If you're watching content with multiple audio tracks in VLC, such as foreign films or anime, this article will show you how to set VLC to always use the same audio track language. For example, if you are watching anime and you want it to always open videos (episodes) in English rather than Japanese, this guide will show you how to configure it. It will also show you how to do the same for subtitle tracks as well.
Takeaways:
- Learn how to force VLC to always use the same audio track language for all videos.
- How do you set VLC to always use English as the default audio track?
- How do you set VLC to always use Japanese as the default audio track?
Table of Contents
How to Change the Default Audio Track in VLC
If you watch a lot of content with multiple audio tracks and you don't want to have to keep changing them every time you open a new episode. The steps below will show you how to set VLC to always use the same audio language. Keep in mind that you actually need to have files with multiple audio tracks. Files that only have one audio track will only be able to play that audio track for obvious reasons...
- Launch VLC on your computer.
- From the top menu, click Tools, then select Preferences. Alternatively, press Ctrl + P to open the Preferences window directly.
- At the bottom left of the Preferences window, make sure Simple is selected. This is typically the default view.
- Click the Audio tab, found either at the top or on the left side of the window. You’ll see various audio-related settings here.
- Scroll down to the Tracks section.
- In the field labelled Preferred audio language, enter the language code for your preferred language.
Examples:
- English: eng
- Japanese: jpn
- Spanish: spa
Use ISO 639-2 codes. If those do not work, try ISO 639-1 codes. You can find the full list of language codes here.
(Optional) Set a Default Subtitle Language
As well as being able to set your default audio track in VLC, you can also set your default subtitle track by doing the following. Provided that the content you are opening has multiple subtitle track options.
- Click the Subtitles / OSD tab.
- Look for your Preferred subtitle language.
- Enter your language code in the field, using the same list as above. You can also customise subtitle appearance here, including font, size, and effects.
- Click Save at the bottom right of the Preferences window to apply your changes.
- Close and reopen VLC to ensure your new default settings take effect.
Once configured, VLC will automatically attempt to use your selected audio and subtitle languages whenever possible. If a video doesn’t include the specified track, VLC will fall back to whatever is available. This small adjustment saves time and ensures a consistent viewing experience across your media library.
