Netflix introduces dialogue-only subtitles for a simplified viewing experience

Netflix has announced a quality-of-life update that could enhance the experience for users. Normally, when users try to watch a video on the streaming service, one has to choose the closed captions setting.

While it does display subtitles for the audio, it does so every sound played, like [phone buzzing] or [dramatic music swells], etc. This narration is a useful accessibility option for viewers who are deaf or are hard of hearing (SDH/CC), as it explains the scene in greater detail. But other users may find the extensive narration unnecessary, which is why Netflix has introduced subtitles that are only displayed for spoken dialogue.

As for why is this feature being added now, Netflix highlighted that subtitles are useful when watching a video in a noisy environment, or when someone's sleeping. It also noted that according to a recent survey by Preply, 50% of Americans had said that they watch videos with subtitles enabled most of the time, the reason being that dialogue is harder to hear in TV shows and movies than they used to be. A linguistics expert explained that subtitles may provide a way to better understand the content, especially for someone who is learning the language.  Techradar points out that some scenes in movies and TV series are nearly inaudible, in which case subtitles are almost necessary.

Netflix users can now choose between the subtitle option that they prefer: English which only shows the spoken dialogue, or English (CC) that includes both dialogue and audio cues. This feature will also be expanded to other languages in the future.

Currently, the new dialogue-only subtitles are only available in the 5th season of the psychological thriller series, You. This may seem like a minor improvement, but one that is sure to be appreciated by many users. Netflix is testing a new search engine that is powered by OpenAI's technology to help users discover shows and movies that they may like.