Is Your Netflix Too Quiet? Here Are 4 Ways To Fix It

If you've found yourself turning on the captions more often than usual while watching Netflix, you're not alone. At times, it seems that no matter how high you turn up your volume, what you're watching either never gets loud enough or, even worse, switches between near-whisper silent chatter and ear-splitting loud music. 

Streming services have changed the manner in which they mix audio in recent years, with these services gradually moving away from broadcast standard mixing and adopting techniques closer to that of cinematic sound mixing, according to Production Experts. Netflix is among them. While hearing more subtle dialogue and sounds isn't hard in a movie theater equipped to enhance such audio, the speakers of most TVs lack such capabilities, meaning a lot of those quieter sounds will get lost while louder ones get more abrasive. 

As annoying as this can be, it's not an impossible issue to combat. However, how you go about tackling the issue depends on the kind of device where you're watching Netflix. So if you feel like you're hard of hearing while watching Netflix lately, keep reading to learn how to get your hearing back on your specific device.

There are plenty of ways to enhance your Apple TV 4 or Apple TV 4K to get the best out your streaming experience. Oftentimes when watching Netflix on these devices, you may notice audio inconsistencies where background noise sounds good but the voices come out too quietly. If that sounds like you, then you'll want to take a close look at your audio settings.

Here's what to do:

1. Open up the Apple TV settings menu and chose Video and Audio. 
2. Scroll until you find Audio and chose Audio Format. 
3. Choose Change Format.
4. Choose New Format and change it to Dolby Digital 5.1.
5. Give it a test run on Netflix. 

If this doesn't do the trick, follow these steps once again but this time select Stereo instead of Dolby Digital 5.1. Usually this is all that is required, as many systems default to believing that your TV has more advanced speakers than it actually does. Of course, if the issue persists, it's best to get in touch with Netflix Customer Service and see if there's anything that you may have missed.

If you're having issues hearing Netflix properly on your Samsung Smart TV, there are a few potential solutions you can try out to solve the problem. The first one of these is to play around with your speaker settings and see how Netflix responds to that. 

1. On your remote, click on the Menu button. 
2. Choose Sound.
3. Choose Additional Settings. If this doesn't show up, select Speaker Settings instead.
4. Change Auto Volume to Normal.
5. Test out Netflix again.

As with Apple TV, making Netflix aware of your actual speaker set up is usually enough to get the job done. However, it's still acting up, you may be experiencing issues with your TV's hardware connection. Ensure you have a properly functioning HDMI cable and be sure that the device is connected directly into your TV using it. You can also try reversing the ends of the HDMI cable, connecting it to a different HDMI port, or getting a new HDMI cable all together. 

Those with little knowledge in gaming may not think of a game console as the place to catch up on their favorite shows, but it is. Since partnering with Netflix in 2009, PlayStation has been a leading device for streaming, adding to its versatility as an entertainment platform. Of course, the downside is that it leaves you open to the frustration that comes with low Netflix audio. Tackling this problem is relatively straightforward, but varies depending on the specifics of your device.

1. Select Settings on your PlayStation home screen. 
2. Make your way to Sound Settings.
3. Choose Audio Output Settings.
4. Find whatever cable type that connects your PlayStation and TV and select X.
5. For those with an Audio Input Connector/SCART/AV MULTI, save your settings by selecting X and give Netflix a test run.
6. For users with an HDMI connection, select Manual and continue. 
7. Be sure that Linear PCM 2. ch 44.1 kHz and Linear PCM 2. Ch 48 kHz are the only options selected.
8. Dolby Digital and Digital Plus should be unchecked. 
9. Select the right arrow and press OK. 
10. Save the settings by selecting X. 
11. Give Netflix another try.

This is another method for informing Netflix of your correct sound system. In this instance, you're enabling stereo sound. Once again, if it doesn't work, you'll want to reach out to Netflix's Help Center to learn of further options. 

Of course, your TV isn't the only place where you can watch Netflix. If you're on the fence about getting an Amazon Fire Tablet with worries that you won't be able to see the next season of "Stranger Things," don't fear. Netflix is readily supported on the platform, even if Amazon prefers to advertise its own streaming service when showing off the tablet. But even here you may run into the age-old dilemma of Netflix's audio acting up. Thankfully, the process to solving this is relatively straightforward, essentially asking you to simply reinstall the app.

1. Find your Settings on your tablet's home screen. 
2. From there, open up Storage.
3. Locate the Install Supported Apps on Your SD Card option and turn it off. 
4. Exit from here and go to the Appstore. 
5. Select the magnifying glass from the upper right hand corner. 
6. Search for Netflix and select the app once it comes up in your search results. 
7. Install or Download the app. 
8. Once it's done downloading, select Open and give Netflix another try.

Uninstalling and reinstalling may seem like a cliche, but it happens for a reason. A good majority of the time, giving your system a quick and easy reboot such as this is all you'll need to do to solve the problem.

Altering Netflix's audio with any other device will differ in some ways depending on how you access settings. But, as with many of the other examples we've gone through, your main goal is to get Netflix to recognize that your speaker system is not equipped to handle cinematic-style audio mixes. 

In most cases, you'll have the choice between 5.1 surround sound and Stereo sound when looking at your device's audio options. Netflix will often have 5.1 surround sound as the default given this is the highest quality setting that many devices can handle. However, for this setting to work effectively, you'll need five speakers and additional equipment such as a subwoofer. While some devices have this kind of technology built-in, others don't or will "downmix" the audio through stereo speakers, resulting in lesser quality audio. 

The simplest way to combat this is to enter your audio settings and change the settings to Stereo. If this works, then you'll know for sure that your device does not work with surround sound. To ensure this or get further assistance, you can reach out to the manufacturer to learn what kind of sound system works best with your device, as well as to alter any settings that default to surround sound options.