[HN Gopher] Netflix introduces a new kind of subtitles for the n...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Netflix introduces a new kind of subtitles for the non-hearing
       impaired
        
       Author : furcyd
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2025-04-25 21:48 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43788473
        
       | pulvinar wrote:
       | >The performance style of actors in current TV shows and movies
       | is more naturalistic and less elocutive than it once was, so
       | characters are more likely to speak softly.
       | 
       | Yeah, I've given up on new movies. If I want naturalistic without
       | a storyline, I can just go outside. I'm not going to turn the
       | volume up to the level required to hear the mumbled whispers,
       | just to have my hearing damaged by the next gunshot or blast of
       | music.
       | 
       | Subtitles aren't a fix -- they're distracting and therefore
       | annoying. A selectable "classic" audio track would be the fix.
        
         | monetus wrote:
         | It is bad audio processing; "too good" rather, as if the silver
         | screen was the only place anyone watched movies.
        
       | WalterGR wrote:
       | Article tagline: "Just the dialogue--no sound effects or music
       | cues."
       | 
       | Do any HNers find those cues sufficiently distracting that
       | they're excited about this feature? I always have subtitles on.
       | While I find those cues occasionally amusing, I've never found
       | them to be an impediment to my enjoyment. Maybe they are for
       | people who read slowly? Or because they break the fourth wall?
        
         | pests wrote:
         | Eh, I don't need help hearing background noise. I need help
         | understanding the words coming out of the actors mouths because
         | the mix is wrong or directed that way.
        
         | conartist6 wrote:
         | To be honest I usually think they're tacky because I imagine
         | they detract from the experience of nearly every single person.
         | 
         | It's the kind of thing where there is a horse-drawn carriage
         | going by on screen and they print the text "[clip clop clip
         | clop]". If you can't hear it, wouldn't you just want to watch
         | it?
        
       | conartist6 wrote:
       | Oh my goodness it only took like ten years but they finally did
       | it!
        
       | monetus wrote:
       | People very much need this. Making them visually more fitting,
       | less distracting, would be a nice next step.
       | 
       | This won't replace the mixer I run my audio through, though. A
       | bit of a pain, and you need a mixer, but try it if you can.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2025-04-25 23:01 UTC)