top of page
Writer's pictureTactical Capacitor

The Best Way to Watch Dubbed Movies in 2022


This may be a pretty niche interest, but I've been a huge Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3k) fan since I was a kid, and because of that I've found that make-fun commentary format they architected a really enjoyable way to watch movies even as an adult.


Not only do the original MST3k guys still make commentary tracks (you can now find them with their new name 'Rifftrax' at rifftrax.com), but there are some modern comedian groups like JaboodyDubs (google youtube for the 'sticky buddy dub' and you'll probably recognize them) do their own too. It's really easy to find the commentary tracks, but because they're not legally allowed to sync it and distribute the original movies they're dubbing, it's kinda hard to find a reliable and easy way to watch their stuff.

The old solution was to either rip the movie yourself and manually sync up the audio tracks from the commentary track you downloaded from Rifftrax or Youtube or anywhere your favorite dubbers live. The far easier... but legally dubious way... was to try to find torrents of your favorite movies pre-sync'd for you. They actually aren't all that hard to find, there are a LOT more MST3k fans out there than I expected in that torrent seeding world.


The problem is, in the modern day it's even HARDER to watch these movies in all their 4K HDR glory most movies are mastered/remastered in now, making the old fashioned techniques of finding pre-sync'd dubs a suboptimal viewing experience. Not only that, but who has local copies of 4K movies anymore? With how gigantic the filesizes are, and the proliferation of streaming services, it just makes maintaining your own local library of movies a bit of a pain, even if you have a really nice setup like Plex running on a dedicated server and NAS.

So I devised a technique that allows you to enjoy your dubbed movies legally and easily in the modern day. It's dead simple really, no fancy equipment or software needed, just a bluetooth speaker and your phone.


All you do is set up a reasonably loud and high quality bluetooth speaker on your coffee table or somewhere in the same path as your center speaker would be in a 5.1ch setup, and play your downloaded or youtube-based dub on your phone. Then turn on your favorite movie from whatever streaming service you use, and make sure the volume is at a low enough level so the dub is louder than the movie itself, but you can still hear the action and the original dialog in the background.


The creators (from Jaboody to Rifftrax) all have basic audio cues in the beginning of the movie they try to help you sync with, but the good part is that you can be a second or two ahead of or behind the actual movie and your brain still naturally makes up for the lag and all the jokes land/make sense either way.


I've been obsessed with JaboodyDubs' Arnold movies lately and have been binge watching everything from 'Jingle All the Way' to 'Commando' for months now to switch things up from Netflix reruns of The Office.


It's honestly a GREAT way to continue watching MST3K style dubs, in the modern day, with fresh new movies and commentary, instead of having to rely on all the original reruns of B-movies from back in the day. The coolest part is that there are commentary tracks for AAA movies in this format, so you can find your favorite movies (I recommend Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' by both Rifftrax and Jaboody above all other dubs to get you started!) and watch those now too.


Check out my setup below to get an idea of what I'm describing. Notice the RGB speaker on the coffee table, playing Jaboody's commentary for Predator as the 4K version plays in the background. It's a simple setup, but boy is it awesome:





218 views1 comment

Comments

Couldn’t Load Comments
It looks like there was a technical problem. Try reconnecting or refreshing the page.
bottom of page