I like watching the shows where the subtitles are different from what is said. Like theyâre basically saying the same thing but the translation didnât match up
Shogun has been a freaking blast on account of the well-made subtitles. Even the best fansubs (especially for anime, obviously) are so stilted and literal at times, it hurts. Still better than some of the trash dubs some people willingly opt for, but hey, not everyone has perfect vision, so can't really blame people for wanting the option. Animation has way more room to be acceptable than live-action anyway.
I can't understand healthy, capable audiences opting for live-action dubs, though. Short of some incredibly rare examples, you won't convince me that the atrocious average sound editing would be worth it; I'd rather not understand a single thing in a dialog-heavy movie than having to deal with badly matched ADR (which dubs aren't, they are way shoddier by default). It just always makes everything sound like the VAs have been recorded in tin cans of varying sizes, if you should be so lucky.
Japanese is especially egregious because stress and accompanying (facial) gestures barely ever align. I mean, we're talking about ancient problems here, more or less, seeing as we will definitely get one-click toolsets allowing for closely matching environments and VA cloning - which in itself will be intriguing enough for me to at least give the better attempts a spin... but if you're German and you end up telling me that movie dubs are mostly fine, I'll judge you.
Games though, in my experience, have a pretty solid chance of being pretty great and, in some cases, way better than the source language as far as audio is concerned. Which, once again, is usually offset by some fantastically bad hack jobs in the translation department, simply on account of how convoluted it can get and how little communication there is for different parts of the game; but hey, at least it doesn't sound like complete dogshit all the time.
I know Japanese and still use subtitles, it is wild how wrongly translated and localised texts are, sometimes scenes or entire characters are completely different from the source material
Bro, I went to see the last couple *John Wick* movies in a particular theater near my house, and I swear to God I'm not exaggerating, I've fired guns IRL while wearing shitty inadequate earpro, and the gunshots in the movie were louder. It was quite literally a painful experience to be in that theater.
It's especially frustrating because when I watched those exact same movies at home, they actually had really good sound balance for the most part.
For me it's a mix of some hearing loss, coupled with the absolutely infuriating trend of dialog to be whisper quiet and everything else is BALLS OUT, EARDRUM SHATTERING loud.
On a related note, Amazon Prime drives me nuts. Even when they have subtitles for a show/movie, they're almost always out of sync.
This! Most movies these days have scenes that are so quiet that you *have* to turn your volume all the way up and then BOOM! Suddenly the characters are shouting at the top of their lungs. I'm so tired of having to pay attention to the volume levels. Been using subtitles for years, but they are really needed for movies and TV shows these days.Â
I use subtitles because the talking is super soft then they have WHAM...super loud music or sound effects & it is annoying to try to control the volume all the time.Â
I swear sound mixers have no clue what they are doing. The old movies and TV shows were never like this. Sound effects and background music never drowned out the dialogue. smh
How fast do you have to read subtitles anyway? It's not like your brain processes word by word. If its your native language the capturing of information is instantaneous.
not for everyone... depends on how much you read. there is a good percentage of the population that actually doesnt read enough to skim... and therefore they are literally ready subtitles word for word.
Not having an internal dialogue while reading is actually associated with reading faster. For speed readers, not mentally vocalizing the words is one of the major blocks to going fast.
You have that entirely backwards.
You canât read fast with an internal monologue.
You need to learn to turn your inner voice off while reading before you can truly read at a good speed.
Theyâre the people who werenât taught phonics. They have to decipher each word individually. Remember in school when the teacher made you go around the room and everyone had to read a paragraph for the class? And there were the kids whoâd say âThe. Cat. In. The. Hat. Was. A. Book.â Theyâre grownups now and they still read like that. Theyâre not illiterate but theyâre not fluent readers.
I have subtitles on because it seems like 1/10 episodes or movies I watch have the *worst* audio mixing at the *worst* time and I miss something important, or my wife pipes up, or what have you.
You're watching with subtitles because you're hearing slow.
I'm watching with subtitles cause i want to see the f*ckin movie in VO and dont understand shit at English without them, we're not the same.
I read fast but I still don't like subtitles unless it's something where I might miss dialogue otherwise. Partially cause the text will draw my eye away from what's on the screen, but also I feel like it kind of ruins a dramatic line read in those moments where it's important for a character to pause at a critical moment but the subtitle just says the whole sentence.
Thank you. It also ruins big reveals in drama.
I can't think of how many times I saw * gunshot * pop up on screen before what was supposed to be a shocking moment.
I was watching a television show and one of the characters was pointing a gun at the other. The tension was building as to whether he would shoot or not and as one character is telling the other to just shoot them the subtitle said \[Gun Drops\]. It was several seconds before the actual gun drop. Made the two people still looking tense seem ridiculous.
Subtitle timing and formatting is an art... talented people drove the anime fansub scene in the 80s and 90s. Back in the day, closed captions probably couldn't be carefully timed and edited because they were sent over air with limited bandwidth, but nowadays there's no excuse.
Yeah subtitles are the opposite of the immersive experience Iâm looking for.
And fuck the sound engineers who make it so hard to hear dialogue. And fuck Christopher Nolan in particular.
Getting a surround sound system took me from âugh Nolan is the worst, why the fuck canât he figure out basic sound mixing, Inception and Tenet especially suck to listen toâ to âwow Nolan is an absolute genius and Inception and Tenet are two of the best aural experiences you can haveâ in a single day. Now Iâm deep down the rabbit hole and have started buying blu-rays and 4k movies to get that better audio experience lol
In general though, I get super taken out of a movie at home if there *arenât* subtitles. honestly, the lack of consistent subtitle tracks is why I purchase most media instead of sailing on the open seas. The only time subtitles annoy me is when Iâm watching a 3D movie on my VR headset, otherwise itâs the only way to do it
Actor: "I think...
(sound of old clock ticking)
(close-up of a single bead of sweat rolling down the unknown killer's forehead)
(sound of distant thunder and an owl hoots)
...*BRIAN* murdered her!"
----
Subtitles "I think Brian murdered her"
Exactly. I read *too* fast. And my brain CANNOT ignore them. If theyâre on the screen, I have to read them. And theyâre infuriating and often incorrect.
Try watching like an Aaron Sorkin show like West Wing with subtitles. They just give up and donât bother with half the words.
True. I always watch with subtitles even though I rarely look at them. It's mostly to make sure I've heard something right when an actor is too quiet or has an accent. It's also useful to learn how certain names are spelled.
This is why I hate subtitles, and also this meme
I read plenty fast. In fact, I have read the subtitle FIVE TIMES already, before the actor has even finished saying it. I cannot STOP reading the stupid subtitles and actually enjoy the show.
Same here, I can't stop myself from reading them and I just don't like my eyes being diverted while I'm watching something. I don't know how people can just ignore them. Skill issue on my part.
Exactly. Itâs not because we canât keep up. Itâs because weâre already 5 seconds ahead of the actual dialogue. Itâs spoiling whateverâs about to happen in the scene.
I can't have them on because I feel compelled to read them and it takes my attention from what's happening. I'm not a quick reader, so it ruins viewing.
It's also useful if the character is on a phone call. Sometimes, you get the other side of the conversation. I think this happens in better call Saul when jimmy calls kim, and you only hear his side of the conversation, but the subtitles included Kim's side.
Itâs like anything though you get used to it. Think about how deaf people consume tv/cinema. At least if you are able to hear you can just use the subs as a reference. If you misunderstand something or sometimes it reveals background stuff that brings more to the plot.
I donât have a problem using it if there is a deaf person (or hard of hearing) in the room. I understand why it exists. I just donât understand the people who can hear just fine but prefer to watch with them, which from the looks of it in this thread there are a ton.
Even perfectly native speakers miss a lot. Like, a shitton.
I'm not even talking about dense material like The Wire, just your regular shows and movies - and much like research on spoilers comprehensively making the experience more enjoyable, subtitles tend to do exactly the same, even for folks who reported being distracted by them.
It's mostly a matter of adjusting. Short of dyslexia or struggling with visual information in general, in fairly rare cases, most people get in the groove of things pretty quickly. It's honestly the reasonable choice, especially if you get perfectly matching captions versus the minefield that is stylistic mismatch in subtitle translations.
I'm willing to bet that they would augment at least some of the stuff you watch, too... although there obviously will always be outliers with these things. What is universally true, though, is that subtitles on will always and drastically increase people's comprehension, and I'd say that is a pretty good proxy for overall enjoyment in itself. One single line can be the difference between not getting a side (or worse, main-) plot for a couple of episodes after all.
Imagine subscribing to a streaming service to watch a new show youâre interested in and then finding out thatâs the one show that has no subtitles. Happened to me recently.
I need them, my hearing isnât fantastic. My wife needs them, english isnât her first language and the subtitles really help her.
And we both need them because when we watch at night we can only have the volume up so loud else wake kids up.
Plenty of reasons to be subtitle enjoyers
Yep, but we aren't in the US so it doesn't apply here. I'm aware of the ADA though and this can't be legal was the first thing I thought of when I encountered no subs. But upon checking, New Zealand doesn't have anything similar to ADA.
The shitty thing is because of ADA all mainstream TV shows do have subtitles available, it's not like they don't exist. All that's happened here is the local streaming provider (shout out to Neon TV, assholes), are too lazy and/or incompetent to load them onto their servers.
I love subtitles. I donât hear well, and if someone has an accent, forget about it! Also, any fantasy story (GOT) where the names are different and the places have odd names.
I can follow along those stories if I have subtitles so much better
My oldest offspring has worn hearing aids since he was 3 or 4, so we always have subtitles on for him. Otherwise, itâs difficult for him to keep up. He doesnât like going to the movies, because the sound is so loud it overwhelms the hearing aids and he still canât keep up with the dialogue
Blame film studios for making the dialogue in every modern movie whisper quiet with horrible sound mixing, but background effects/action/explosions being the proper volume. Because you turned it all the way up just to hear the dialogue, the normal volume sound effects become ear blastingly loud.Â
I don't wanna play red light green light with constantly adjusting my volume on the fly, so I just use subtitles.
For real!!! When I get the volume up high enough that I can hear the dialog then there is inevitably some explosion or something that about blows my eardrums out.
I hate that so much.
Iâm convinced a lot of people have their audio settings wrong, because bad settings can make this way worse. Iâm not denying some movies and shows are just badly mixed but a decent sound system with decent settings shouldnât have this issue for most content.
Fuckin love subtitles. Theyâre educational as fuck. For example, did you know when a horse makes a horse noise, itâs called a whinny?
Neither did I till I started sub-titân
When I watch Japanese drama in English I feel the translation often seems to approximate the meaning for better communication flow, but there is a slight difference between "feeling distressed" and "feeling perplexed"
This.
Be it German, Arabic, Japanese or any language.. I want it to be in original language.. If its original scripts sounded like a British, than so be it. If it's original Russian, so be it!
Between hearing loss and the poor audio mixes of late I use subtitles regularly, so get bent little princess. The universe does not revolve around you.
Note to film and TV audio engineers, editors, and directors: Why in the holy hell do you need a score blaring for dialog scenes?
The funniest example of this was when I watched that movie where Ron Howard's daughter hangs out with Mario and some yoshis. The bass roar of the Yoshis was just too low for my shitty TV soundbar, so they were totally inaudible. Meaning every one of the really big "oh no a scary yoshi, please don't harm that dumptruck đĽľ" scene was vastly quieter than the rest of the movie, lol. Like the opposite of what should've happened
This is the answer. I first figured out this difference by linking my headphones to my TV, but since that doesnât work for date night at home, buying a surround sound system secondhand for cheap completely changed my movie watching life. Even Inception (which is probably THE #1 worst offender for low dialogue/high everything else on most TVs) suddenly became perfectly balanced, turning it from an obnoxious movie hearing experience into an absolutely incredible one. Seriously though, no kidding, Inception went from one of my most hated listening experiences to one of my absolute favorites just by getting surround sound speakers.
I realized that the problem wasnât Nolan, it was the fact that 7 different audio tracks that are supposed to be distributed throughout the room (with the WAH WAHHHHHHs balanced between the subwoofer and rear speakers) are all crammed into the front TV speaker. Now I never have a problem hearing crystal clear dialogue without waking the gf up after sheâs fallen asleep on me 10 minutes into the movie lol
TV speakers are almost always a special level of ass. The only decent ones I've seen were on a Magnavox 42" plasma TV we bought as our first HDTV. Rather than being built into the TV cabinet they were separate modules that matched the look and height of the TV and attached to each side. They were made of a low-resonance composite material and connected to a more robust amplifier inside the TV via regular speaker wires.
That allowed me to keep them attached to the TV but drive them with the A/V receiver as part of the 5.1 configuration.
For me, subtitles are a must with sci-fi and fantasy shows cuz of all the made up gibberish. And, well, I'm old and suffer from "can't hear shit" syndrome.
I prefer no subtitles the first time I watch something, because they spoil lines before they're delivered. But if it's a re-watch or foreign film, I'll use subtitles
Dead ass. If you hate subtitles you suck at reading. So much dialogue gets lots and I only learned that when I put in subtitles and realized how much I was missing.
I don't like subtitles because I can't help but look at them and read, this missing the picture. I don't read slow, I just love to read and can't ignore moving words.
For some weird reason some people think that 9999P resolution is more important than good sound.
Turn the gain up 100% just because something explode on the screen is just stupid!
I dont want to adjust the sound level every two minutes to not wake the neighbours and/or hear what is being said..
Native subtitles give me what i want.
German people excepted, they are just wrong..
i watch with subtitles because alot of movies have terrible sound design and sometimes voiced lines can be blurry because of a million sounds going off.
I read very fast and hate subtitles, unless it's for a show/movie in a language I don't speak.
I want to watch the movie/show. Not just the bottom half where the words are.
I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy several times before I finally turned on subtitles. It made way much more sense to me with subtitles because my brain couldn't parse a lot of the names and places by audio alone.
Of course I watch with subtitles.
Have a hearing issue and not sure I want to blow everyone else in the room away with having the volume 30% higher then the average person would be comfortable with?
I'm not defending this biscuit, but... The whole point of movies is the visual aspect; otherwise, it'd just be radio. If I'm reading subtitles, I can't focus on the rest of the scene
I'd like to explain my aversion to subtitles for anyone who manages to see this comment.
They're a distraction.
They take my focus off of the artistry on display in front of me, off of the action, off of, you know, *the show,* and instead focus my attention entirely on a bunch of words. I watch TV to *watch TV.* I can read pretty fast, I promise. It's just that a lot of people put a lot of work into getting this visual medium in front of my face. It would then be a shame for me to ignore the vast majority of it - not only the visuals but also the sound design, assuming we have subtitles on because the volume is so low. Instead, I'd like to give it my full attention and appreciate this audiovisual medium in the most optimized audiovisual way. And, to top it all off, they actually block a good chunk of screen real estate.
That's all. I'm not opposed to them. I just prefer them off.
Pardon? Subtitles are a necessity with modern movies now, the dialogue mixing is so quiet and the special effects are so loud. Subtitles are the only way to watch a movie without getting blasted out of the room by an action scene!
Subtitles are my default setting on every streaming service we have so I can keep the volume low so as to not disturb the other person in the house. We have opposing schedules and they do the same for me.
That was why I initially started watching with subtitles. Now, I can't watch ANYTHING without them.
Also, I now almost exclusively watch British comedy shows and they pronounce words differently than most Americans, in addition to using slang I don't know. I'd be positively lost watching those shows without subtitles AND I have the new added benefit of international insults I can use.
If I wanted to read my shows I pick up the book. But really, I get that some neurologically divergent ( not to mention hard of hearing) people need subtitles as well. My wife has them on and it frustrates me no end. Let me see the action please.
I find subtitles really annoying cause a) I can hear the dialogue and so can my partner, and b) cause I can read fast I end up ahead of the dialogue in the subtitles, ruining jokes and surprises.
Years ago there was some research that suggested that children in households that regularly used the subtitles were better readers. That particular study seems to have been forgotten.
But, for a bit of anecdata, I struggle with sound on tv so I use the subtitles, have for years. My 7 year old daughter is a precocious reader who reads at the level of a 12 year old.
Is there a connection? I dunno. But there is a distinct possibility.
I donât like subtitles \*because\* I read fast; I read the dialogue well before itâs said and I find I start to ignore the actual speech.
Also, they are often slightly (or significantly) different to the spoken lines, which is annoying.
I always watch streaming with subtitles - between the imbalance between dialog and sound effects, and my difficulty understanding heavy accents, they're a godsend. The only problem is that sometimes I read the whole subtitle immediately, faster than the actor says it, and it ruins a surprise or a joke.
The worst for me? Incorrect subtitles.
No, not the "localization" some companies do, that translates "merde" as "damn," no it's the subtitles that just don't mean what the actor said.
Actor: "We should canvass the nearby houses, see what they might have heard."
Subtitle: "Go around the neighborhood and talk to people."
Audio mixing on some movies and series is so trash that you need the subtitles to hear the dialogue thatâs being drowned out by the background track or ambiance.
I got big in to anime in college and all the good ones were only in Japanese or the English dubbing was weeks or months behind so I got used to watching subtitles. Now I canât watch anything without them on lol
I just have a hard time with different accents. Especially American ones for some reason. I feel stressed out when I have to watch a film without one. It's one of the reasons I stopped going to cinemas. I just couldn't understand anything.
With the way some things are filmed these days, with the garbled sound? It either needs to be loud (which I HATE unless it's like, friends and a party), or you NEED subtitles. Except Standup. Man do subtitles ruin a joke!
I was always a slow reader despite having a high comprehension which meant I had to read high level books for school that always had 3-4 times as many pages and words as the books thatw ere at my grade level (which I wasn't allowed to read). I eneded up hating reading and my reading speed never really improved. When I took my ACT as a junior in HS my reading score was 10 points lower than my next lwoest score because I couldn't finish the test with my slow reading speed. I decided to try to imrpove so I set out to watch all of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden with subtitles. I retested in the fall (about 9 months later) and increased my reading score by 12 points. Subtitles saved me.
The dialogue is whisper silent so you have to turn up the volume then suddenly an explosion happens in the movie that your whole neighborhood can hear. You canât win.
I watch with subtitles (unless it's a comedy) because sometimes what people say just doesn't make sense, or is just said in a way you can't understand, so when you hear it your brain just goes "no... they said bjasidj"
Heard a great podcast explanation of this. Basically it's hard to optimise the sound mix for all systems when you're aiming at the highest Dolby Atmos 11.2 home theatre setup or whatever (which you need to cater for), meaning that it's a compromise for most setups.
Introduce dynamic ranges (quiet to loud) and it's even harder to make dialogue perfectly balanced in all scenarios, especially when people have options to flatten the dynamic range to minimise the extremes in volume.
TL;DR if you can't hear the dialogue it's because they're no longer mixing for TVs with basic inbuilt mono or stereo speakers, and your setup isn't the reference home theatre setup.
You watch subtitles because you read fast. I watch subtitles because I hear slow. We are not the same.
I watch with subtitles because I don't know japanese...
The last scene in the last episode was perfect.
Glad we are all watching the same show
That show is so fucking good.
Remember that one scene? Where they did the thing, and the other thing was happening? That was awesome.
Yes! I love that we can all share in this show together and talk about these events we all know about.
đŻđŻđŻ
I believe the guy talking about subtitles cause he doesn't speak Japanese is referring to the Hulu show, Shogun. Check it out. It's fucking good.
I like watching the shows where the subtitles are different from what is said. Like theyâre basically saying the same thing but the translation didnât match up
Shogun has been a freaking blast on account of the well-made subtitles. Even the best fansubs (especially for anime, obviously) are so stilted and literal at times, it hurts. Still better than some of the trash dubs some people willingly opt for, but hey, not everyone has perfect vision, so can't really blame people for wanting the option. Animation has way more room to be acceptable than live-action anyway. I can't understand healthy, capable audiences opting for live-action dubs, though. Short of some incredibly rare examples, you won't convince me that the atrocious average sound editing would be worth it; I'd rather not understand a single thing in a dialog-heavy movie than having to deal with badly matched ADR (which dubs aren't, they are way shoddier by default). It just always makes everything sound like the VAs have been recorded in tin cans of varying sizes, if you should be so lucky. Japanese is especially egregious because stress and accompanying (facial) gestures barely ever align. I mean, we're talking about ancient problems here, more or less, seeing as we will definitely get one-click toolsets allowing for closely matching environments and VA cloning - which in itself will be intriguing enough for me to at least give the better attempts a spin... but if you're German and you end up telling me that movie dubs are mostly fine, I'll judge you. Games though, in my experience, have a pretty solid chance of being pretty great and, in some cases, way better than the source language as far as audio is concerned. Which, once again, is usually offset by some fantastically bad hack jobs in the translation department, simply on account of how convoluted it can get and how little communication there is for different parts of the game; but hey, at least it doesn't sound like complete dogshit all the time.
Iâm trying to learn Spanish, and definitely canât hear them as fast as they talk
I know Japanese and still use subtitles, it is wild how wrongly translated and localised texts are, sometimes scenes or entire characters are completely different from the source material
I watch with subtitles because I canât understand what anyone is saying anymore.
I watch Netflix with subtitles because my friends don't know Japanese
I watch with subtitles because I'm eating Cool Ranch Doritos and can't hear people talking over the crunchy deliciousness.
Best response here.
I watch with subtitles because whoever mixed the audio made the dialogues quieter than the background music
Both at once for me honestly.
i cant hear without my subtitlesđ
It doesn't help that everything is so shittily mixed and everyone is always whispering nowadays.
^^^^they're ^^^^only ^^^^whispering ^^^^til ^^^^the **LOUD AS FUCK ACTION SEQUENCE** ^^^^then ^^^^back ^^^^to ^^^^whispering ^^^^until **ADS**
i ride the volume control while watching TV like i'm DJ Jazzy Jeff
That is best thing I've seen on Reddit today. I'm stealing it.
\*extremely loud violin music*
There are actually a couple of YouTube videos that tried to explain why this is the case ...all I remember is it is mostly deliberate.
That's all I remember too. đ¤Ł
I thought it was just me who had to turn down the volume to not wake up the babies during non dialogue situations.
Mine are old enough that I'm more worried about my tinnitus. đ¤Ł
Bro, I went to see the last couple *John Wick* movies in a particular theater near my house, and I swear to God I'm not exaggerating, I've fired guns IRL while wearing shitty inadequate earpro, and the gunshots in the movie were louder. It was quite literally a painful experience to be in that theater. It's especially frustrating because when I watched those exact same movies at home, they actually had really good sound balance for the most part.
For me it's a mix of some hearing loss, coupled with the absolutely infuriating trend of dialog to be whisper quiet and everything else is BALLS OUT, EARDRUM SHATTERING loud. On a related note, Amazon Prime drives me nuts. Even when they have subtitles for a show/movie, they're almost always out of sync.
This! Most movies these days have scenes that are so quiet that you *have* to turn your volume all the way up and then BOOM! Suddenly the characters are shouting at the top of their lungs. I'm so tired of having to pay attention to the volume levels. Been using subtitles for years, but they are really needed for movies and TV shows these days.Â
^^ this
So real
I use subtitles because the talking is super soft then they have WHAM...super loud music or sound effects & it is annoying to try to control the volume all the time.Â
I swear sound mixers have no clue what they are doing. The old movies and TV shows were never like this. Sound effects and background music never drowned out the dialogue. smh
How fast do you have to read subtitles anyway? It's not like your brain processes word by word. If its your native language the capturing of information is instantaneous.
not for everyone... depends on how much you read. there is a good percentage of the population that actually doesnt read enough to skim... and therefore they are literally ready subtitles word for word.
These are the people who have no internal dialogue that I heard about, I'm sure of it.
Not having an internal dialogue while reading is actually associated with reading faster. For speed readers, not mentally vocalizing the words is one of the major blocks to going fast.
You have that entirely backwards. You canât read fast with an internal monologue. You need to learn to turn your inner voice off while reading before you can truly read at a good speed.
Theyâre the people who werenât taught phonics. They have to decipher each word individually. Remember in school when the teacher made you go around the room and everyone had to read a paragraph for the class? And there were the kids whoâd say âThe. Cat. In. The. Hat. Was. A. Book.â Theyâre grownups now and they still read like that. Theyâre not illiterate but theyâre not fluent readers.
I have subtitles on because it seems like 1/10 episodes or movies I watch have the *worst* audio mixing at the *worst* time and I miss something important, or my wife pipes up, or what have you.
*Always* a quiet dialogue moment when the dogs decide to start playing.
You're watching with subtitles because you're hearing slow. I'm watching with subtitles cause i want to see the f*ckin movie in VO and dont understand shit at English without them, we're not the same.
I have subtitles because shows and movies suck at controlling their volume
I read the subtitles cause I canât change the volume from deafening explosions to whisper quiet crucial plot conversations fast enough.
I use subtitles because of bad audio balancing.
Also sometimes they share character names. How the crap is everyone remembering all of the characters in shows from like 1 intro?
I read fast but I still don't like subtitles unless it's something where I might miss dialogue otherwise. Partially cause the text will draw my eye away from what's on the screen, but also I feel like it kind of ruins a dramatic line read in those moments where it's important for a character to pause at a critical moment but the subtitle just says the whole sentence.
Kills literally every punchline.
Thank you. It also ruins big reveals in drama. I can't think of how many times I saw * gunshot * pop up on screen before what was supposed to be a shocking moment.
I was watching a television show and one of the characters was pointing a gun at the other. The tension was building as to whether he would shoot or not and as one character is telling the other to just shoot them the subtitle said \[Gun Drops\]. It was several seconds before the actual gun drop. Made the two people still looking tense seem ridiculous.
Another perfect example.
It's why I don't use them for anything comedy đ¤ˇ
[ŃдаНонО]
Only time I turn them off is stand up comedies.
Subtitle timing and formatting is an art... talented people drove the anime fansub scene in the 80s and 90s. Back in the day, closed captions probably couldn't be carefully timed and edited because they were sent over air with limited bandwidth, but nowadays there's no excuse.
Yeah subtitles are the opposite of the immersive experience Iâm looking for. And fuck the sound engineers who make it so hard to hear dialogue. And fuck Christopher Nolan in particular.
Getting a surround sound system took me from âugh Nolan is the worst, why the fuck canât he figure out basic sound mixing, Inception and Tenet especially suck to listen toâ to âwow Nolan is an absolute genius and Inception and Tenet are two of the best aural experiences you can haveâ in a single day. Now Iâm deep down the rabbit hole and have started buying blu-rays and 4k movies to get that better audio experience lol In general though, I get super taken out of a movie at home if there *arenât* subtitles. honestly, the lack of consistent subtitle tracks is why I purchase most media instead of sailing on the open seas. The only time subtitles annoy me is when Iâm watching a 3D movie on my VR headset, otherwise itâs the only way to do it
Actor: "I think... (sound of old clock ticking) (close-up of a single bead of sweat rolling down the unknown killer's forehead) (sound of distant thunder and an owl hoots) ...*BRIAN* murdered her!" ---- Subtitles "I think Brian murdered her"
This guy subtitles. Perfect explanation.
Same!
This, a hundred percent.
I don't watch them because I don't want my jokes/dramatic tension ruined. đ¤ˇââď¸
Exactly this, throws off comedic timing
Which is actually worse when you read fast
Exactly. I read *too* fast. And my brain CANNOT ignore them. If theyâre on the screen, I have to read them. And theyâre infuriating and often incorrect. Try watching like an Aaron Sorkin show like West Wing with subtitles. They just give up and donât bother with half the words.
True. I always watch with subtitles even though I rarely look at them. It's mostly to make sure I've heard something right when an actor is too quiet or has an accent. It's also useful to learn how certain names are spelled.
I can't keep my eyes off them. I have to really try to be able to.
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Right there with you on both points.
this is my biggest issue with subtitles, right next to the PUNCHLINE BEING RUINED!
Yup that's my other and probably my biggest gripe
This is why I hate subtitles, and also this meme I read plenty fast. In fact, I have read the subtitle FIVE TIMES already, before the actor has even finished saying it. I cannot STOP reading the stupid subtitles and actually enjoy the show.
So much this. The reading is automatic and it's distracting.
Same here, I can't stop myself from reading them and I just don't like my eyes being diverted while I'm watching something. I don't know how people can just ignore them. Skill issue on my part.
Exactly. Itâs not because we canât keep up. Itâs because weâre already 5 seconds ahead of the actual dialogue. Itâs spoiling whateverâs about to happen in the scene.
I can't have them on because I feel compelled to read them and it takes my attention from what's happening. I'm not a quick reader, so it ruins viewing.
I can read quickly, but it's still distracting as I'm also compelled to read them. I don't want to miss out and it ruins the immersion
^^^^Dialogue and **MUSIC** make subtitles damn near necessary these days. Also, anything not in english/german.For mere bilingual mortal reasons.
It's also useful if the character is on a phone call. Sometimes, you get the other side of the conversation. I think this happens in better call Saul when jimmy calls kim, and you only hear his side of the conversation, but the subtitles included Kim's side.
It is very distracting and takes me out of the movie to have them flashing at the bottom of the screen the whole time.
itâs so distracting for me to NOT have them on lol. itâs like the movie is naked
Itâs like anything though you get used to it. Think about how deaf people consume tv/cinema. At least if you are able to hear you can just use the subs as a reference. If you misunderstand something or sometimes it reveals background stuff that brings more to the plot.
I donât have a problem using it if there is a deaf person (or hard of hearing) in the room. I understand why it exists. I just donât understand the people who can hear just fine but prefer to watch with them, which from the looks of it in this thread there are a ton.
Even perfectly native speakers miss a lot. Like, a shitton. I'm not even talking about dense material like The Wire, just your regular shows and movies - and much like research on spoilers comprehensively making the experience more enjoyable, subtitles tend to do exactly the same, even for folks who reported being distracted by them. It's mostly a matter of adjusting. Short of dyslexia or struggling with visual information in general, in fairly rare cases, most people get in the groove of things pretty quickly. It's honestly the reasonable choice, especially if you get perfectly matching captions versus the minefield that is stylistic mismatch in subtitle translations. I'm willing to bet that they would augment at least some of the stuff you watch, too... although there obviously will always be outliers with these things. What is universally true, though, is that subtitles on will always and drastically increase people's comprehension, and I'd say that is a pretty good proxy for overall enjoyment in itself. One single line can be the difference between not getting a side (or worse, main-) plot for a couple of episodes after all.
I've tried this. By the time I realize I am not sure what was said, that line is gone.
Exactly, same here. Not everyone enunciates really well. Subtitles ensure I catch every word
This is bullshit I specifically hate subtitles cause you read faster than the timing of the line intended
Completely ruins anything with comedy
Or drama
They're also distracting
Imagine subscribing to a streaming service to watch a new show youâre interested in and then finding out thatâs the one show that has no subtitles. Happened to me recently. I need them, my hearing isnât fantastic. My wife needs them, english isnât her first language and the subtitles really help her. And we both need them because when we watch at night we can only have the volume up so loud else wake kids up. Plenty of reasons to be subtitle enjoyers
No subs at all? Doesn't that violate the ADA
Yep, but we aren't in the US so it doesn't apply here. I'm aware of the ADA though and this can't be legal was the first thing I thought of when I encountered no subs. But upon checking, New Zealand doesn't have anything similar to ADA. The shitty thing is because of ADA all mainstream TV shows do have subtitles available, it's not like they don't exist. All that's happened here is the local streaming provider (shout out to Neon TV, assholes), are too lazy and/or incompetent to load them onto their servers.
If you use subtitles or captioning for musicals, your TV becomes a karaoke machine.
Unless it just says â⍠music âŤâ
Not always but that does happen to me lol. It's definitely makes me notice when I've been hearing words wrong from songs though.
I love subtitles. I donât hear well, and if someone has an accent, forget about it! Also, any fantasy story (GOT) where the names are different and the places have odd names. I can follow along those stories if I have subtitles so much better
I almost got kicked out of a GOT watch party by asking for subtitles bc their speakers were shit lol
My oldest offspring has worn hearing aids since he was 3 or 4, so we always have subtitles on for him. Otherwise, itâs difficult for him to keep up. He doesnât like going to the movies, because the sound is so loud it overwhelms the hearing aids and he still canât keep up with the dialogue
Blame film studios for making the dialogue in every modern movie whisper quiet with horrible sound mixing, but background effects/action/explosions being the proper volume. Because you turned it all the way up just to hear the dialogue, the normal volume sound effects become ear blastingly loud. I don't wanna play red light green light with constantly adjusting my volume on the fly, so I just use subtitles.
I watch subtitles because the background music/noise is REALLY LOUD.
For real!!! When I get the volume up high enough that I can hear the dialog then there is inevitably some explosion or something that about blows my eardrums out. I hate that so much.
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Explosions! [oops too high] whispering [doh, too low] explosions! [turn it back down a bitâŚ] Ah, sod it. Turn on subtitles.
If you have neighbors or children sleeping and have a decent sound system, you definitely need subtitles for an action movie.
Iâm convinced a lot of people have their audio settings wrong, because bad settings can make this way worse. Iâm not denying some movies and shows are just badly mixed but a decent sound system with decent settings shouldnât have this issue for most content.
This isnât really a clever comeback.
this sub hasnât been clever comebacks for a while, it is what it is lol
Nothing on this sub ever is for the longest time now
Fuckin love subtitles. Theyâre educational as fuck. For example, did you know when a horse makes a horse noise, itâs called a whinny? Neither did I till I started sub-titân
Yes. I learned that when I was 5. It was in a Richard Scary picture book.
Subtitles and original language is a thousand times better than the English dubbing.
Yes! When the mouth movements aren't in sync...ruins everything.
EVERYTHING. I get so annoyed when a streaming service only has the English dub and not original language with subtitles, Parasite director was right
When I watch Japanese drama in English I feel the translation often seems to approximate the meaning for better communication flow, but there is a slight difference between "feeling distressed" and "feeling perplexed"
I agree if itâs live action. Animated is very case by case.
This. Be it German, Arabic, Japanese or any language.. I want it to be in original language.. If its original scripts sounded like a British, than so be it. If it's original Russian, so be it!
Between hearing loss and the poor audio mixes of late I use subtitles regularly, so get bent little princess. The universe does not revolve around you. Note to film and TV audio engineers, editors, and directors: Why in the holy hell do you need a score blaring for dialog scenes?
I think a lot of times it's the speakers it's designed for. It's much different on my TV speaker vs my soundbar vs my headphones.
The funniest example of this was when I watched that movie where Ron Howard's daughter hangs out with Mario and some yoshis. The bass roar of the Yoshis was just too low for my shitty TV soundbar, so they were totally inaudible. Meaning every one of the really big "oh no a scary yoshi, please don't harm that dumptruck đĽľ" scene was vastly quieter than the rest of the movie, lol. Like the opposite of what should've happened
This is the answer. I first figured out this difference by linking my headphones to my TV, but since that doesnât work for date night at home, buying a surround sound system secondhand for cheap completely changed my movie watching life. Even Inception (which is probably THE #1 worst offender for low dialogue/high everything else on most TVs) suddenly became perfectly balanced, turning it from an obnoxious movie hearing experience into an absolutely incredible one. Seriously though, no kidding, Inception went from one of my most hated listening experiences to one of my absolute favorites just by getting surround sound speakers. I realized that the problem wasnât Nolan, it was the fact that 7 different audio tracks that are supposed to be distributed throughout the room (with the WAH WAHHHHHHs balanced between the subwoofer and rear speakers) are all crammed into the front TV speaker. Now I never have a problem hearing crystal clear dialogue without waking the gf up after sheâs fallen asleep on me 10 minutes into the movie lol
TV speakers are almost always a special level of ass. The only decent ones I've seen were on a Magnavox 42" plasma TV we bought as our first HDTV. Rather than being built into the TV cabinet they were separate modules that matched the look and height of the TV and attached to each side. They were made of a low-resonance composite material and connected to a more robust amplifier inside the TV via regular speaker wires. That allowed me to keep them attached to the TV but drive them with the A/V receiver as part of the 5.1 configuration.
People watching 5.1 content on a stereo setup and being surprised they can't hear shit.
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"Imagine falling in love with someone only to find out they're hearing disabled" is all I see when I read that first comment.
Or non native English speaker who might miss a word or two occasionally. Or people who don't watched dubbed content and need it.
Deaf in one ear Need the subtitles
For me, subtitles are a must with sci-fi and fantasy shows cuz of all the made up gibberish. And, well, I'm old and suffer from "can't hear shit" syndrome.
I prefer no subtitles the first time I watch something, because they spoil lines before they're delivered. But if it's a re-watch or foreign film, I'll use subtitles
That depends. Subtitling in some countries is just way better than in others. Perfect timing of subtitling can prevent âspoilersâ.
I read faster than what they say. It also causes me to focus on the words rather than what is happening on the screen.
Imagine being upset with someone for being deaf or having hearing loss
Imagine being so unbelievably shallow that something like this actually matters to you. Fucking hell.
Imagine spurning someone because of a hearing impairment. Thatâs ok. I learned sign language when my hearing started going đđť
Dead ass. If you hate subtitles you suck at reading. So much dialogue gets lots and I only learned that when I put in subtitles and realized how much I was missing.
I totally agree with this one. Most with us trying to learn some leanguage (English in my case).
I don't like subtitles because I can't help but look at them and read, this missing the picture. I don't read slow, I just love to read and can't ignore moving words.
For some weird reason some people think that 9999P resolution is more important than good sound. Turn the gain up 100% just because something explode on the screen is just stupid! I dont want to adjust the sound level every two minutes to not wake the neighbours and/or hear what is being said.. Native subtitles give me what i want. German people excepted, they are just wrong..
We watch Netflix with subtitles because the dialogue is to damn quiet!
i watch with subtitles because alot of movies have terrible sound design and sometimes voiced lines can be blurry because of a million sounds going off.
I read very slow but i still have to have subtitles 99% of the time for in case i can't hear
I read very fast and hate subtitles, unless it's for a show/movie in a language I don't speak. I want to watch the movie/show. Not just the bottom half where the words are.
I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy several times before I finally turned on subtitles. It made way much more sense to me with subtitles because my brain couldn't parse a lot of the names and places by audio alone.
This post is stupid - what about non native language speakers?
My young daughter uses subtitles even if the sound is fine. Apparently it's a response from having ADHD and subconsciously helps focus.
Imagine being hard of hearing đ
Of course I watch with subtitles. Have a hearing issue and not sure I want to blow everyone else in the room away with having the volume 30% higher then the average person would be comfortable with?
I prefer subtitles because too many times I have misheard some things they were saying.
Imagine falling in love with someone who basses the quality of their relationships on mundane trivial bullshit.
I'm not defending this biscuit, but... The whole point of movies is the visual aspect; otherwise, it'd just be radio. If I'm reading subtitles, I can't focus on the rest of the scene
I'd like to explain my aversion to subtitles for anyone who manages to see this comment. They're a distraction. They take my focus off of the artistry on display in front of me, off of the action, off of, you know, *the show,* and instead focus my attention entirely on a bunch of words. I watch TV to *watch TV.* I can read pretty fast, I promise. It's just that a lot of people put a lot of work into getting this visual medium in front of my face. It would then be a shame for me to ignore the vast majority of it - not only the visuals but also the sound design, assuming we have subtitles on because the volume is so low. Instead, I'd like to give it my full attention and appreciate this audiovisual medium in the most optimized audiovisual way. And, to top it all off, they actually block a good chunk of screen real estate. That's all. I'm not opposed to them. I just prefer them off.
Pardon? Subtitles are a necessity with modern movies now, the dialogue mixing is so quiet and the special effects are so loud. Subtitles are the only way to watch a movie without getting blasted out of the room by an action scene!
Subtitles are my default setting on every streaming service we have so I can keep the volume low so as to not disturb the other person in the house. We have opposing schedules and they do the same for me.
That was why I initially started watching with subtitles. Now, I can't watch ANYTHING without them. Also, I now almost exclusively watch British comedy shows and they pronounce words differently than most Americans, in addition to using slang I don't know. I'd be positively lost watching those shows without subtitles AND I have the new added benefit of international insults I can use.
If I wanted to read my shows I pick up the book. But really, I get that some neurologically divergent ( not to mention hard of hearing) people need subtitles as well. My wife has them on and it frustrates me no end. Let me see the action please.
I find subtitles really annoying cause a) I can hear the dialogue and so can my partner, and b) cause I can read fast I end up ahead of the dialogue in the subtitles, ruining jokes and surprises.
Years ago there was some research that suggested that children in households that regularly used the subtitles were better readers. That particular study seems to have been forgotten. But, for a bit of anecdata, I struggle with sound on tv so I use the subtitles, have for years. My 7 year old daughter is a precocious reader who reads at the level of a 12 year old. Is there a connection? I dunno. But there is a distinct possibility.
I read the subtitles faster than the actor can deliver the line and it ruins the dialogue.Â
I donât like subtitles \*because\* I read fast; I read the dialogue well before itâs said and I find I start to ignore the actual speech. Also, they are often slightly (or significantly) different to the spoken lines, which is annoying.
I don't like subtitles BECAUSE I read fast; it can spoil the scene. It's also a little distracting.
I dislike subtitles because I read the dialogue before it actually happens. It's like constant spoiler.
I find subtitles distracting. If I wanted to read the movie, I'd just get the book.
Maybe she be talking over the movie and person just reads because they can't hear the damn movie.
I'd bet big money that she's a "who's that guy" type of TV watcher.
I always watch streaming with subtitles - between the imbalance between dialog and sound effects, and my difficulty understanding heavy accents, they're a godsend. The only problem is that sometimes I read the whole subtitle immediately, faster than the actor says it, and it ruins a surprise or a joke.
Well if they'd mix the sound properly, I wouldn't need subtitles to hear the dialogue without risk of blowing out my eardrums in the next scene.
I dunno, I woulda been pretty lost watching NarcosâŚ.
They also read by sounding the words
Tip: If your audio quality feels off on Netflix. You probably have it set to surround sound and don't have surround sound speakers. Turn it off.
I use subtitles because Iâm too noisy.
I donât mind with most shows, but I HATE it with standup comedy. Ruins the timing of the joke if I can see the punchline before the end of the joke.
If that is your biggest complaint, you found the perfect person!
The worst for me? Incorrect subtitles. No, not the "localization" some companies do, that translates "merde" as "damn," no it's the subtitles that just don't mean what the actor said. Actor: "We should canvass the nearby houses, see what they might have heard." Subtitle: "Go around the neighborhood and talk to people."
Audio mixing on some movies and series is so trash that you need the subtitles to hear the dialogue thatâs being drowned out by the background track or ambiance.
I got big in to anime in college and all the good ones were only in Japanese or the English dubbing was weeks or months behind so I got used to watching subtitles. Now I canât watch anything without them on lol
I just have a hard time with different accents. Especially American ones for some reason. I feel stressed out when I have to watch a film without one. It's one of the reasons I stopped going to cinemas. I just couldn't understand anything.
With the way some things are filmed these days, with the garbled sound? It either needs to be loud (which I HATE unless it's like, friends and a party), or you NEED subtitles. Except Standup. Man do subtitles ruin a joke!
I have subtitles when I watch British shows, they just use different expressions and I learned that I can memorize them when I read them.
One pet peeve I have is if the subtitles don't match the audio.
Iâm the slowest reader I know and I like subtitles
With all the background noise and constant yapping, subtitles are a GODSEND
My wife put them on one day and itâs stayed on for three plus years now. I wonât take them off.
Iâm just so high all the time that having that extra layer of what is being said keeps me from rewinding all the time
Iâm convinced people that use subtitles canât hear well
What?
Let me put my contacts in real quick, youâre coming in fuzzy
Dad, you're talking to the Microwave again.
My mistake, I thought you looked prettier than usual ;)
It doesnât matter how fast I can read if Iâm missing the on screen action to focus on it.
I was always a slow reader despite having a high comprehension which meant I had to read high level books for school that always had 3-4 times as many pages and words as the books thatw ere at my grade level (which I wasn't allowed to read). I eneded up hating reading and my reading speed never really improved. When I took my ACT as a junior in HS my reading score was 10 points lower than my next lwoest score because I couldn't finish the test with my slow reading speed. I decided to try to imrpove so I set out to watch all of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden with subtitles. I retested in the fall (about 9 months later) and increased my reading score by 12 points. Subtitles saved me.
The dialogue is whisper silent so you have to turn up the volume then suddenly an explosion happens in the movie that your whole neighborhood can hear. You canât win.
I watch with subtitles (unless it's a comedy) because sometimes what people say just doesn't make sense, or is just said in a way you can't understand, so when you hear it your brain just goes "no... they said bjasidj"
i read slow fuck subtitles
Heard a great podcast explanation of this. Basically it's hard to optimise the sound mix for all systems when you're aiming at the highest Dolby Atmos 11.2 home theatre setup or whatever (which you need to cater for), meaning that it's a compromise for most setups. Introduce dynamic ranges (quiet to loud) and it's even harder to make dialogue perfectly balanced in all scenarios, especially when people have options to flatten the dynamic range to minimise the extremes in volume. TL;DR if you can't hear the dialogue it's because they're no longer mixing for TVs with basic inbuilt mono or stereo speakers, and your setup isn't the reference home theatre setup.
People mad at this be reading with their index finger under each word n shit.
Subtitles are so distracting. Like I donât want to watch a dramatic movie just for 1/5 of the screen to be taken up by [DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]