audio description got turned on somehow and i can’t figure out how to turn it off. there’s a narrator describing everything on screen over the dialogue.
tried going through the accessibility settings but the menus are different on every device and i’m not finding the right toggle.
i have a Samsung TV and also watch through a Roku stick. not sure if it’s the TV setting or the streaming app setting causing it.
what’s the actual location of the setting on Samsung TVs and Roku? and is this something that needs to be turned off on every app separately or is there a system-level setting that covers everything?
The streaming app having its own audio track selection being the actual fix is important. I’ve seen people disable audio description in TV accessibility settings and have it persist because Netflix had the AD audio track selected. The app-level audio track selector is where it’s actually controlled for streaming content.
this happening accidentally is more common than people expect. the accessibility settings on some tv remotes are close to navigation buttons and can get toggled by accident. knowing exactly where to look on your specific brand saves a lot of time when it suddenly starts narrating everything.
the LG audio guidance being different from audio description is worth clarifying. audio guidance is the UI navigation voice that reads menu items out loud. audio description is the content narration. both are in accessibility settings but they’re separate toggles and people sometimes disable one thinking they got the other.
audio description is called different things on different devices, which is why it’s hard to find.
Samsung TV: Settings > General > Accessibility > Audio Description. toggle off. on newer Samsung models it may be under Settings > Accessibility > Audio Description or Voice Guide separately.
LG TV: Settings > Accessibility > Audio Description. some models call it “Audio Guidance.”
Sony TV: Settings > Device Preferences > Accessibility > Audio Description.
Roku: the setting exists at two levels. system-level: Settings > Accessibility > Audio Description > off. but streaming apps (Netflix, Prime Video, etc.) also have their own audio description setting that overrides the Roku system setting. for Netflix: while a video is playing, press the down arrow on your remote > Audio and Subtitles > select the audio track without “[Audio Description]” in the name.
the reason it’s confusing: audio description can be enabled in the streaming app’s audio track selection rather than (or in addition to) the TV accessibility setting. if turning off the TV setting doesn’t fix it, check the audio track being selected within the specific app.
for Amazon Prime Video specifically: during playback > subtitles and audio > audio tab > select the standard audio track rather than the Audio Description version.
For classroom TVs or shared family TVs where accessibility settings get changed by different users, knowing how to quickly toggle this is practical knowledge. The app-level audio track check in Netflix and Prime is faster than navigating TV settings menus when you just want to get back to watching something.