The VideoLAN Forums

I frequently load domestic videos that include subtitle tracks. But I do not want to automatically play any subtitles.

Please provide an option to disable subtitles by default, matching the same behavior as many other video applications.

The option already exists and it defaults to disabling subtitles.

That's not the behavior I'm seeing on macOS.

Every single .MKV that includes a subtitle stream is showing them by default.

Worse, my preference to disable the stream doesn't even persist across VLC app relaunches.

The app remembers the scrobbling location but resets subtitles back on.

The problem is probably amplified by MKV's ability to declare default subtitle tracks per video file. At the end of the day, VLC has dropped multiple balls on this issue.

For comparison, Plex does a much better job implementing intuitive subtitle behavior. For most videos, I only want to see subtitles when the audio channel is not my native language, or when I manually elect to enable that video's subtitles.

VLC will obviously play select whichever tracks the source media declares as enabled by default, by design. This is the correct behaviour both by spec and by most people's expectations.

Most media don't specify defaults though and then VLC will follow preferences to determine which track to play. If you didn't change the preferences, then subtitles are disabled by default.

Sounds like Plex is broken if it works differently.

I wand an option to override the file's subtitle setting.

Sameness is not always bad, difference is not always good.

VLC feels unintuitive compared to Plex and other modern video players.

Note that VLC is lauded for its general ability to customize. That's all I'm asking for, better options to adjust behavior. I have no qualms with any users' own preferences.