Auto Select Audio When Transcoding

[njmckenzie96 6]

Wondering if there could be a way for emby to select track 2 in a movie file if the server recognizes that it's transcoding the audio. For me, all my movies have DTS or TrueHD as the first option, and the second option is eac3 or ac3 for more compatibility. When off my network, it would be cool for emby to auto load track 2 as I'm most likely not using a tv with a good Soundsystem or on a phone (would be helpful for family members outside my network so that don't have to select anything). 

I realize it is maybe a small use case and would require a toggle as many users might not want it, or don't have their libraries setup with 2 versions of audio. But for me, I put the work in to have two audio versions so it would be awesome if the server could auto select the 2nd track. 

[ebr 16816]

Hi.  If transcoding, the audio will be converted to AAC or DD anyway.

[njmckenzie96 6]

Well yes, but sometimes the video stream is fine right? But it has to convert audio, or it just brings the Mbps down on the video but leaves the audio. 

Edited December 12, 2025 by njmckenzie96

[Luke 43153]

Hi, we actually already do what you're asking, assuming all other factors are equals.

What I mean by that is, your user audio preferences come first. That is the criteria that is used to determine which track to play. But if two tracks are determined to be equally eligible, then it looks at which one might be able to direct play as a secondary criteria.

Does that answer your question?

[njmckenzie96 6]

Okay thanks for the reply. I'll mess around with it more then! 

[Luke 43153]

I would start by configuring your user audio preferences.

Please let us know what you find. Thanks.

[njmckenzie96 6]

So I've been testing this a lot the past few months and so far here are my findings. On iOS and android apps, if both audio tracks are set to default in the mkv container,  the apps select the secondary track IF the 1st track is TRUHD. If the 1st track is DTS OR DTS MA, Emby selects those and transcodes the audio even though there is a secondary track that is compatible. 

Today, I had a family member test playing a movie remote on their Roku. The movie played direct, and both audio files were set to default (trueHD, and Eac3),. Since Roku can't decode trued, Emby transcoded the audio without trying to switch to the second track that was compatible. I had the family member manually select the 2nd track and it played perfectly.

Is there a way you could work on this behavior or anything I should try? I've scoured through all their settings and everything is set, at least from my understanding, for the movie and audio to try to play direct, and it does play direct if they select the 2nd compatible track. 

I've tested all this on my home setup but my chromecasts are plugged into receivers that are able to pass/unpack truehd/dts without needing anything transcoded. 

The goal in all this is ease for the users who don't know about these settings. I realize I could flip which default track is at the top in the container, but then that means I have to change the audio settings on my home network when my family watches movies. So, if it's possible to work that would be awesome! Thanks for all the continued support and features on Emby!