Display MKV subtitles when track language not specified

[fluxquanta]

For a while now I've been trying to figure out why some of my anime MKVs with embedded ASS subtitles were not displaying the subtitles on my TV, while other files seemed to work fine, using MEncoder (updated from the sticky) on PMS 1.60.0 . After some trial and error, I found that on the problematic files the subtitle track had no language defined (not "undefined", mind you...completely nonexistant). I used mkvpropedit to set the subtitle track language to English and voila, subtitles appear perfectly.

My question is, rather than go through every one of my files and set the language to English, is there a way that I can tell PMS to display subtitles even if no language is specified in the MKV? I realize I could write a script that sets the subtitle language with all my existing files easily, but then new files I download would have to be modified one by one as I receive them. It seems like modifying PMS in some way would be the easiest solution.

Any suggestions?

(I didn't use the "Problem Reporting Guidelines" as this isn't a specific problem as much as a call for advice to make things easier because I'm lazy -- everything "works" fine with PMS.)

[happy.neko]

You can select particular audio/sub track via #TRANSCODE# folder.

[fluxquanta]

So there's no way I could, say, play the subtitle with no language set by default? Like somehow adding a wildcard to the preferred sub language order in MEncoder options?

[ExSport]

If you will read the FAQ, you will not ask here
Answer is: UND

[fluxquanta]

If you will read the FAQ, you will not ask here
Answer is: UND

I did read the FAQ. I've read a ton of stuff on random websites as well. That doesn't work in this case. The language setting for the subtitle track doesn't exist in these problematic files. Undefined would work if the language setting existed, but wasn't set to anything.

Do you understand what I mean?

It's not that the language element isn't set on the track, but the language element doesn't exist on the track at all.

[ExSport]

I am not sure if I understand it well but when PMS will not find audio/subtitle language tag, it takes them as UND.
So if MKV has audio track, it will be interpreted as UND when nothing is defined and if lang tag is set, it uses EN,DE,CS,ES, etc....

[fluxquanta]

The way I understand it (and I can be horribly wrong) is that each track can have different "elements" defined. So track 1 may be video, track 2 audio, and track 3 subtitles, and within each track there is an element which can be set (like titles, chapters, or languages). So the subtitle track is there, but the element for language is missing. So basically instead of saying "Language = " in which case the language would be undefined and I imagine "und" would work, in my case "Language = " doesn't even exist.

So I assume that PMS/MEncoder is completely skipping over it since the part of the file that tells PMS what language the subtitle track is in doesn't exist.

[happy.neko]

It's not that the language element isn't set on the track, but the language element doesn't exist on the track at all.

Can you upload sample file?

[fluxquanta]

It's not that the language element isn't set on the track, but the language element doesn't exist on the track at all.

Can you upload sample file?

I'm not sure how opposed you are to torrents and downloading anime, but this one was one that was giving me trouble:

[mod]link removed[/mod]