YouTube tests watching videos using soundtracks in another language

Soon, YouTube creators eager to gain fans outside their home countries will have the option of adding alternative soundtracks, containing dubbing/translations in different languages for their video production, in addition to text subtitles.

For now, the new feature is being tested with YouTube users in India, calling up a small group of selected YouTube channels. So, in addition to the option to select subtitles (custom or auto-generated), subscribers to a few YouTube channels on medical topics can also find a new Audio track selection, from which they can select the language they want to hear the translation of the video. At the moment, the selections available are India-specific, with users having a choice of Hindi, Marathi and Punjabi dialects, plus English.

At the moment, the experiment is being run without an official announcement from Google, with clips for which multiple soundtracks are available not being highlighted as such, nor favoured in searches initiated by users who speak the translated languages.

Presumably related to the new soundtrack option, Google recently announced a collaboration with select YouTube creators to test a dubbing solution for video productions called Aloud. The product, the brainchild of Google’s research division, Area 120, is designed to help transcribe, translate and dub original content into various international languages.