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Netflix Debuts Dialogue-Only Subtitles

Netflix today announced that it is introducing a new subtitle option that only shows subtitles for spoken dialogue, aimed at those who don't need captions, but prefer to watch movies and TV shows with the subtitles turned on.

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According to Netflix, nearly half of all viewing hours on the streaming service in the U.S. happen with the subtitles or captions on, which is why it is debuting the new setting.

The new option will show subtitles for dialogue, but no audio cues such as [phone buzzing], [door slams], or [fireplace crackling], which are normally shown when closed captioning is turned on. Netflix says the option will be available on new titles that are coming to Netflix, starting with the final season of YOU that launched today.

The dialogue-only subtitle setting can be selected by opening up the language picker when watching a Netflix show and choosing the "English" option. "English CC" will have both dialogue and audio cues as normal.

Going forward, dialogue-only subtitles will be available for all new Netflix originals in every language that Netflix offers in addition to the SDH and CC options.

Tag: Netflix

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Top Rated Comments

dschmitty-o Avatar
14 months ago
Half their customers have subtitles on, and their response is to implement dialog-only captions, instead of figuring out why people can’t hear the dialog (hint: the audio mix is awful).
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
14 months ago

I have it on so I don’t wake kids up so I’d still want traditional subtitles.

I would of thought most people would have same use case
Most people use them because modern films/shows are mixed terribly - if they do any mixing it's for 7 channel+ and as a result they sound like crap on anything else - dialogue mixed too low and effects too high.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
14 months ago
Funny, this is how we are used to watching subtitles in languages other than English in the rest of the world…
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
14 months ago
Finally! I don't need to read every single sound that plays in the background. I can get a sense of tone from what I see. I'm surprised I haven't seen this before.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
14 months ago
I thought my hearing was shot until I learned that mumblecore ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumblecore') is a thing. Supposedly there's been a move toward "more natural" dialogue, but never in real life do I find myself asking someone three times to back up 10 seconds and try again before I just tell them to write down what they're saying...
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
14 months ago
Me: [exasperated sigh] “Finally”
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)