default and forced track flags for matroska subtitles

[Chetwood]

Thanks, that explains why VLC acts as it does though not necessarily why a missing flag would ever be translated to 'yes' rather than 'no' (I already mentioned (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1625445#post1625445)that I find the specs to be a little odd in regards to flagging).

[sneaker_ger]

Why? Because the specs say so - as simple as that. You can find default values in the 7th column:
http://www.matroska.org/technical/specs/index.html
The default value for "FlagDefault" is "1" according to the table.
http://www.matroska.org/technical/specs/notes.html#Default_Values

There really isn't more to it than what is already written in the FAQ.

[Chetwood]

Why? Because the specs say so -
Really? You don't say!

There really isn't more to it than what is already written in the FAQ.
Actually there is: silence does not mean consent. But since Mosu already said how much effort there is in getting the specs changed, I won't be walking the extra mile.

[sneaker_ger]

Your proposed spec change would be a total reversal of the current spec, in turn braking many many existing files without written default elements. Of course chances of getting that through are extremely slim. I agree that it was a questionable design decision in the first place (probably made to maximize saved space by always using the most common value) but it's not nearly enough to justify a reverse, it would be insane. Also, players that do actually make use of the elements like flagdefault and language seem to handle them correctly in general so I don't see any need for a spec change. Any spec change should serve a purpose to justify itself and I don't really see that in this case.

[nevcairiel]

I don't see why it even matters. It would only be a problem with broken muxers that don't write the element at all, otherwise the muxer should just let you decide if its default or not, and then the muxer decides if it actually needs to write the element or not.

[Chetwood]

Exactly, MakeMKV seems to be broken in that regard but I'm sure Mike will take care of this sooner or later. I'm just pointing that the current default approach - while generally a good idea (albeit not saving that much space in the first place) - does not necessarily make sense for each and every item of the spec.

[nevcairiel]

MakeMKV seems fine here.
I ripped many BDs with 2 audio tracks, and only the first is recognized as default, which means the second must have an explicit "no" flag.

Does it just fail on this for subtitles? I usually dont mux any of them, tbh. :)

[Chetwood]

It's all explained in the link to the MakeMKV forums. So far I had only one BD where the flags were missing.