Prime Video wants streaming viewers to turn off subtitles and turn up dialogue.
A new accessibility feature lets users increase the volume of speech relative to background music and effects, making it easier to hear what characters in your favorite TV show or movie are actually saying.
Dialogue Boost analyzes original audio, identifying points where discussion may be hard to hear above a dramatic soundtrack or explosive sounds, then isolates and enhances them. The artificial intelligence-based approach, according to Amazon, delivers a "targeted enhancement" to specific portions of discourse, rather than amplifying everything.
So next time you find yourself struggling to hear Jack Ryan over a nearby helicopter or asking "What did Midge Maisel just say?", tap the audio and subtitles drop-down menu to choose medium or high boost.
The function—built with customers who are hard of hearing in mind—is available across all devices that support Prime Video for select Amazon Original TV shows (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Harlem) and movies (The Big Sick, Beautiful Boy, Being the Ricardos). Dialogue Boost will launch for more titles throughout the year.
"At Prime Video, we are committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and enjoyable streaming experience for all our customers," Raf Soltanovich, VP of technology at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said in a statement. "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."
Earlier this year, Amazon began using the open-source Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) protocol to stream sound from branded smart TVs directly to cochlear implants.