[JadeNB]

> Good subtitles are more akin to interpretation than translation. You have less space to fit, timing is important, you need to translate idioms, etc.

Timing particularly! You'll often get a mystery where the detective says "And the killer is … [long, dramatic pause to survey the room] … the butler!", but the subtitles, displayed at the beginning of the sentence, just say "And the killer is the butler!"

[noboostforyou]

I've noticed HBO seems to have the highest quality subtitles in terms of timing and position on screen relative to the character speaking.

Then there's other shows I watch on Netflix will do that exact thing you mentioned - spoiling the punchline because the subtitle appears before a single word is spoken.

[JadeNB]

Oh, I forgot that Hulu has an infuriating thing where, if you turn on English-language subtitles for a show that's mostly in English (as those of us with poor hearing often do), and the show has burnt-in subtitles for portions of speech in some other language, then the burnt-in subtitles will be overwritten by a subtitle reading, say, "[Speaking in French]."