When we are watching a movie or series, sometimes it happens that we do not understand the dialogs correctly. This can happen for numerous factors; from a bad configuration of our television, to even poor sound management by the filmmakers, among other things.
From Xataka Home we cannot do anything for the last mentioned, but we can describe a series of recommendations to try to correct this annoying situation.
With the remote control always in hand
Sometimes it is incomprehensible to invest our money in sound so that later we cannot listen ‘correctly’ to the dialogues of a movie or television series, forcing us to be constantly with the remote control in hand to increase or decrease the volume according to what moments.
This also usually happens on the main streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Disney + and company. Generally, the sound is optimized for the cinema, since the mixing done by the sound technicians relies on the Dolby or DTS systems of the rooms. That is why when that content is transferred to the home, the sound section loses consistency to a great extent.
Transfer the results of the cinema to our home it will be more effective if we have a multichannel sound systemAs filmmakers work with multiple independent audio channels, something difficult to translate ‘clearly’ on our own TV speakers. And is that although the speakers incorporated in current TVs can decode multichannel audio, there are times when there is still too much difference between the dialogues and the other scenes.
Settings to correct the problem with dialogs
As users, we have some options at our disposal, but we already warned that the possibilities are not as wide as the use of a computer and some real-time decoding tool such as AC3Filter. If we depend solely on what the television offers us, we will have to settle for the options in your settings menu and those that we can find in the main streaming services.
Configuration in streaming services
If you are watching a movie or television series on a streaming service and listen to the content through the TV’s own speakers, sometimes Switching to stereo mix in the audio settings can significantly balance the level of dialogue and the other scenes.
To find this setting, just go to the audio and subtitles options of the streaming service in question and select the audio track that does not include the ‘5.1’, that is, choose the mix designed to reproduce it through stereo speakers.
Sound options on televisions
Depending on the manufacturer, we will find different options in the sound section to deal with this problem. Although they are not as effective as we would like, they are worth trying., since in certain cases it can work.
In most televisions, we can choose to modify the sound mode through the settings panel. In it we usually have several options, so we will look for the one that amplifies or highlights certain frequencies. For example, in Samsung televisions we have the option to change the sound to ‘Standard’, ‘Optimize’ or ‘Amplify’. By default, the first one mentioned will be the one that is selected, however, changing to one of the other two options could help us combat this imbalance between voices and other scenes.
In some cases there is also the option of ‘Automatic volume’, which on Samsung televisions is usually in the ‘Settings for experts’ section. This function maintains the sound pressure when switching to other video sources on our television.. While it does not correct the imbalance problem directly, it is worth taking a look at to improve our experience in this regard.
On somewhat newer televisions, We also have options that apply a certain equalization according to the content we are playing., all using various algorithms. An example of this is in LG televisions, which have the ‘AI Sound’ function in the audio settings. Although it is not entirely foolproof, it may be useful for us to balance the sound pressure.
It is also worth mentioning that certain televisions also have sound modes that enhance the clarity of voices. Without leaving the example of LG, these TVs have the ‘Clear Voice’ mode, located in their ‘Sound mode’ panel. Other manufacturers also tend to opt for this type of mode, although perhaps with a different nomenclature.
Another setting that can come in handy to balance the sound of the dialogue with respect to the other scenes is use the equalization tools of our television. In most of them we can modify bass, mids and treble to our liking. In this case, we should decrease the bass a little and increase the treble to distinguish the dialog more clearly.
Apple tv
In the event that we are on an Apple TV and using the TV’s own speakers, there are also certain settings in this regard. If we go to the ‘Audio’ configuration panel, we see that we have the possibility to select the option of ‘Full dynamic range’, or ‘Reduce loud sounds’. Checking the last option can also help us reduce this sound pressure imbalance.
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Having the Dolby Digital options activated is not always a good option, especially if we are using the TV’s own stereo speakers. To solve this problem, we can deactivate these settings through the ‘Audio’ and ‘Dolby Digital Output’ options. Here we will have to disable both Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus and check that the changes take effect.
Fire TV Stick with Alexa voice control (includes TV controls), HD streaming device
Adjustment in multichannel equipment
The adjustment is much easier if we have a multichannel equipment such as a sound bar, or a complete ‘Home Cinema’. In this case, The only thing we have to modify is the pressure level of the front central channel, increasing its value by a few decibels. For this, it is advisable to do several tests until we find the appropriate level.