Documentation › Audio Tracks
External Audio Files
An external audio file is a soundtrack played as a separate audio file rather than a track embedded in the video file, and can be auto-synced to line up correctly with the video.
Naming Convention
Audio files that start with the video file's name, followed by a dot, in the same folder will show up in the track list for selection. The name can also specify dot-separated labels such as language codes and type descriptions to enable TinePlayer to display and auto-select the track.
File beside Film (2019).mkv | Shown as |
|---|---|
Film (2019).en.mp3 | English |
Film (2019).en.ad.mp3 | English - Audio Description |
Film (2019).ad.mp3 | ad - Audio Description |
Film (2019).de.ac3 | Deutsch |
Film (2019).commentary.mp3 | commentary - Commentary |
Film (2019).mp3 | Film (2019).mp3 |
If a folder contains only a single video file, any audio files in the same folder will be displayed in the list regardless of the name.
This is similar to the convention that external subtitle files use.
Supported File Formats
Common formats (MP3, M4A, M4B, AAC, OGG, Opus, WMA), lossless ones (FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, APE, WavPack) and the cinema formats a second language often ships as (AC3, E-AC3, DTS, TrueHD, MKA).
Audio files do not have to match the video's format, its sample rate, or how many channels it has.
Browsing For Any File
If your audio file is in a different location or was not discovered automatically, use the Browse... option at the end of the list to open a file browser to find it directly.
Videos Cast Or Opened by URL
TinePlayer can only look for external files beside a video it opened as
a direct file path. A video opened by http:// or smb://,
or cast from Jellyfin lists only its
embedded tracks.
You can still choose a separate external audio file with Browse....
NOTE: While Jellyfin itself supports external audio files, it does not allow streaming them separately to a client without transcoding the video, so they cannot be used with TinePlayer. If Jellyfin ever updates this behavior, TinePlayer will support it.
Choices Are Remembered
The track choice is stored per video, so opening a video again loads the same external audio file. The previously measured sync is remembered as well.
If a file is later moved, renamed, or becomes inaccessible, that output falls back to the embedded track chosen before it, or to your track preferences where there was none.
Next: Syncing external audio - measuring and correcting the offset.