It seems as if Amazon knows that subtitles aren't just for foreign language titles these days. Amazon Prime Video is rolling out a new feature that will make it easier for users to hear what people are saying in its shows and movies — without having to excessively raise the volume.
This new feature, dubbed Dialogue Boost is rolling out today (April 18) according to Vulture. Annoyingly, we at Tom's Guide couldn't find it on the Roku Ultra, Apple TV 4K or Amazon Fire TV Cube. A rolling release in the hours and days following its announcement, though, is unfortunately somewhat standard.
Dialogue Boost will use AI to adjust the volume of spoken dialogue, with medium and high settings. This is similar to how Overcast (one of the best podcast apps) offers a voice boost feature.
Once you get Dialogue Boost on your device, you'll notice there is one other catch at the moment. Currently, it's only available for select Amazon Originals. Those include the shows The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Harlem (two of the best Amazon Prime Video shows), and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan.
Amazon's also adding it to movies such as Beautiful Boy, Being the Ricardos and The Big Sick.
Analysis: Please, Amazon, help other shows and movies sound better
It doesn't take long to find proof that complaints have been simmering. A December 2021 AVforums thread titled "Low dialogue Amazon Prime" is filled with audiophiles trying to make dialogue sound stronger on Prime Video.
It's a common situation you'll come across online where users are frustratedly trying to fix Prime Video's audio. At HiFiVision.com, user rksingh1 refers to a "classic problem of low dialog volume but high background music/music or other sound."
Prime Video isn't the sole streaming service where the audio mixing can be a bit muddy. Multiple Tom's Guide staffers (myself included) admit to using subtitles for everything they watch. This upgrade, though, could make it so subtitles go back to just being a thing we turn on for foreign language titles.
While Dialogue Boost looks to only be for Amazon Originals at this point, it's the kind of feature that could truly make the Fire TV Sticks, Cube and other Amazon streaming devices stand out. While we rank the Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Cube as two of the best streaming devices, Amazon could truly use an exclusive feature like this across its platform.
