Some video releases (e.g. DVDs) have multiple audio mixes available, usually stereo and 5.1 surround, on one disc. I’m not aware that it’s ever been discussed how to handle releases like this, as the video content is constant but the audio is not. Should there be separate recordings for the stereo and 5.1 mixes, like there are for DVD-Audio releases?
I’d imagine so - after all, we care a bit more about the audio side still, I’d say 
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If we have two sets of recordings, how should we go about presenting them? Should we use 2 mediums, like on a hybrid SACD or DualDisc? Should we just stack them in one medium, like on DVD-Audio discs?
They should all be listed on one medium like a DVD-Audio. I personally am not a fan of splitting videos with multiple audio tracks into separate recordings as there are cases where there are combinatorial explosions (multiple video angles + multiple audio tracks). Since videos can be ripped in to video files with multiple audio tracks the multiple listings aren’t nexecessary for tagging.
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To me the logical solution - though not (yet) supported by MBS - would be to have each video be one track, but linked to two recordings.
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Agreed. The video and audio are muxed into one data stream so it would make sense to some how encapsulate that as one track but with (potentially multiple) video and multiple audio “recordings”.
Careful as you step into this rabbit hole - there are a number of areas that may need covering.
Not just stereo and 5.1 surround mixes, but you have different language options too.
And then there are the possible commentary tracks.
As this is a DVD\Blu-Ray it is very likely that not every track on the disk has multiple audio mixes. The “main event” tracks will have the multiple audio, but any “extras” are likely to be just a single stereo option.
So each track on a disk may have a different number of audio options even on that one disk.
And then we have the fun of the boxset where there are CDs, DVDs and BluRays all in the same package. I am thinking about some of the Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters boxes I have on my shelf which are like this.
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I would like to revisit this in light of Edit #124939222 - MusicBrainz
Brainstorming today, I came up with this.
We currently don’t seem to differentiate videos on video compilations based on whether or not they have stereo or 5.1 audio mixes.
We already separate out stereo and 5.1 mixes on a track listing that has both audio options.
So, why not just separate out a video with stereo and multichannel mixes as 3 recordings. One for the video (which can be disambiguated with “slide show” or “video montage” do separate it from an actual “music video”), then the stereo and multichannel as audio only recordings.
No combinatorial explosions and if someone rips the video along with the audio only options, they have something to tag with.
Thoughts?
Isn’t it worse?
3 recordings instead of 2.
Well, you say worse, but I think it is worse to just have a video that can’t be linked to the audio recording, or no acknowledgement that there is video content at all.
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When I say two recordings, I mean:
- Stereo video recording
- 5.1 video recording
There is a video checkbox on recordings.
Hum but sometimes it’s rare but there are multi-angle videos, that should also be several video recordings… 
for clarity, there’s one video track (the slideshow) with two audio tracks (stereo and 5.1)? if so, the current practice (at least that I’ve seen) is what’s described earlier in the thread, simply having two sets of video recordings on the same medium (as I believe it originally was before the edit)
the ideal solution (tho not currently possible) is probably also mentioned above, allowing multiple recordings on one track, since that’s how it is on the medium (to my knowledge) and how you would likely rip the video files and how it’s most often listed in the tracklist on the physical release
splitting the video portion of the video recording out seems a bit odd to me
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The thing is that the releases only mention the audio. The video slideshow or whatever is just eye candy since it is a blu-ray or DVD and they want to give you something to watch other than a static screen. Not really a video. Just screen saver material.
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I don’t think a slide show can really be called a video. If it was added to the disc as Audio, and credited as Audio, then I’d call it audio. Only really because the disc is a visual medium is it adding pictures. I have had similar audio releases when the screen has titles on it. It seems like artist intent is audio.
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For me slideshow is more a video than things like a static “title image”.
I’d call a slideshow a video. I mean it is literally moving pictures, lol
all seriousness aside, they could have done a static image or a simple static title, but they (the artist or in this case certainly the label) chose to do a slideshow instead. it’s not a “music video”, but it is a video for music, like a visualizer or lyric video
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Maybe a criteria could be whether the release artwork etc. mentions the “video” elements. In some cases (recent Gentle Giant releases) there are extensive new animations that are mentioned in the artwork, but in many cases, there is no mention in the track listings etc of any video content.
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My personal rule of thumb when adding new releases is to think whether it would be reasonable to credit a director or animator for the video: if the video content is similar to a DVD menu (even a not completely still one) then I’m not sure it would be.
I would also be interested in better guidance for the question originally asked, i.e. how to deal with unambiguously video recordings which have multiple audio streams, with different mixes (usually meaning different channel configurations, but occasionally other things). If I can check directly myself, I’ve been adding annotations.
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When you rip audio tracks, you have a single track with just Stereo in it. When you rip the video track you tend to have multiple audio in the same file. 2.0, 5.1, commentaries, languages.
It would be useful to associate multiple audio types to a single recording. Otherwise a Blu-ray track list could quickly get messy and out of hand.
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I get that but I would prefer they not be videos so they can use the audio recordings which are shared with other releases.
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