OT: Netflix improving quality of audio they stream

[ElmerJFudd]

Netflix this morning announced a new feature for its streaming service focused on offering viewers better sound. The company is rolling out high-quality audio, or an audio experience that features a higher bitrate for TV devices that support either 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. Depending on the device and the customers bandwidth capabilities, the actual bitrate you receive will vary, Netflix says.

 

However, it will range from 192 kbps (good) up to 640 kbps (great) for 5.1, and from 448 kbps to 768 kbps for Dolby Atmos which is available to members subscribed to the Premium plan.

 

Netflix says the bitrates will evolve over time as its continues to get more efficient with its encoding techniques.

 

Netflixs tech blog gets into more details about the feature, noting that the high-quality sound is not lossless, but is perceptually transparent meaning that even though the audio is compressed, its indistinguishable from the original source, Netflix claims.

 

The company also offered a bit of backstory about how high-quality audio came to be, thanks to sound-quality issues with Stranger Things 2 back in 2017. In one episode, a car chase scene wasnt sounding crisp, so Netflix tasked its sound expert and engineers to make improvements. They addressed the problem by delivering a higher bitrate for the audio. And since then, the team has been working to roll out the improved audio more broadly.

 

Often the subtlety of sound may go unnoticed, but it can have a profound impact on the atmosphere of a scene and fundamentally change how a viewer responds to it, the company writes in an announcement. Supporting and delivering on the vision of our creative partners has always been incredibly important to us, and sound is something weve been really focused on.

 

The feature launches today for TV viewers.

 

https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/01/netflix-launches-high-quality-audio-for-tv-viewers/

 

 

[ksoper]

I was beginning to think it was me, old ears and all. Maybe now I won't have to run the CCs to catch dialog.

[Bobby Simons]

Sigh, I run the CCs all the time these days.

[J. Dan]

I turned up my center channel - most of the dialog is there. Have it dialed in pretty good for Netflix, but when a sporting event like the Super Bowl is on Antenna TV, they have the crowd noise so high that I have to crank the center channel like 10dB just to hear the announcers.

[ChiefDanG]

....I have to crank the center channel like 10dB just to hear the announcers.

 

I would say that's an advantage. Now if they would put the audio from the commercials in the center channel only....

I have my center speaker inside the tv stand. Sometimes I wonder why it sounds like doo-doo, and realize I didn't open the door.

 

I also run the CC all the time.

[ElmerJFudd]

These streaming services need to set some level standards, too. Logo music is too loud, made for streaming service originals vary in levels and quality widely, and carry over from broadcast tv - commercials are too darn loud.

[RABid]

They are also going up in price again.

[Mighty Motif Max]

I hate NetFlix anyways. Prime Video for me.

[J. Dan]

On the free services like Sony Crackle, the commercials are insanely loud compared to the content.

[o0Ampy0o]

Often the subtlety of sound may go unnoticed, but it can have a profound impact on the atmosphere of a scene and fundamentally change how a viewer responds to it,...

OT OT but related to this is how significant an actor's voice is regarding the perception of their acting ability. It may seem like it would be heavily weighted in the visual aspect to be a screen actor however what is going on with vocal clarity, strength and expression is at work influencing your perception. Some actors hindered by their voice limitation: Kevin Costner, Peter Stauss, Mike Tyson ;-) ...seriously, did anyone see 25th Hour or The Hangover? Tyson was not bad. This is not to say Costner, for instance, has not been hugely successful but he has received criticism for his nasal/whiny voice as well as his inability to pull off a special accent. He finally got the JFK / Jim Garrison accent correct in Thirteen Days as Kenny O'Donnell.

[hazerkeys]

somewhat OT , but we are watching GoT on HBO NOW (or whatever their streaming is called) and the volume is way LOW .. I have to crank the audio much more than other streaming services on the same Roku box

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Netflix: now delivering the opening "buh-bong" at the same decibel level as the space shuttle launch.

 

I take it as a given at this point that with streaming video, I'll need to crank up the volume to hear the dialogue, and be poised to turn it way down as soon as there is music or, god forbid, loud sound effects. Hooray compression algorithm!

[Theo Verelst]

Compared with Bluray, it's probably still pretty sh*tty sound, or you'd use a lot of bandwidth. Getting digital sound right is a subject in itself, there's varying amounts of expertise among film makers and digital show makers.

 

T

 

[Geoff Grace]

They are also going up in price again.

^ ^ ^

This.

 

They make changes. We pay for it (whether we care or not).

 

At least Netflix has tiered plans, so we have some choiceother than unsubscribingif we don't like the price hike. YouTube TV, on the other hand, just raised their prices by over 40%. Like it or lump it.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[drawback]

Some actors hindered by their voice limitation: Kevin Costner, Peter Stauss, Mike Tyson ;-) ...seriously, did anyone see 25th Hour or The Hangover? Tyson was not bad. This is not to say Costner, for instance, has not been hugely successful but he has received criticism for his nasal/whiny voice as well as his inability to pull off a special accent. He finally got the JFK / Jim Garrison accent correct in Thirteen Days as Kenny O'Donnell.

 

We watched The Highwaymen the other night and between Costner & Harrelson there was hardly any understandable dialogue. Not that it would have made a difference.

[harmonizer]

IMO, the problem with understanding dialog on Netflix is not the audio quality, but that someone is making poor choices in mixing the sound. They they expect that the listener wants to loudest musical passages to be heard at home at a high volume, like a college student would have played in a dorm room when I was that age. I have no desire to hear music that loud (unless I am trying to pick a vocal harmony!), so I turn down the volume to prevent getting blasted by the loud musical passages. Then when a softer dialog scene occurs, I have to turn it way up. They could fix this by making better mixing choices, or by applying audio compression to the spoken dialog. If they don't start making better mixing/compression choices, using higher quality audio bitrates will not solve our inability to hear softer dialog. So, keep your volume control nearby.

[ElmerJFudd]

Sometimes me and the Mrs. are convinced its shoddy TV actors with no theatre stage experience. But heck ya they would be exacerbated by poor micing, poor mixing, lousy file compression and low bitrate delivery. I guess theres still a price to pay for the convenience of services like Netflix.