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Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

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701–710 of 738 posts

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#701

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Germany and honestly it just seems to me from speaking to Germans that they have the worst mixture of a lack of sense of quality and also an uncaring-ness/sense of futility about it. I think it is kind of like the "poor service at restaurants" thing. It is a negative point that has become accepted and almost expected by Germans, so there is literally no desire to change it, which would take a lot of effort…

I don't think anyone can reasonably dispute that Germans don't value great customer service much - but it's ridiculous to claim that the culture that produced Goethe, Schiller and, to a large part, the Romantic era doesn't value aesthetics. I think that most "popular" (i.e. charts-topping) German music is rather bland, but I feel the same about chart hits from other countries. Meanwhile there is some German music tha…

I’m talking only about the popular culture, not the past

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#702

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty clear to me that modern mumbling smarmy sarcasm is the low culture, and the Shakespearian trained actors of the past are high culture. It's just like with fashion. We may pretend that hoodies and patagonia vests are just as respectable as a 20th century suit, but if we see two photos side by side we deep down know who is better dressed.

Not that far past. Did you even watch the video? I'm talking about the Mid-Atlantic accent not Shakespeare.

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were both Shakespearean actors and have been active this century.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#703

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons why I bought an Apple TV was the ability to pair it with my airpods. Makes is super convenient to hear everything if you live in an apartment, also some shows take advantage of the spatial audio which is neat if you don't have a proper sound setup. I still turn on subtitles tho. On that front I've been noticing some subtitles will not match the english dialogue at all. This is noticeable on the Net…

> some subtitles will not match the english dialogue at all I have the same issues when watching shows and movies translated into German. Trying to improve my level of the language, but with both the dubbed soundtrack and the subs turned on almost every line of dialogue differs between the two. I assume it's because the subtitles generally reflect the original script very closely but the dubbed version requires more…

German is a bit of a special case. I'm not German, just a learner of the language, but I've noticed they often change the perfekt tense into präteritum. I assume this is because it tends to be shorter than the more commonly spoken perfect tense and is, of course, understandable for Germans, but not so great for language learners.

I mostly watch native German content if I can, not dubbed. There might be additional oddities that you run into with the dubbing for the reasons you mention.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#704

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roku has that feature; you can enable remote listening via the app and pipe sound to your earphones.

Good to know! I love this feature a lot and only thought apple did it. Does it also work for game consoles too? Like playing switch on the tv but feeling audio to your earphones?

> Does it also work for game consoles too?

It does for ps5, but only if you use Airpods Max (with a lightning to 3.5mm cable) or any other headphones that support a 3.5mm jack. It is actually rather convenient, because you plug into into the front middle bottom of the gamepad, so the cable doesn't get in the way of anything. No bluetooth, unfortunately, unless you are using a 3.5mm bluetooth adapter.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#705

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple TV had to introduce a feature that makes exactly that for you. Apparently this problem is that systematic. Movie makers ruin sound that the streamer device have to correct. ( https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/tv/atvba773c3c9/tvos > "Reduce Loud Sounds")

> Movie makers ruin sound that the streamer device have to correct. It’s not the movie maker’s job to adjust the sound to your particular environment and taste. That is the job of the playback equipment and the person configuring it. The movie should be, and is, stored at the highest fidelity and with as much information as possible. This includes the original intended dynamic range. If your situation or taste calls…

Previously movie makers found the ways good for most of the people, sound effect and discussions being in balance so to enjoy the work, lately they lost their way in many cases (not all) and instead of enjoying the movie the adjustments of volume is required or just turning on the subtitles.

The problem is that dialouges are incomprehensible, inarticulate, while the sound effects and the musics blow your head off in the next second. Lately, not that much previously. Previously this was not a problem, recently they lost their ability to make it well. Many of the movies became not entertaining but agitating this way.

It was never a requirement that everyone will have their own particular personal taste satisfied and that is not something that is missed. More like the ability to be able to follow the story! Which is ruined in more and more cases by bad sound.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#706

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s honestly ridiculous how bad the stereo (aka what 99% of viewers will experience) mixes are. The explosions can be heard by my neighbors yet I can barely hear the dialogue at the same volume. Find myself basically doing half the mix work myself with the volume control. Too many audiophiles in the production chain focusing on something that barely matters at the expense of most viewers.

It's the same on the 5.1 mix.

Maybe when downmixing it to stereo. If you play it on a real 5.1 system (not a soundbar or other "Dolby Atmos" gimmick with less speakers) your dialogues will come out of the dedicated center speaker which will make it easier to follow. (most home cinema receivers even have a 'boost dialogue' function if you want to know what's happening in the latest Nolan film...)

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#707
post #568
post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theory: Because distribution companies for movies made having DTS/Dolby Atmos/Whatever mandatory in the theater, sound engineers primarily focus on that because that takes 99% of the time. Because theaters with just optical stereo (yes I'm aware most theaters use digital distribution and projectors now, that just hammers home the point) aren't really a thing any more they don't really bother optimizing it because "no…

Yeah but this is 2022 are there even movie theaters anymore? The box office sales are deep in the red and many theaters are going bankrupt. Most of What I watch are tv shows

I like both the big screen and the small screen. Sometimes, a 21" 1080p display or an iPhone at home just doesn't compete with a proper cinema experience.

And before someone says "go build yourself a home cinema": this is the UK. There's no such thing as "free space" in most homes.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#708

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that far past. Did you even watch the video? I'm talking about the Mid-Atlantic accent not Shakespeare.

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were both Shakespearean actors and have been active this century.

Except that's not what I'm talking about. And neither were you. Again did you watch the video?

Both of the actors you refer to talk in a certain British accent. It's not "Shakespearean" in any way; and that specific accent doesn't work outside of any of those contexts of playing high class British people or older "wise" professor types. Patrick and Ian, though both very good actors, have very limited range and their accents do sound comical outside of relevant contexts.

I think you're trolling.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#709

> Captions can also facilitate multitasking I have a hard time believing this. Captions demand more attention if anything. I can passively "watch" a video by only listening to the audio, but I can't passively read. I think that the phenomenon described in the article may actually be a symptom of a much deeper social change. Listening and auditory comprehension were critical skills for communication and preservation o…

> Captions demand more attention if anything. I can passively "watch" a video by only listening to the audio, but I can't passively read.

If the dialogue is 60dB below the explosions and you're doing something like cooking with a 70dB noise floor and 80dB peaks, then you have zero chance of getting the dialogue without blowing out your windows.

Re: Why do all these 20-somethings have closed captions turned on?

#710

> Captions can also facilitate multitasking I have a hard time believing this. Captions demand more attention if anything. I can passively "watch" a video by only listening to the audio, but I can't passively read. I think that the phenomenon described in the article may actually be a symptom of a much deeper social change. Listening and auditory comprehension were critical skills for communication and preservation o…

> Captions demand more attention if anything. I can passively "watch" a video by only listening to the audio, but I can't passively read.

If the dialogue is 60dB below the explosions (or even the music at times) and you're doing something like cooking with a 70dB noise floor and 80dB peaks, then you have zero chance of getting the dialogue without blowing out your windows.

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