external audio issue

mpv Information

mpv v0.41.0-923-g7b8915bc1 Copyright © 2000-2026 mpv/MPlayer/mplayer2 projects
 built on Aug 14 2026 00:28:16
libplacebo version: v7.371.0 (v7.360.0-111-g22ee762-dirty)
FFmpeg version: N-126125-g1d7b14f61
FFmpeg library versions:
   libavcodec      63.8.100
   libavdevice     63.2.100
   libavfilter     12.3.101
   libavformat     63.6.100
   libavutil       61.5.100
   libswresample   7.2.100
   libswscale      10.2.100

Other Information

- Windows version:10
- GPU model, driver and version: Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620
- Source of mpv: shinchiro
- Latest known working version: unknown
- Issue started after the following happened:when you play a video with an external auido and then seek (fast-seek), the audio will be silent till the next keyframe, only happens when seeking backwards

Reproduction Steps

the bug is really not special to any device or mpv vesrion or anything, it actually also exist in mpv-android and i believe it's in mpv linux desktop too so it could be an old bug that is related to the mpv core.

my guess is that mpv doesn't treat external audio tracks like other players do. It might not be seeking the external audio stream to the video's keyframe timestamp during fast-seeks, which causes an audio buffer underrun and leaves it silent until the video hits the next keyframe to resynchronize.

Expected Behavior

External audio should play immediately after seeking without silence, behaving consistently with internal audio tracks.

Actual Behavior

audio silence till next frame when fast seek

Log File

mpv log.txt

Sample Files

The issue is reproducible with any video and external audio file

I carefully read all instruction and confirm that I did the following:

• I tested and confirmed that the issue exists with the latest release version or newer.
• I provided all required information including system and mpv version.
• I produced the log file with the exact same set of files, parameters, and conditions used in "Reproduction Steps", with the addition of --log-file=output.txt.
• I produced the log file while the behaviors described in "Actual Behavior" were actively observed.
• I attached the full, untruncated log file.
• I attached the backtrace in the case of a crash.

Start by reproducing the issue with a video and an external audio file, using the attached mpv log and backwards fast-seeking. Compare external and internal audio behavior while tracing mpv's core seeking and audio synchronization. Done means external audio resumes immediately after a backward fast seek instead of remaining silent until the next video keyframe.