Quiet Speech But Loud Background Noise - Just Me?
Discussion
Anybody else suffer with the above on their telly? Doesn't seem to matter how loud I set the volume on some programmes the speech part of the sound is really low quality/volume/indistinct but any background noise is much louder. No real pattern between programme, channel or even platform (sky, firestick or Netflix through PS). Wouldn't be so bad if the bloody adverts weren't set so loud that they make you jump out of your skin when they come on when the volume is set really high.
Now I appreciate I only have a pretty basic set up (lower end LG telly with no extra speakers) but it's fairly new and pretty frustrating, for example we watched Jungle Book at a volume level of 86 (out of 100) and the speech still wasn't great but now watching Open All Hours on volume 34 and it's clear as a bell all round.
Would a sound bar type thing or extra speakers be helpful or is it just one of those things?
thanks
Now I appreciate I only have a pretty basic set up (lower end LG telly with no extra speakers) but it's fairly new and pretty frustrating, for example we watched Jungle Book at a volume level of 86 (out of 100) and the speech still wasn't great but now watching Open All Hours on volume 34 and it's clear as a bell all round.
Would a sound bar type thing or extra speakers be helpful or is it just one of those things?
thanks
Not just you: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9868442...
Seems to get worse as one gets older. I added a sound bar to my LG TV and it's improved things a lot.
Seems to get worse as one gets older. I added a sound bar to my LG TV and it's improved things a lot.
Tony Angelino said:
Couldn't find anywhere to check what Dolby type it is using though.
That's referring to the source - Sky box, DVD player etc. I've no idea what happens with Netflix or Firestick etc.I've seen some comments about the new version of Jungle Book having odd sound - but from memory it was that it was all at the same level, whispering etc didn't work.
Edited by Sheepshanks on Monday 2nd January 12:07
Have you noticed that other people's TVs or other TVs in the house sound as they should (ie, you can hear speech as you should)
There could *possibly* be an issue with a speaker being wired up incorrectly which could cause phase cancellation issues - that is, some sounds can cancel each other out, or reduce their amplitude.
Can you move the TV temporarily to a different part of the room, because sound could also be coming out of the TV, bouncing off a nearby surface, and impacting on the following sound that's coming from the speakers milliseconds later.
If you move the TV and speech becomes clearer then that would be the cause.
There could *possibly* be an issue with a speaker being wired up incorrectly which could cause phase cancellation issues - that is, some sounds can cancel each other out, or reduce their amplitude.
Can you move the TV temporarily to a different part of the room, because sound could also be coming out of the TV, bouncing off a nearby surface, and impacting on the following sound that's coming from the speakers milliseconds later.
If you move the TV and speech becomes clearer then that would be the cause.
We were having a similar issue although we run a Marantz AV receiver with speakers dotted around the room. It got to the point we were having to turn it up so loud in order to hear the speech above the background noise and any ad break was almost blowing the speakers because of different levels.
While I'm no sound engineer I had a quick google and think it might be the way all of the sound is "packaged" together for all the different channels (5.1, not bbc/itv) and how the tv unencodes the sound. Our problem was worse when watching over firestick or netflix compared to the sky HD box so wasn't sure if the streaming services have to reduce the amount of data they send which reduces the difference between voices and the background noise.
I finally broke out the instruction manual for our av receiver and was able to adjust the "dialogue level" independently which has made viewing much better. I know its not much help for your TV but could there be a similar setting under audio?
While I'm no sound engineer I had a quick google and think it might be the way all of the sound is "packaged" together for all the different channels (5.1, not bbc/itv) and how the tv unencodes the sound. Our problem was worse when watching over firestick or netflix compared to the sky HD box so wasn't sure if the streaming services have to reduce the amount of data they send which reduces the difference between voices and the background noise.
I finally broke out the instruction manual for our av receiver and was able to adjust the "dialogue level" independently which has made viewing much better. I know its not much help for your TV but could there be a similar setting under audio?
FlossyThePig said:
I posed a similar question a few months ago as I am "hearing impaired". It seems to be a common problem, probably due to sound engineers setting up with multiple speakers without considering lesser mortals.
Ditto (had the bones removed from one ear :irked) if I put my very expensive 5:1 setup in stereo mode and ditch the centre speaker I can hear voices far better.Doesn't seem so bad on TV content as per the OP...
Gonna fiddle with my TV settings now as I'm not getting the titanium replacements for a while...
A soundbar will help, it makes everything clearer so speech is better seperated from the rest of the noise, it doesn't get lost so easily. The best solution is good seperate speakers (as others have said you could even then turn up the centre channel which carries speech).
Soundbars I have heard still tend to have a condensed quality to the sound. Also look for a night-listening mode or a dynamic range setting, this will even out the extremes in volume.
Soundbars I have heard still tend to have a condensed quality to the sound. Also look for a night-listening mode or a dynamic range setting, this will even out the extremes in volume.
Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate it.
Since changing the sound as suggested I've not had the issue, only film I've watched has been the great escape on sky and that was fine, but it's not an issue all of the time so need to leave it a while longer before either being happy it's sorted or trying one of the other suggestions.
I've got wires ready to be connected up if needed so not too much work needed if that's what needs to happen.
Since changing the sound as suggested I've not had the issue, only film I've watched has been the great escape on sky and that was fine, but it's not an issue all of the time so need to leave it a while longer before either being happy it's sorted or trying one of the other suggestions.
I've got wires ready to be connected up if needed so not too much work needed if that's what needs to happen.
It's quite perverse that music producers compress the hell out of music to reduce the dynamic range, and yet we seem to have the polar opposite with movies, where high dynamic range is over exploited - hence the massive difference in volume between the quietest sounds and the loudest sounds (in a movie).
Changing the 'DRC' settings on an amp can often help here.
Changing the 'DRC' settings on an amp can often help here.
TonyRPH said:
It's quite perverse that music producers compress the hell out of music to reduce the dynamic range, and yet we seem to have the polar opposite with movies, where high dynamic range is over exploited - hence the massive difference in volume between the quietest sounds and the loudest sounds (in a movie).
Changing the 'DRC' settings on an amp can often help here.
I think it's films that are correct though, it means people with really good kit can take advantage of the mix. Software can compress the dynamic range down, but you can't get that range back if it wasn't there. A lot of people complained about Intersteear, but I thought it had the best sound I've ever heard, it would be a shame if mixes like that had to go away. Changing the 'DRC' settings on an amp can often help here.
I understood that dialog would be a seperate object in Atmos, giving users the ability to turn it up or down, but I don't think it was implemented.
Edited by varsas on Thursday 9th March 10:56
WinstonWolf said:
Interesting, I watch a lot of films and struggle with dialogue. I've just watched One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest and even the quiet passages were easy to hear, it must be something in the way they mix more modern films 
But surely that movie (just) pre-dates Dolby surround?Wasn't the soundtrack in plain old mono?
If it was, then there's no surprise that it was easy to hear, as the dynamic range was probably quite limited.
If it was a remaster, it's still conceivable that even in Dolby Digital, the dynamic range could be somewhat limited compared to current films.
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