TV subtitles anyone?

Post Reply New Topic

Just wondering if anyone prefers to have the subtitles on when watching the telly. I always turn them on and everyone gets annoyed by it haha. I often find it difficult to track with TV shows and reality shows and have a much easier time when the subtitles are on the screen. I hear just fine and can watch without them, but I just am able to keep up with the story and characters without getting bored or spacing out much better with them on.

I don't think I have quite as much trouble with films but I think it's because the plays move a little slower and there are usually more clues to what is happening besides just the conversations, such as action scenes, traveling, etc. If it's something like a romance drama I'd probably need the subtitles.

Anyone else like this?

On a related note, I also have a lot of trouble keeping track of characters in shows and films. Unless they have very notable features such as the differing races on Lord of the Rings, I usually find that all the girls faces blend together and all the boys blend together and I never remember who is who unless I focus super hard. Especially on reality shows where there is a large number of people of similar age.

I only like subtitles on foreign stuff, and always prefer it to the English dub which is often out of synch with mouth movements.

... though if I'm reading subtitles it can take my attention off what is happening visually in the video, especially forms of non-verbal communication. Watching for these subtleties is good practice for Aspies apparently, we can obsessively scrutinise the way that people present themselves without fear of getting a bloodied nose or creeping them out.

When I meet someone with an accent that is unfamiliar to me, I wish sometimes that they could provide subtitles, until I get used to them.

I have trouble following what is going on without the subtitles, I have had them on all them time ever since I started using them when my partners mother went deaf - and now that I have a hearing impairment they help even more

I also have trouble tracking characters if there is nothing easy to tell, it is far easier in a TV series as you start to learn people by rote

I've seen a large number of foreign films over the years so I'm used to the subtitles. The only movie I couldn't sit through because of the subtitles moving too fast was Red Cliff. I was reading so much I couldn't look at the scene!

I don't usually for the tv I just turn it up and rewind if I have to. Would probably be simpler if I turned them on. I do always have them on when I play video games though. I like them because it reassures you that you heard it correctly, and helps you understand better if you are more visual.
I sometimes mix up people on tv if they look similar and I haven't watched the show much. I have an easier time telling people apart in person, though sometimes I don't recognize people out of context, which is embarrassing

I use subtitles/captions whenever possible. I can understand what is happening without them but I feel much more comfortable with them and think the actually take some stress away from watching movies/TV. Everybody I know is the opposite: they say it's harder to focus on 2 things at once.

I also have a hard time telling characters apart a lot of the time unless they are very diverse looking (like in Community). If I pay particular attention to each person's looks they don't look so much the same after a while...but if all the characters are white brunette males, then I might spend the whole movie having no idea who's who (example: 12 angry men). I actually had a hard time when I first watched LOTR because although there are different 'races', pretty much every character is male (I find it easier to tell the difference between females) and members of the same race look similar: For example, Aragorn, Boromir, and Faramir all have the same haircut, and Merry, Pippin, and Sam all have the same hair color and style.

Only if I am watching something in another language....though sometimes I realize I am not looking but it still seems like I am understanding. Its kinda weird. But yeah I was watching a random anime I found that looked entertaining which is all in japenese with english subtitles.

I use subtitles whenever the language is not my first language.

Which is to say, always. Spoken language is not my first language.

I think I only use subtitles so I can watch TV quietly.

I used to think that I wanted hooomans to have subtitles, so I could understand what they were saying bester, but now I don't care anymore, after I used up my social interaction quota for 2014 in two days this weekend.

Said no, although I do use them sometimes. I usually don't mind not knowing/focusing on what they're saying and just watching, but if I'm alone I like to use them and listen to music or silence, plus the ads are always sensory shock and overload. They do seem to make people angry, I even saw a guy complaining about subtitles on a muted tv hung on the wall in a coffee shop.

I use subtitles whenever possible due to audio processing issues.

It depends on what I'm watching. For foreign films and anime, I definitely prefer having subtitles, no question about it. For domestic movies and shows however, while I used subtitles a bit when I was younger, especially when I was just starting to read, I usually only use them now when I'm trying to watch something and I either have to keep the sound really quiet, or there's so much background noise that it drowns out the TV.

I use subtitles although I have no hearing loss issues.
I find it easier than rewinding 'live' broadcasts if I miss what someone says because I live alone and have no one to ask!

The only drawback is some subtitles are of poor quality and although the errors are sometimes hilarious, they do take my mind off what I'm actually watching.