LOUD quiet LOUD quiet REALLY LOUD
Discussion
My dearest wife likes to watch american crap and s
t films
However i note the sound track of these seem to go all over the fking place in terms of volume as it is quiet during the talky bits and then annoying loud during the screamy blow st up bits.
Now most of these are computer films which she plays via my old apple G5 which runs the telly
Is there anything i can do to even the volume out as in installing software
t filmsHowever i note the sound track of these seem to go all over the f
king place in terms of volume as it is quiet during the talky bits and then annoying loud during the screamy blow st up bits.Now most of these are computer films which she plays via my old apple G5 which runs the telly
Is there anything i can do to even the volume out as in installing software
Christ. You've hit upon one of the bains of my life. When the TV is at sufficient volume to hear the mumbling Yanks with their convoluted accents, that same volume level is far too loud for the inevitable gun fire and explosions, which suddenly appear at levels designed to wake children in the next borough. Nothing to be done but constant up and down with the remote. Bah.
Not sure what your listening on (Amp/all in one suround sound system), but my Amp has this..
http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/dynamic-v...
....which works really well.
http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/dynamic-v...
....which works really well.
What software are you using on the G5? VLC amongst others can do DRC (albeit not very well).
http://lifehacker.com/5920290/how-to-fix-movies-th...
http://lifehacker.com/5920290/how-to-fix-movies-th...
budgie smuggler said:
What software are you using on the G5? VLC amongst others can do DRC (albeit not very well).
http://lifehacker.com/5920290/how-to-fix-movies-th...
Oh excellenthttp://lifehacker.com/5920290/how-to-fix-movies-th...
The wife is away tomorrow meaning i can tune out the loud/quiet problem
And it shows i'm not the only one utterly f
ked off with this stI used to suffer this issue at my old house where I was very conscious of disturbing the neighbours; they weren't shy about knocking on the door asking me to turn it down even at 6pm when I was feeding my then baby son (ie it wasn't particularly loud). 
I think part of the issue was having a (then) small/cheap centre speaker that didn't really match my front left/right speakers, having the surround speakers set very close to the sofa (and having them set too high as many noob owners tend to do).
What happens is that the small centre speaker gets overwhelmed by the bigger front speakers and the surround speakers (which tend not to do that much most of the time) are set too high so the level 'jumps' more than it should. Balancing the system or even slightly boosting the centre and reducing the surround level can help to keep dialogue clear without getting such a big jump on action scenes. Another issue is the centre being jammed in a TV stand (as many are since there is often nowhere else to put them): The stand can cause the centre to sound boxy or boomy which doesn't help dialogue clarity, especially if it's well below the listener's ears and not even pointing towards them.
If there is a user adjustable crossover setting, then try raising it higher. Many amps default to 80Hz which in many cases is still far too low especially for the little speakers included in many all in one set ups. My PMC speakers are supposed to go down to 40Hz, but I've found my system works better setting the (global) crossover to 100Hz and letting the sub handle the below 100Hz stuff.
If your amp has a 'midnight' mode or similar (or perhaps 'Dolby volume') this might help, though be aware that some of these compression modes only work on certain sources like Dolby Digital, so won't have any effect on Stereo advert breaks for example.
I don't seem to suffer this phenomenon these days as my setup is carefully matched/set up and I've collected a cracking set of PMC speakers through trawling classifieds. However, my older AV processor (Arcam AV9) doesn't have any built in EQ or Dolby volume type modes so it shows that you don't have to own the latest amp/processor to solve this issue.
Of course very little of the above applies if listening directly from the TV, but even so turning OFF any of the sound 'improvements' in the TV's menu will help this issue: Our kitchen TV is only used with it's own speakers and it was set to an 'S-Surround' mode which made speech very quite and 'hollow' and it tried (and failed) to simulate surround for explosions and the like drowing out the speech. The solution was to turn the 'S-surround' setting OFF and it's much more consistent (if a little tinny as I'm used to listening to the TV in the living room via the AV set up).
I think part of the issue was having a (then) small/cheap centre speaker that didn't really match my front left/right speakers, having the surround speakers set very close to the sofa (and having them set too high as many noob owners tend to do).What happens is that the small centre speaker gets overwhelmed by the bigger front speakers and the surround speakers (which tend not to do that much most of the time) are set too high so the level 'jumps' more than it should. Balancing the system or even slightly boosting the centre and reducing the surround level can help to keep dialogue clear without getting such a big jump on action scenes. Another issue is the centre being jammed in a TV stand (as many are since there is often nowhere else to put them): The stand can cause the centre to sound boxy or boomy which doesn't help dialogue clarity, especially if it's well below the listener's ears and not even pointing towards them.
If there is a user adjustable crossover setting, then try raising it higher. Many amps default to 80Hz which in many cases is still far too low especially for the little speakers included in many all in one set ups. My PMC speakers are supposed to go down to 40Hz, but I've found my system works better setting the (global) crossover to 100Hz and letting the sub handle the below 100Hz stuff.
If your amp has a 'midnight' mode or similar (or perhaps 'Dolby volume') this might help, though be aware that some of these compression modes only work on certain sources like Dolby Digital, so won't have any effect on Stereo advert breaks for example.
I don't seem to suffer this phenomenon these days as my setup is carefully matched/set up and I've collected a cracking set of PMC speakers through trawling classifieds. However, my older AV processor (Arcam AV9) doesn't have any built in EQ or Dolby volume type modes so it shows that you don't have to own the latest amp/processor to solve this issue.
Of course very little of the above applies if listening directly from the TV, but even so turning OFF any of the sound 'improvements' in the TV's menu will help this issue: Our kitchen TV is only used with it's own speakers and it was set to an 'S-Surround' mode which made speech very quite and 'hollow' and it tried (and failed) to simulate surround for explosions and the like drowing out the speech. The solution was to turn the 'S-surround' setting OFF and it's much more consistent (if a little tinny as I'm used to listening to the TV in the living room via the AV set up).
OldSkoolRS said:
If your amp has a 'midnight' mode or similar (or perhaps 'Dolby volume') this might help, though be aware that some of these compression modes only work on certain sources like Dolby Digital, so won't have any effect on Stereo advert breaks for example.
.
The amp is a 20 year old thing i bought as a student which is less hi-tech then my toaster.
McWigglebum4th said:
OldSkoolRS said:
If your amp has a 'midnight' mode or similar (or perhaps 'Dolby volume') this might help, though be aware that some of these compression modes only work on certain sources like Dolby Digital, so won't have any effect on Stereo advert breaks for example.
.
The amp is a 20 year old thing i bought as a student which is less hi-tech then my toaster.
McWigglebum4th said:
OldSkoolRS said:
If your amp has a 'midnight' mode or similar (or perhaps 'Dolby volume') this might help, though be aware that some of these compression modes only work on certain sources like Dolby Digital, so won't have any effect on Stereo advert breaks for example.
.
The amp is a 20 year old thing i bought as a student which is less hi-tech then my toaster.
OldSkoolRS said:
Like my AV9 which doesn't have any of the midnight modes, etc, hence the other information I mentioned regarding set up, which might help you out perhaps?
2 speakers and one amp plugged into the line out of the apple G5Though if we ever do buy a home cinema set-up i'll bare in mind that there are functions which will remove the annoying enhanced cinema experience.
If i charged the wife £25 and gave her a large bucket of foul tasty fizzy water while taking loudly into a mobile phone it would be just like the real thing
McWigglebum4th said:
2 speakers and one amp plugged into the line out of the apple G5
Though if we ever do buy a home cinema set-up i'll bare in mind that there are functions which will remove the annoying enhanced cinema experience.
If i charged the wife £25 and gave her a large bucket of foul tasty fizzy water while taking loudly into a mobile phone it would be just like the real thing
Could be any number of things if it's a computer based setup: The very reason I gave up with a HTPC and just stuck with a proper player and a PVR which is easier for all to use and a damn sight more consistent. Though if we ever do buy a home cinema set-up i'll bare in mind that there are functions which will remove the annoying enhanced cinema experience.
If i charged the wife £25 and gave her a large bucket of foul tasty fizzy water while taking loudly into a mobile phone it would be just like the real thing
Personally I don't mind the 'enhanced cinema experience' but then I'm fortunate to be able to listen at reference level if I want to (though usually 8-10db down for whole films): I like the impact of an explosion or car crash without having it compressed down. I can't remember the last time I felt the need to grab the remote to turn down an advert or some other 'loud' section, but I have found that as I've upgraded the system it seems easier to listen at higher settings as it isn't harsh sounding like my first set up was at anything above a modest level.
The very reason I have a home cinema is to avoid the mobile phone users and other annoyances.
OldSkoolRS said:
Could be any number of things if it's a computer based setup: The very reason I gave up with a HTPC and just stuck with a proper player and a PVR which is easier for all to use and a damn sight more consistent.
Personally I don't mind the 'enhanced cinema experience' but then I'm fortunate to be able to listen at reference level if I want to (though usually 8-10db down for whole films): I like the impact of an explosion or car crash without having it compressed down. I can't remember the last time I felt the need to grab the remote to turn down an advert or some other 'loud' section, but I have found that as I've upgraded the system it seems easier to listen at higher settings as it isn't harsh sounding like my first set up was at anything above a modest level.
The very reason I have a home cinema is to avoid the mobile phone users and other annoyances.
You have the wrong end of the stickPersonally I don't mind the 'enhanced cinema experience' but then I'm fortunate to be able to listen at reference level if I want to (though usually 8-10db down for whole films): I like the impact of an explosion or car crash without having it compressed down. I can't remember the last time I felt the need to grab the remote to turn down an advert or some other 'loud' section, but I have found that as I've upgraded the system it seems easier to listen at higher settings as it isn't harsh sounding like my first set up was at anything above a modest level.
The very reason I have a home cinema is to avoid the mobile phone users and other annoyances.
Its not that i don't want to hear some compression in the audio
I just don't want to hear the crap she is watching in the next room
Well I can't help with your marital issues , but as no one has suggested a software solution and it's a simple stereo setup, you could try putting something like this in line before your amp:
http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/=Google%20Base/item/...
It might take some research and setting up, but it should limit the peak sound levels such that they aren't such a big step above the speech level. It's what a lot of radio stations do to try to make them sound louder, but of course ultimately just makes everything the same level which I believe is what you're trying to achieve.
Hope that's some help, I think I lost track of the original question somewhere along the line and went off on a tangent since I love the impact of good dynamics on my system.
EDIT: You'd probably use the -10db level and the unbalanced line inputs.
, but as no one has suggested a software solution and it's a simple stereo setup, you could try putting something like this in line before your amp:http://www.djsuperstore.co.uk/=Google%20Base/item/...
It might take some research and setting up, but it should limit the peak sound levels such that they aren't such a big step above the speech level. It's what a lot of radio stations do to try to make them sound louder, but of course ultimately just makes everything the same level which I believe is what you're trying to achieve.
Hope that's some help, I think I lost track of the original question somewhere along the line and went off on a tangent since I love the impact of good dynamics on my system.
EDIT: You'd probably use the -10db level and the unbalanced line inputs.
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