Add option to select video track on multi video track input

There are video files and streams that have more than one video track. Default behavior for VLC is to open all video tracks at same time but it would be nice to have option to select the default video track before playback and only display it instead of all tracks.

Sample stream that shows this: rtsp://video.dr.dk/drupdate

added Component::Bindings: LibVLC (native API) label

fenrir, any idea?

This is very important. One common reason to have multiple video tracks is to have different quality (say, one track in SD and one in HD). That way, computers that don't have the capability of displaying HD video can view the SD track, but VLC attempts to display both, removing the advantage of this. Also, some media is made with multiple "angles" which are not necessarily meant to be viewed concurrently, and yet VLC forces one to do so.

The option to select a track is there, and it's very confusing to users as to why we cannot actually select which track we want to view to the exclusion of the others.

See #3418 (closed) for .wtv support See #3796 (closed) for ASF.

See also #3970 (closed) for similar issue with 3GPPv6 files (aka MP4 file with tsel box for stream mutual exclusion based on video bandwidth/quality).

Duplicate bug #4482 (closed):

If a Matroska file contains multiple video tracks, VLC will play them all simultaneously, creating a separate window for each track beyond the first.

When this happens, using the Video Track menu option does not work to change the video track, except that you can choose “Video Track→Disabled” and then choose a single track.

Obviously, it should only play the default track by default, and the Video Track menu should work.

added Component::Core: Input label and removed Component::Bindings: LibVLC (native API) label

I request here, that this VLC option support also mode "show all video tracks". Like "--video-track=all", and supported also in M3U playlists (#EXTVLCOPT:video-track=all) to show all videostreams when VLC starts.

There are very efficient way how to make fast educational video (lectures, talks, seminars…), when publisher does not spent time to full NLE, but only synchronize 2-3 different video streams (stream with speaker, screencast, video with auditory), etc. and pack all these streams in one MKV file (like "a day in some university lecture hall"). Later, it possible to make hyperlink with specific "start-time" to specific lectures, so student click on hyperlink, and VLC open MKV with lectures on specific time.

We make a lot of such educational video, for example (lot of such video not published to internet):

• http://discopal.ispras.ru/Lectures-2013-spring (click on hyperlinks like «01:46:02» and open M3U in VLC, to demonstrate this technology)

The only problem to a user — long and complex activity to open all video streams.

Please, add this option (#EXTVLCOPT:video-track=all) to VLC.

Also, option for audio track (#EXTVLCOPT:audio-track=1) also will be usefull. For example, if we pack different audio streams in MKV (audio from recorder, camcoder, laptop), publish, and later can select track with maximum quality.

7 years and this one still lingers here. It's inconsistent: VLC does allow you to select audio-track just fine without trying to play all the audio-tracks simultaneously, but the exact same menu-item but for video behaves in a completely different way for no seemingly good reason.

Please keep the troll off the bug tracker.

I have yet to see a media file with multiple audio tracks to be played at the same time. There are plenty of media files with multiple video tracks to be played at the same time though.

There is no reason why there couldn't be an option for both changing the currently-viewed track and for viewing multiple tracks simultaneously.

Patch welcome.

it depends on the core variable of video-es that should be made similar to audio-es.

Replying to [comment:10 courmisch]:

I have yet to see a media file with multiple audio tracks to be played at the same time. There are plenty of media files with multiple video tracks to be played at the same time though. http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=110237

Sorry but I don't consider MXF a valid counter-example. It is 8 channels of one single audio track that are misrepresented by the container or the demuxer as 8 mono tracks.

This is not a case of playing multiple tracks at the same time. Playing 8 mono channels at the same time would mean we mix all 8 channels and play them on all speakers. That is clearly not the intent.

mentioned in issue #2653 (closed)

mentioned in issue #3418 (closed)

mentioned in issue #3796 (closed)

mentioned in issue #4482 (closed)

mentioned in issue #5708