Over the years, subtitles have become essential for many people when it comes to watching a film or TV show. However, not everyone is a fan of the closed captions function. If this is the case, then it's likely you've struggled to understand the dialogue in certain scenes due to loud background audio drowning out the characters' voices. Fortunately, Amazon has come up with a solution for this.
Amazon has recently launched a new feature, aptly named Dialogue Boost, on its subscription service, Prime Video. The AI function enables users to tweak the volume of dialogue in a particular scene relative to the background audio, ensuring that they never miss a word when watching their favorite shows.
Dialogue Boost was created specifically with hard-of-hearing audiences in mind, who don't necessarily like closed captions. According to Amazon, the aim is to provide everyone with a "more comfortable and accessible viewing experience that cannot be found on any other global streaming service."
Raf Soltanovich, Vice President of Technology at Amazon Studios and Prime Video, emphasized their dedication to providing an all-inclusive streaming experience, stating:
At Prime Video, we are committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and enjoyable streaming experience for all our customers. Our library of captioned and audio described content continues to grow, and by leveraging our technological capabilities to create industry-first innovations like Dialogue Boost, we are taking another step to create a more accessible streaming experience.
The Dialogue Boost accessibility feature works by analyzing the film or show's original audio and identifying areas where dialogue is muffled by background music or effects. It then isolates the speech patterns in that specific scene and enhances them to make the dialogue more audible. This feature is distinct from the approach taken by home theater systems that amplify audio in the center channel of a surround system.
Prime Video users can access the audio and subtitle drop-down menu to choose their preferred level of Dialogue Boost by selecting between "English Dialogue Boost: Medium" and "English Dialogue Boost: High."
Currently, Dialogue Boost is available on specific Amazon Originals such as Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Harlem, along with films such as The Big Sick, Beautiful Boy, and Being the Ricardos. Additional titles will have this feature added later this year.
