We have previously expressed the problems of current TV series and movies on other occasions. dialogues are often difficult to follow and possible reasons for this (such as poor management of multi-channel stereo conversion), but it could also be the fault of the content creators or configuration factors of our equipment.

The most recommended solution by manufacturers is usually let’s get a set extra can decode and process audio signal. sound bar or AV receiver More speakers that we will connect to the TV. And in fact they usually solve the problem in many cases, if not all.

But what happens if we stay in a second holiday home for any reason, such as a malfunction, lack of space, lack of budget, etc.? we cannot use these external sound systems and We are only addicted to television.How can we improve the reproduction of dialogues?

Improve dialogue playback on Smart TV

Modern television and home theater equipment can play with what is known as dynamic range. Increase the volume of softer sounds And the decline of the strongest This way, everything is kept within an acceptable range without missing any small details.

The normal thing is that the digital audio track itself, such as that from Dolby, contains extra information about how to do this compression effectively, allowing the TV to know what to attenuate or boost to what extent, but more and more digital audio processors are available that allow us to adjust such parameters on the fly to offer decibel control that meets our expectations.

Each manufacturer usually calls such functions by a different name; “dynamic compression”, “night listening”, “night mode”etc., but they generally offer more or less the same thing, of course the way they perform their tasks is different. If we have problems with the dialogues we have to activate them.

In addition, most televisions usually have several general configuration options with different preset modes, such as ‘Standard’, ‘Optimize’ or ‘Boost’, ‘Music’, ‘Cinema’, ‘Narrative’, etc. Each one will behave differently, emphasizing certain frequencies and effects, so it’s best to try them all until you find the one that offers the clearest sounds.

It is also worth noting that there are some televisions. Sound modes that increase the clarity of soundsFor example, on LG TVs we have the ‘Clear Sound’ mode, found in the ‘Sound Mode’ panel. Other manufacturers also usually opt for this type of mode, although perhaps with different terminology.

Configuration in streaming services

If you’re watching a movie or TV series on a streaming service and listening to the content through the TV speakers itself, sometimes Switching to stereo mix in audio settings can significantly balance dialogue levels and other scenes.

To find this setting, go to the audio and subtitle options for that streaming service. Select audio track without ‘5.1’that is, selecting a mix designed to be played through stereo speakers.

In my case this was a solution Services like Netflix for some series where the stereo mix provided is better or at least “better understood” by the TV than multichannel.

Another interesting situation is that we watch television on a television. from external DTT decoder or from our operator’s decoderIn these cases there is usually the option of either passing the digital audio track to the TV as is, without decoding it (this is often called “enabling Dolby audio” or something similar in decoration), or making the external device responsible for doing this, which can result in a problematic stereo mix.

Since the combinations here are almost endless, with many brands and models of TVs and external decoders, it is best to try switching between both options to see which one sounds better. In my case, there are notable differences, such as watching some Movistar Plus+ channels, but as we say, it depends on each TV model we have and whether it can handle the Dolby Digital signal well on its own.

Using TV equalizer

If our TV doesn’t have advanced audio functions, it’s likely basic equalizer In most of them we can change the bass, midrange and treble to our liking and in the most advanced ones we will be shown the option to change more specific frequency ranges.

How can we equalize sounds so they can be heard better? Well Increasing the gain at typical frequencies of the human voice and decreasing it at the rest.

In general we can get good results We increase the equalization in the range of 500 Hz to 2 KHz and download the rest of the tapes. How much? This varies from case to case. An improvement of 3-6 dB is already noticeable, but in other cases larger changes will be required.

If we change these frequency bands much more We will lose realism in the overall sound picture, but perhaps we need it at a particular moment when knowing what they’re saying is more important than hearing the music and special effects.

And it’s not a magic solution, because in this range there are all kinds of sounds like music, special effects, etc., but at least we will reduce the power in the low and high bands, so in the end sounds will tend to be heard more clearly.

Cover image | José Antonio Carmona

Xataka in the Smart Home | I can’t hear the dialogues very well in action movies: how can you solve the problem with these functions on your TV, soundbar or home theater?