How to Set Audio Tracks Automatically on VLC

Simple installation

Run VLC. Since we're only changing the settings, you don't need to open the program with any files.

Select Tools from the options at the top of the window. A drop-down menu will open.

Select Preferences from the drop-down menu. A new window with a list of options will pop up.

Or, you can press CTRL + P to open the Preferences window.

Select the Simple setting. In the lower left corner of the Preferences window there will be two options, make sure Simple is selected. This is the default setting, but you should check to be sure.

Select the Audio tab. Select the Audio tab from the left or top of the window. This option features a traffic cone wearing headphones.

Enter the desired audio language. Find the Tracks heading near the bottom of the audio settings list. Then, enter the language code you want to listen to in the data field next to the "Preferred Audio Language" line. You can see more code lists in this link: http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php. Try code set 639-2 first, then code set 639-1 if the previous code doesn't work.

English: eng

Japanese: jpn

Vietnamese: vie

Set up custom subtitles. If you want to set the default subtitle track, you can do so in the same customization window. You will also see other subtitle customization options like font, font size, shadow, etc.

Click the subtitles tab in the upper or left part of the window.

Enter your language code in the data field next to the heading "Preferred Subtitle Language." You can see more code list in this link: http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php

Click Save. Click the Save button in the lower right corner of the screen. Changes will be confirmed.

Restart VLC. To apply the changes, you need to restart VLC.

Advanced settings

Select all settings. On the Preferences window, select All in the lower left corner of the window. If the simple method doesn't work, the audio track may have the wrong tag. In this case, you need to set the default audio track, you may have to try again and again until it succeeds.

Select Inputs/Codecs on the left side of the Advanced Preferences window. A new page titled Inputs/Codecs will appear.

Change the audio track number. If the file has multiple audio tracks, it may take a few tries to find the right one. If there are only two audio tracks then 0 or 1 will be the correct one. 0 is automatic if you do a custom reset; 1 is the supplementary version.

Enter the language. If the simple method doesn't work, this step probably won't change anything, but this will be the last chance. Enter the language code you want to use in the input field next to the "Audio Language" heading. Here is a list of language codes: http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php.

Change subtitle version number. If you're still having trouble setting the default subtitle track, try different numbers of subtitle tracks.

Click Save. Click the Save button at the bottom right of the window to confirm the changes.

Restart VLC. You need to restart the program to apply the changes.

Samuel Daniel

Update 08 May 2024