Audio Subtitles track properties

When we talk about audio/subtitles track properties, we are talking about track properties such as default track, impaired (description) track, forced track, original (language) track, ... which can be viewed also in Kodi audio/subtitles OSD settings while playing. These determine how tracks will be selected when playback starts, based on the user settings set on Kodi.

Here to follow the general track selection behavior of the Kodi framework.

Whenever possible these properties are automatically parsed/assigned by using the manifest data. But being that the specifications of the manifests (DASH, HLS, ...) may differ from what the Kodi framework require, there are situations where these properties are not assigned or are assigned incorrectly. For DASH manifest are supported some custom tags to do some fine tuning, see wiki Custom DASH manifest tags page.

Meaning of "default" track property in Kodi

The meaning of "default" on Kodi may differ from the specifications of manifest types (DASH, HLS, ...). Assigning these properties on Kodi tracks has the following meanings:

What it means set an audio track as default

The "default" property is used to give priority to a track in the playback selection when is similar to another, same language but usually may differs for channels or codec used.

Consider the following example, we have a manifest with 2 audio tracks:

• Audio track english - channels 5.1 - codec ec-3
• Audio track english - channels 2.0 - codec ec-3

Both track are same language and differ only in the number of channels. To allow Kodi to automatically select (prioritise) track 5.1, we have to set the track 5.1 to default. If not set, Kodi will select the first one in index order, without distinction.

What it means set a subtitles track as default

The "default" property is used to give priority to a track in the playback selection when is equal to another (unusual but only to understand the functionality) for example it may differs for the content e.g. different author.

Consider the following example, we have a manifest with 2 subtitles tracks:

• Subtitles track italian - (an author version 1)
• Subtitles track italian - (an author version 2)

Both track are same language and differ only for the author. To allow Kodi to automatically select (prioritise) a preferred track, we have to set to default one of the two tracks. If not set, Kodi will select the first one in index order, without distinction.