subtitle tracks marked "forced" do get "forced" shown next to the track name in the subtitle drop-down box in Plex/Web, but they aren't automatically selected. Unfortunately, this is not shown in the drop-down box in the Android app.
As I mentioned in my last post all I do is mark the foreign language track as forced+default and copy the movie over to my server. I don't touch it in Plex/Web. It automatically selects the forced+default track and presents it as selected in Plex/Web. From my testing it's the default flag that causes Plex to automatically populate the selected drop down.
As I mentioned in my last post all I do is mark the foreign language track as forced+default and copy the movie over to my server. I don't touch it in Plex/Web. It automatically selects the forced+default track and presents it as selected in Plex/Web. From my testing it's the default flag that causes Plex to automatically populate the selected drop down.
To clarify, are you talking about the audio track or the subtitle track? Based on my testing, setting the default flag on a subtitle track does not lead to it being selected automatically. I assume that is how audio tracks work, but I haven't tested it.
I wonder if this is a server issue... Or maybe a container/subtitle format issue. All my movies are blu-ray rips from MakeMKV, using PGS subtitles from that rip. Then I edit the subtitle track properties (the default and forced settings) using mkvpropedit.
To clarify, are you talking about the audio track or the subtitle track? Based on my testing, setting the default flag on a subtitle track does not lead to it being selected automatically. I assume that is how audio tracks work, but I haven't tested it.
I wonder if this is a server issue... Or maybe a container/subtitle format issue. All my movies are blu-ray rips from MakeMKV, using PGS subtitles from that rip. Then I edit the subtitle track properties (the default and forced settings) using mkvpropedit.
I was referring to the subtitles in my post but any and all if we're talking a larger scope. In my setup PMS adheres to the default flag on video, audio and subtitles. All of my Blu-ray rips are done with eac3to command line and mkvmerge GUI.
I was referring to the subtitles in my post but any and all if we're talking a larger scope. In my setup PMS adheres to the default flag on video, audio and subtitles. All of my Blu-ray rips are done with eac3to command line and mkvmerge GUI.
You end up with VobSubs using eac3to? I'm guessing you're using eac3to with AnyDVD and tsMuxer. I'm not particularly familiar with that setup. Can you provide more details? Like, what container are you using?
In MKVs, PGS subtitles marked "default" definitely do not get selected by default within Plex/Web or in the Android app. Within Plex/Web, subtitles marked "forced" are identified as such in the drop down box, but they aren't automatically selected, either. I'm running PMS version 0.9.8.7.
No I end up with VobSub after extracting forced subs from the main track with BDSup2Sub. As I mentioned though if the track is marked default it shows up as the default selection. No matter what format or track type (video, audio, sub). I just did another test. I selected None for my subtitles and the forced subtitles still display properly. So if the Forced flag is set it should play back whether it's selected or not.
I demux with eac3to, extract forced subs with BDSup2Sub if needed and mux with mkvmerge GUI. That's it. Simple 10 minute process. All videos are MKV with whatever codec they were authored with.
Just did another test... it appears the forced subtitles do need to be selected for the Android client. The PHT works fine without being selected though.
Out of curiosity, why do you bother converting the subs? Do you have devices that natively play back VobSubs but not PGS subtitles? Do you have any videos with forced PGS subtitles?
I tried playing back Avatar without first selecting the forced subtitles. The subtitles don't appear when I play back from Plex/Web. I have to select them. What are you using for playback?
Maybe its a VobSub vs. PGS issue. When I find some time I'll try converting mine to VobSub.
Just did another test... it appears the forced subtitles do need to be selected for the Android client. The PHT works fine without being selected though.
I missed this before I posted my last post.
PHT is just playing the file back without any server transcoding. I tried it out on my system. Like you, subtitle tracks- even PGS subtitles- marked forced show up automatically and regardless of whether they're selected.
However, they don't show up automatically in Plex/Web or Android. I don't think the Plex transcoder knows to include forced subtitles.
Yeah. You seem to hit the nail on the head there. If I force PHT to transcode then it needs the forced subs to be selected. So it does appear to be a transcoder "issue". Not really sure if they would consider that an issue or not though.
Are forced subtitles selected by default in Plex/Web or the Android client for you? They're not for me. It seems like they ought to be.
Is there a way to report bugs other than posting in the bug/feature request forum?
In every client they are selected by default when the default flag is used. The only issue I was able to reproduce was the subtitles not playing when not selected and transcoding.
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I tried copying an MKV with VobSub subtitles now to see if I can reproduce your results. I still can't. As I said before, subtitle tracks marked "default" are not selected by default for me. Here's a screenshot from right after I loaded the file on my server. The default track flag and the forced track flag are both set to "yes."
You know the Android and Plex/Web clients remember what was selected, right? Once you select a subtitle within Plex/Web or Android it will remember to keep it selected. But, at least for me, it won't initially select it automatically.
Try looking at the media info from within plex. When I look at it for the above file, the subtitle section just says:
SUBTITLES Forced 1 Language English Format VOBSUB
Is that what you see?
Look at the XML. There should be a link at the bottom that says View XML. You should be able to see the default flag there. I don't think your issue has anything to do with the media. There must be a setting, something cached or a bug somewhere. I haven't had a single instance where the default flag wasn't enforced.
