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

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

#131

Post by ninkendo »

perrygeo wrote: post #45

The fact that there's a claimed generational gap here speaks more to the values of the generations re: passive vs active entertainment. I could also ask: "Why do all these 60-Somethings have the TV on as background noise while doing other tasks?" To me it seems closed-caption usage is correlated with actually paying attention to television consumption. People who have their TV on at all hours, as background entertain…

I wish there was a CC mode for “I’m not deaf, I just don’t catch the quiet mumbly dialog sometimes so give me captions only of the dialog.”

Bonus if it’s delayed by exactly 2 seconds, so that it doesn’t spoil jokes, and I can quickly reference it if I missed something someone said (helping me avoid fixating on the captions.)

Because it’s the CC descriptions of music swells and things like “[laughs] and “[crying]”, etc that are distracting for me, and not needed.

What’s worse, sometimes they ruin comedic timing by putting the punchline on the screen before the setup has finished (or logical equivalent of a punchline… comedy is often found in timing) and the captions ruin the timing.

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

#132

Post by lanstin »

joshstrange wrote: post #57
seniorsassycat wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Subtitles can hurt jokes by spoiling the punchline without the actors timing or delivery. I wonder if delaying joke/punchline subtitles till after the spoken line is complete would improve this

I've thought about this many times as well as it does suck to have it spoiled, especially if there is a long pause in the scene but the subs have been up revealing the joke/jump-scare/etc for a few seconds already. In the end I enjoy subs too much to turn them off for that reason but every time it happens I do wish the "reveal" in the subs was held until the reveal in the scene.

Yeah I end up laughing too early. If I know it is going to be funny, I will move my eyes up to the faces.

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

#133

Post by loonster »

lanstin wrote: post #111
ecshafer wrote: post #96

I started using captions as a teen because of watching anime, and then I started doing it with normal tv. I am not in my 20s but I think a big part of it is that most tv shows and movies have become absolutely impossible to hear what they are saying. I think speakers on TVs have gotten really bad with the transition to flat screen, and even with a sound system the mixing of audio has gotten really bad. Music and soun…

And the volume levels vary so much. If you don’t want hearing loss or angry housemates you turn it down and then can’t hear the normal dialog. If I am watching very closely I will incessantly fiddle with the volume, but otherwise then captions are nice. I agree tho I miss visual side of the film while reading the captions. But I also tend to watch stuff I really like more than once so I get the body language second r…

Buy a sound system. I now have a 3.1 setup and can hear the dialogue. A dedicated center channel makes a huge difference. Its amazing.

Many AVRs can also adjust it so the dialogue is louder, but I haven't found a need.

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

#135

Post by hinkley »

Philip-J-Fry wrote: post #50

I always have subtitles on in games. Especially since I find it hard to focus on the words being spoken and video game cutscenes are almost always unable to be rewound. During gameplay it's harder to read and play at the same time though, although over the years it's gotten easier. Through my years of watching Anime it's also quite easy for me to watch and read at the same time. I think for watching movies they can b…

I had to buy a 3.1 bar just to get a center channel. Basically one of us couldn't make out voices without it, and there were a couple movies/shows where it was just unwatchable. I'm not sure why things like Apple TV can't do a more credible job remixing the audio for 2 speakers.

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

#136

Post by ryandrake »

One more vote for terrible audio mixes and one for actors who mumble their dialog.

Whenever I watch movies with my wife, we constantly have to fiddle with the remote control. The loud parts (including explosions and music) are too loud for her, so we have to turn the volume down during those parts, but the dialog is too quiet and mumbly for me to hear, so we turn the volume up during those parts. We now just keep the volume low and turn on subtitles--easy but shitty solution.

Sound engineers need to stop needlessly flexing all that dynamic range that modern tools give them, and just produce a watchable movie. Actors need to go do some stage acting and learn how to e n u n c i a t e and project their voices.

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

#137

Post by tom_ »

I did this when I was 20-something too. A while ago now, as I am 45.

UK TV back then had subtitles on teletext page 888. (And maybe it still does? I don't watch TV any more.) My flatmates and I would always switch this on when watching TV, as it meant we could talk, while still being able to keep track of what was going on in the programme.

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

#138

Post by ericbarrett »

ninkendo wrote: post #131
perrygeo wrote: post #45

The fact that there's a claimed generational gap here speaks more to the values of the generations re: passive vs active entertainment. I could also ask: "Why do all these 60-Somethings have the TV on as background noise while doing other tasks?" To me it seems closed-caption usage is correlated with actually paying attention to television consumption. People who have their TV on at all hours, as background entertain…

I wish there was a CC mode for “I’m not deaf, I just don’t catch the quiet mumbly dialog sometimes so give me captions only of the dialog.” Bonus if it’s delayed by exactly 2 seconds, so that it doesn’t spoil jokes, and I can quickly reference it if I missed something someone said (helping me avoid fixating on the captions.) Because it’s the CC descriptions of music swells and things like “[laughs] and “[crying]”, et…

There is on some shows. For those the choice is between "English" and "English [CC]" or similar; the former omits descriptions of noises. Most don't have this, probably because it's not provided by the producers.

Agreed on timing issues. This also seems to vary by show/producer.

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

#139

Post by strangescript »

I just get tired of shows with poor audio normalization and having the "what the heck did they just say" moments. Or one of my kids decides to randomly scream at the top of their lungs. And there is the whole blowing my ears out with rap music in my car because I thought it was cool growing up. I'm getting old.
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