MLBFan24

I hate when the subtitles are too descriptive:

[door shuts] ---- you can clearly see a door being shut

[car is turned on] ---- you can clearly see the person turning on the car and drive off

[explosion] ---- you can clearly see an explosion!

fujishig

There was a recent House of the Dragon episode where there was a very effective [breathing stops] subtitle that gave a little bit of extra detail that I think I would have otherwise missed.

Giantrobo

Started using subs 24/7 for various reasons. I never had an issue with them since I enjoy foreign films so it's an easy transition to using them 24/7. Plus, I'm noticing lots of good info in subs in addition to dialogue like names of music pieces being used, song lyrics, character names, etc.

But I think I started using them all the time due to some wonky sound mixes and characters not clearly saying some words. It also helps for not having to have to sound too loud because I could read dialogue.

I have a 7yo and I've also heard using Subs/Closed Captions is actually good for Kids while watching TV. There are many articles encouraging parents to turn them on at home.

Giantrobo

Yeah it seems goofy but I actually like this level of detail in the subs.

tonyc3742

Sometimes to often.
I got used to them when watching subtitled anime, and now I like it.
Usually related to mixing, accents, TV down too low.
There have definitely been some things I've noticed thanks to subtitles that I wouldn't have otherwise (like a radio playing in the background of the scene, and it's dropping clues to the story, but it's so quiet it's almost inaudible).

DeFan

UK shows always. I like the subtitles on replay option when it's available. Like others I got used to subtitles watching non English language films so it seems second nature.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, I use subtitles for just about everything.

It might be because I'm middle-aged, and lived a youth filled with loud heavy metal music, but my hearing is still quite sharp.

Like many here, I find that a lot of dialogue in tv and movies is recorded so low that it's difficult to hear, and is often drowned out in background music and background noise. And there's also a tendency for characters to either mumble their dialogue or rattle it off in rapidfire fashion that it's difficult to take in.

And, yes, accents can be difficult, too. Especially with something like Doctor Who, where characters tend to have thick accents and rattle off their lines so quickly that it sounds like gibberish to my colonial ears.

And a third reason for using subtitles is that I watch a lot of science fiction and fantasy, which has made-up alien names, worlds, and technology, and it really helps if I can see these things spelled out. I have a DVD set of the complete Farscape series that doesn't include subtitles, and it can be difficult to understand and follow.

Mike86

I hate it when the audio for music or sound effects is so loud to the point that I want to turn it down, but then when someone starts talking it’s like I can barely hear it. Just not sure who mixes these tracks and thinks that’s a good idea. Maybe some of it is tied to being optimized for surround sound, but for viewers not using that there should be an alternate track that’s better balanced.

Count Dooku

All those Space-Australians living on the other end of that wormhole.

Draven

I find them distracting but my teenage kids have them on on everything they watch. Also the under-30 crowd I know seem to always have them on too. I will put them on if I miss a line and need to rewind but if they are on all the time then I end up reading them rather than actually watching the scene.

Mike86

I used to be one who would frequently rewind if I was missing lines of dialogue. That was much more distracting than using subtitles looking at it now.

d2cheer

Yes.

I tell everyone at work to speak up. l also need a new hearing aid that I will be getting soon.

chess1972

Yes. Have used subtitles for years. Reasons: all the above.

milo bloom

Re: watching sci-fi stuff with subtitles, I have for years and it’s always obvious when somebody types a blatantly wrong spelling of some name or alien thing online when I saw it spelled correctly in the subtitles.

davidh777

Hamilton is a revelation with subtitles!

My kid always liked having them on, so we’ve just left them on. Only for streaming services, though, not regular TV (scripted or not).

Like many, I originally found them useful for British accents, but character names are a plus too. The main drawback for me is that sometimes they’re mistimed and will spoil a punch line. There’s definitely a bit of an art to syncing subtitles.

Alan Smithee

I remember when closed captions started in 1980, you had to have a big external box to decode them. TV shows that were captioned usually announced them at the beginning and I was annoyed that I couldn't see them. In 1992 I got one of the first generally-available TVs with a decoder built in, and soon after that all TVs were required to have them.

I'm interested in seeing how they're done, but I simply can't watch something for the first time with captions or subtitles because I end up looking only at them and missing the picture. I've never liked how most foreign movies are presented on video, with electronic English subtitles rather than the burned-in ones from film prints.

Generally on media I buy, I eventually check out the captions and subtitles on subsequent viewings. When I started buying laserdiscs for example, I'd watch them first with the digital audio tracks and no captioning, then the second time with the analog tracks and captions on- and then I would look mainly at the captions and spot anything funny they did with them (describing sound effects for example, or naming songs that were used) and they also would sometimes clear up any dialogue I didn't get the first time around. My crazy ex-girlfriend always wanted subtitles on because she claimed that she couldn't "understand" anything without them. That's part of what ended our relationship- she ruined "2001" for the first time on my then-new TV by demanding the subtitles be turned on. I paid more attention to how they were worded than the visuals of the movie, and the timing of a scene can be ruined if you read something earlier before it's said aloud.

ABC was the first TV network to support closed captioning, and ran this demo during shows that weren't captioned if you had them turned on:

Joe Schmoe

Agreed. I often can't understand Diego Luna because his accent is thick and he mumbles. I watch each episode twice: the first time without closed captioning because I want to focus on the acting, action and story rather than reading the screen; then a few days later, I watch the episode again with closed captioning turned on to understand what I missed. I agree with those who said it's sometimes too descriptive, like when it identifies a character by name before viewers who don't have closed captioning turned on would learn the character's name.

meshershark

I am often eating while watching, so I turn on subtitles to avoid needing to crank up the volume to absurd levels to overcome chewing noises.

Ayre

Count Dooku

What? Huh? Why your favorite shows and films sound worse than ever

Dialogue has never been more unintelligible. Is there anything we can do, other than turn on the subtitles?

https://www.avclub.com/television-fi...why-1849664873

Wolf359

This seems like a good place to ask. I really like having subtitles on constantly just because sometimes dialogue is hard to understand. BUT... I don't need shit like "jaunty whistling" or "clears throat". Is there some way to only see dialog subtitles??

tanman

Ever wonder how CC works?

Josh-da-man

That is, presumably, there for the hearing impaired; ditto when the subtitles describe music cues and sound effects.

Sometimes a program will have more than one English subtitle track -- such as one that has captions for the hearing impaired, one that has only dialog, and one that only has dialog in foreign languages subtitled.

Count Dooku

It definitely helps to know whether the whistling is supposed to be jaunty versus being upbeat or playful.

Orbi-Wan Techno

Yea, definitely use subtitles. Both the Bride and I are in our 60’s, I have a service related hearing disability and we just find it easier to watch stuff with subtitles.