DVD language setting issue

[PjotrC]

Hello,

I watched some DVDs with VLC recently, but with some of them, I did run into a language issue: even that I did click on "German" in the DVDs language menu, serveral of the films were still shown in English. - Is this a known issue? Do I have to write the developers directly? Do you need more information?

I like to use this message to raise another request: it would be nice to have a button on the GUI (possibly under the Media menu), which does eject the disc. Currently I always have to start the Windows Explorer to be able to ejct the disc after watching a movie, because there is just a touch button for this on my Dell XPS One, which does not work since a long time (the upgrade to Windows 7) anymore...

Thanks for your help!
Peter

[Hitchhiker]

Vlc has an option to choose the default language you want to use when you first install it. By default it's set to Automatic which means it takes the language setting from Windows Region and Language settings.

If the option to change the language in preferences isn't displaying the language you wanted you can set it to another language in Windows by typing intl.cpl in the Window Run command (hit Windows key + R to open) and change it there. Vlc will pick it up automatically.

As regards your second question regarding ejecting the disc after watching it there's an eject button on the Open Disc menu. Hit Ctrl + D to open and you'll see it located to the left of the Browse button in the middle.

[PjotrC]

Hello Hitchhiker, thank you for your answer!

language issue
Are you talking about the language of the VLC GUI, or about the language of the movie? - I meant the latter (the spoken language, I don't use subtitles).
If I go into the language menu of the movie and select one particular language, VLC should play the movie in that language - independent from any other language setting.

eject button
Thank you for the hint! I would prefer a menu entry like Media -> Eject disc because it would be one click less, but it is still better than starting the Windows Explorer.

[Hitchhiker]

Let me get this straight. You're saying that if you play a German language DVD vlc skips that and plays it in English instead? For that to happen the disc would have to contain both languages.

If so, I'll have to blow the dust off my DVD collection and find one which has the option to play in another language to see if I can reproduce the problem.

[PjotrC]

Yes, exactly: that is the issue. The problem is, that this issue appears just on some, but not on all multi-language DVDs.
(Please let me know, if you did or did not find such a problematic DVD in your collection.)

[Hitchhiker]

So here's an update. According to a couple of sites I looked at the movie Blood Diamond was recorded in five different languages. I just happen to have it myself, but had only played it in English previously.

However, in the Netherlands where I live the movie was only recorded in Castellano and English. Here's a pix of the language choices.


(click to enlarge)

When I played it the first scene it was performed in Spanish, but subsequent tracks reverted to English. So using the context menu in vlc it appears that only the opening scene was recorded in Spanish. The rest of the movie is in English albeit with the addition of Spanish subtitles (if required).



So maybe it's the same problem your end with only the initial track available in another language.

[PjotrC]

Thank you for your investigation!

All the movies, where that issue occured, had only English tracks (also the first one was in English only).
Also: here in Germany all movies are dubbed - it is very unlikely, that an English-only DVD is sold here (especially, if the DVD cover is German).

Unfortunately my Dell XPS One died since I watched the last movie and my laptop does not have a DVD drive, so that I can't check the context menu, which you did show...

I bought the movies in the super market - they do change the sortiment regularly. That is why I don't know, if I can buy one problematic movie a second time, so that I can send it to you. (If you agree with that. ) Probably I have to buy an external drive first, to check the issue again. This might take a while... - Can I come back to this question in some time?

[Hitchhiker]

In my experience supermarket dvds are waste of time. All the usual options like the ability to access the scene menus are missing and language options often don't exist. I forgot about the fact that all dvds are dubbed in Germany regardless of where the disc originates. In the Netherlands subtiltes are often burned in so that you can't disable them. So these days I buy all my dvds from Amazon UK. Sometimes Amazon.de has English language imports but not very often.

If you're using an external dvd drive you can access the same context menu options by clicking Audio on the top toolbar and then Audio track.

But feel free to return to this thread when you feel like it.