[FractalParadigm]

Being one of those weirdos still using a proper receiver and 5.1 speaker setup on our main TV, but a stereo pair on our other TV, it's incredible the difference the lack of a discrete center-channel can make. It seems like Netflix et. al are more interested in pushing a 5.1 Dolby mix to everyone instead of detecting whether or not they have hardware capable of playing it properly. My more unpopular opinion is that they (the streaming services) should all be pushing a stereo track by default and have a/the surround mix as a selectable option, because it's become obvious that down-mixing on user's devices doesn't work as intended.

For what it's worth, we keep subtitles on for the stereo TV nearly permanently, while the main TV rarely is a problem - nothing a small boost to the center channel can't fix anyways.

[deprecative]

I'm nearly entirely convinced that this is just us millennials and generations adjacent getting old and not wanting to admit it. My friends can't hear the tv, my family can't, but I can and my hearing is very average. I've commented more in depth on a discussion of this phenomenon.

[washadjeffmad]

The Netflix show model is highly formulaic. Same cameras and mics, 8 episode budget contract, sent to the same post houses. If you want to work with Netflix, you don't mull over choices or do auteur film, you have an expedient, generic pipeline for mixing, color, etc that produces consistent results.

It's 98% business, just a race to see how much they can make using their method before Amazon or HBO can catch up.

Now I'm peeved about what a low effort crapshoot their mixing is is. I've made a few profiles for my receiver to help with levels and clarity, and we still end up needing subtitles. Oh, this is an action scene? I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't compressed the range out of it and then flat amplified it 12db. An intimate scene follows? Good thing you again compressed the shit out of that hot ass mic mix so we're fighting to pick out words over every rustle of fabric and hair right after we had to turn down the volume. It's atrocious.

[xg15]

No worries, I'm sure the next generation of shows will sprinkle some AI pixie dust over their pipeline to artificially "uncompress" the range again at the end (and generically sort everything that sounds like a voice into one channel, everything that sounds like background noise in another, etc, without context-awareness)

[OfSanguineFire]

> I'm nearly entirely convinced that this is just us millennials and generations adjacent getting old and not wanting to admit it.

No, I have seen an audio engineer with golden ears claim that the industry has changed. He has increasingly been directed to mix with cinema sound systems in mind and in accordance with a current quiet-dialogue fad that filmmakers are following. The broad public that watches the content through streaming with a low-consumer-grade sound system is an afterthought in this process.

[midoridensha]

Exactly. It's much like the music industry (though kinda the opposite), where a bunch of people claim "you're just getting old, music today isn't any worse than in the 1970s". It's not true: the commercial music industry these days is completely different, and part of it is the sound engineering. Back then, they mixed music to be played on Hi-Fi systems at home, and music had very wide dynamic range; these days, they mix music to be played through earbuds in a noisy environment, and music is highly compressed (and the production process is just the tip of the iceberg).

[as1mov]

It's not just the hearing capability, I have better than average hearing for someone who is 30 but I still struggle with movies without subtitles since English is not my primary language.

Its hard to understand what someone is saying even if I can hear the sounds, when it just sounds like mumbled gibberish.

Add on top rather arbitrary restrictions on subtitles based on region (on Netflix I cannot use English subs because of where I live), which is even more infuriating.

[siva7]

Are millennials now considered old? I have subs all the time on for convenience. It just makes it easier to do other things

[happymellon]

It depends on whether you think mid-40's is getting older?

It's definitely when some people's hearing starts to get a bit flakey.

[camgunz]

This seems pretty easy to test right? Put on The West Wing (early 2000s) and see if you can keep up. Put on any reality show from the last 5 years and see if you can keep up. I can do TWW, I can't do Bachelor in Paradise. Case closed IMO.

[basch]

Netflix started downmixing differently last year.

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/newsroom/new-audio-experience-n...

“For an up-to-date list of content available in AMBEO Spatial Audio, simply enter “Spatial Audio” in the Netflix search field.”

[Agingcoder]

I agree with this including the unpopular opinion.

[SkyPuncher]

I’ve noticed this as well. I have a reasonable an entry level 5.1 system, but it’s basically useless to use.

Most center dialogue gets sent to the left and right speakers, essentially defeating the purpose of a center channel.