The questions are about when and if it will be for all dramas or just the most recent ones. I noticed the new feature a while ago, but it didn’t work.
I think it will be implemented in many languages and I am very curious about the Italian dubbing.
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I just saw a Viki post on FB asking viewers if they prefer dubbed or subtitled shows, and explaining that this feature is available for some shows now.
Some shows already have it. One show put my default setting on English! 
I also heard Spanish and Portuguese on some show. So at least some languages are on some shows and they work. But of course, I quickly changed back to the language of origin.
Dubs are unnatural. I can understand it’s good for children and people who can’t read fast or have some eye issues but other than that, what use are dubs? Read the subs or learn the source language! Simple as that.
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I really prefer the original language, it adds the cultural aspect. It happened to me once a Korean show was dubbed in English and it was so bad to listen to it, it sounded unnatural, I couldn’t put the Korean actors suddenly talking English together… and I was so confused, cos I didn’t know you can switch it, somehow it must have happened by accident. - I was so happy to put it back in Korean language. For hard hearing persons, it’s easier with subtitles.
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The most worrying thing is also the speed of a language. Chinese is very fast, few sounds make a sentence. Italian needs many more words to say the same thing. Will they use the same (often clumsy) version of the subtitles or making some changes to syncronize? Many years ago, they added a dubbed version of Nirvana in Fire and the public was outraged.
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I first came across this feature on YouTube a while back, when it automatically turned this on for me, and ever since then I’ve found it to be absolutely awful. Of course, it’s extremely useful for people with disabilities that prevent them from reading the subtitles, but to go from there to promoting this feature as “the next big thing” for everyone is illogical and offensive to those who create and edit the subtitles, not to mention a great injustice to the authenticity of the original Asian-language audio. It’s downright cringeworthy to hear AI voices that are completely devoid of any emotion and that even spout nonsense at times. I repeat, it’s a useful feature for those who have trouble using subtitles, but under no circumstances should it be viewed as a breakthrough that can replace humans.
Instead of wasting time on such nonsense, Viki should be more actively engaged with our community of volunteers and let us edit those pre-subtitles that are of poor quality and riddled with problems.
Just yesterday I was talking to my father, who is currently watching a Chinese period drama with pre-subtitles, and he told me that the Romanian subtitles are a disaster, the biggest problem being that over 95% of the gender is incorrect. Added to this is the fact that such series use a great many names of sects, leaders, techniques, fantastical places, remedies, weapons, etc., which Viki’s AI translates mechanically, unlike us volunteers, who do research to figure out what those terms mean and how they can be translated to best fit the context and meaning of the source language.
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Even then, no, especially then, it should be done by humans. I’d still hate it but if they really want to do something for the non-subtitle-reading community, they should do it with respect.
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Dubbing is for people who don’t like reading subs or have difficulty keeping up with subs. Most alternate language dubbing is horrible. I avoid dubbed shows like the plague.
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@mirjam_465 I believe you can stop the system from playing dub versions of shows by changing your audio language to ‘original’. Follow the link below. Once this is done, I believe the setting should apply to all devices and the web. With the possible exception of the android TV app, it might have to be set separately there.
@porkypine You’re not the only one who avoids dub versions of shows like the plague. Anime that has been dubbed is the worst
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I just noticed that English dubbing was available on some Korean content 2 weeks ago as well…
This happened to me, too. I was shocked. I went into settings and changed it to Original Audio.
From what I have seen, I think the focus will be on new content that Viki acquires. I do not think that dubbing will be added to every drama currently in the Viki catalog. I believe that dubbing will be included for any new content that Viki acquires. If it is a successful feature that is used by many viewers, we may see Viki try to get dubbing for older shows when they renew liscense agreements.
Right now, the dubbing seems to be included on select new shows of 2026. Example: Korean dramas Dream To You (English, Spanish, Portuguese) and Reborn Rookie (English, Spanish). I think the dubbing and languages selection was included by the content provider and was part of the liscense agreement. I noticed 2026 drama Filing For Love does not include extra audio tracks. This leads me to believe that Viki is trying out the dubbing and most probably dubbing was included either for free or for a verry minimal cost by the content providers in the liscense agreements with Viki for certain individual programs.
I feel this will depend on how successful the dubbed shows are with viewers. If there is high usage by viewers, we may see dubbing offered in many languages. If the usage is low, I don’t think we will see dubbing offered in many languages, for as long as it costs extra money for dubbing. I think dubbing will be offered only in languages included by the content providers for free/low cost or the most successful languages.
That said, I could see dubbing available in many languages in future with AI dubbing. However, there are so many problems currently with AI translations in languages other than English, I think it will be a while before that happens.
Right now, if Viki wants to offer dubbing in many languages they would have to pay extra or, for certain languages, even hire dubbing teams with voice actors and record their own dubs. (Like N**F) I do not think V want to make that type of financial investment at this time.
I prefer the Original Audio when I watch. Every language has its unique characteristics and tones that add nuance and frankly feel more natural when watching a drama. For me, English dubbing always feels fake and artificial. Another problem I have is the dubbed voices always sound too similar, and I can’t tell characters apart. And often they are lacking tone inflections so they are flat and lack expression. This is even more noticeable now with AI voices.
To be honest, I was surprised to see Viki promoting dubbed audio because I have always believed the Viki customer is one who enjoys the original languages and wants the most authentic viewing experience, and is one who insist on original audio and quality subtitles when watching at other platforms. The customer who prefers dubbing is usually the one who does not like foreign languages and reading subtitles, which is the oposite of Viki customer. Well, we will see what happens.
I totally agree! I always prefer to watch in original language audio with subtitles.
Thank you to @command_234 for showing us that we can go to our Account Dropdown and choose Account Settings and then Click on Settings to scroll down the Language Settings to select our default for language setting for audio playback. I made sure mine was set to Orinial Audio for audio playback.
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I’ve got no problem with well done dubbing (by humans). But due to how the languages work (sentence structure and length) it’s kinda awkward for chinese & korean to be dubbed over, the mouth just doesn’t match what is said when dubbed.
That said, I stumbled over the eng dubbing of veil of shadows on yt yesterday (on the official channel) and it’s sure … something 
. It’s somehow even worse than the automatic yt ai voice dubbing.
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Of course, dubbed voices won’t match mouth movements for other languages. The real issue with dubbed languages is that the tone and cadence of dubbed voices rarely match the original actor’s tone of voice. They are either flat or over-projected. Horrible dub-overs. I am glad I can read fast enough. But bad timing gives me a run for my money. I always have that finger on the rewind button 
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Sure, but most European languages follow the same sentence structure, so dubbing from Eng into any other European language or the other way round, is usually visually not that distracting.
And in a lot of European countries you get dubbed films to watch in the cinema (though there’s a trend to more subtitles nowadays). The same goes for tv shows, video games, etc… So some of us are used to dubbing, and those dubs are usually well made, there’s a whole industry behind it.
The problem now is with all these streaming platforms and film labels wanting to use ai to dub, using voice actors voices without paying them in order to cut costs while at the same time lowering the quality of these dubs.
The same goes for subtitles as well.
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Luckily not in mine, except for children.
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‘over-projected’ !!!
You’ve hit the nail on the head, there. I recently watched the Bond movie, OHMSS, which I hadn’t seen since childhood.
One of the featured actors was Gabriele Ferzetti, a great Italian star, but they overdubbed part with the voice of the British actor, David de Keyser, who was the epitomie of the badly dubbed and overprojected voicer. I cringe anytime I hear his voice.
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I have it on a show I am watching now, but actually hate dubbing. I have it set for original audio, but after each commercial, it goes back to dubbing. So frustrating!
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