It was while watching TV last night that I finally came to my breaking point. I've had enough. I'm pissed off and I don't care who knows it.
What am I talking about?
It's not politics. It's not the economy. It's not reality TV or the other really crappy shows airing these days.
It's volume.
You know what I mean.
You're watching a show you like, but at times the dialog has very low volume. You can barely hear a word anyone is saying. You turn up the volume on the TV so you can hear the dialog. Then a scene changes or a commercial break comes up and suddenly IT'S THIS LOUD!!
You scramble to turn the volume down to a dull roar. The action scene or commercial break ends and now you can't hear the dialog...again. It's a never ending cycle.
For me it's worse in the late evening when BeezleBub or Deb are trying to get to sleep. I have to stay right on top of the remote to chop back the volume every time it comes booming out of the speakers. It becomes tiresome.
I have a couple of questions for the various TV and cable networks: Why the hell do you jerks do this? Do you really think it makes your shows that much more watchable or your sponsor's commercials more likely to sell their product?
Let me clue you in - It doesn't. All it does is piss us off.
With the state of the art what it is when it comes to sound engineering you'd think the TV and movie folks would be able to keep the difference between the softest and loudest sounds a bit narrower than they do now (that's what's called dynamic range). Going from barely discernible whispers to the ear-splitting peals of thunder or booms and rumbles of high explosives and weapons fire in a matter of seconds is not winning you any fans in this household. The wide range of the background music doesn't help all that much either. While the music itself helps amplify the scenes on the screen, it too gets too damn loud at times, spoiling our enjoyment of what we're watching.
Get a clue. While the home theater systems those of us watching your programs are capable of a wide range of volume, it isn't necessary to exercise that wide dynamic range all the time.
What am I talking about?
It's not politics. It's not the economy. It's not reality TV or the other really crappy shows airing these days.
It's volume.
You know what I mean.
You're watching a show you like, but at times the dialog has very low volume. You can barely hear a word anyone is saying. You turn up the volume on the TV so you can hear the dialog. Then a scene changes or a commercial break comes up and suddenly IT'S THIS LOUD!!
You scramble to turn the volume down to a dull roar. The action scene or commercial break ends and now you can't hear the dialog...again. It's a never ending cycle.
For me it's worse in the late evening when BeezleBub or Deb are trying to get to sleep. I have to stay right on top of the remote to chop back the volume every time it comes booming out of the speakers. It becomes tiresome.
I have a couple of questions for the various TV and cable networks: Why the hell do you jerks do this? Do you really think it makes your shows that much more watchable or your sponsor's commercials more likely to sell their product?
Let me clue you in - It doesn't. All it does is piss us off.
With the state of the art what it is when it comes to sound engineering you'd think the TV and movie folks would be able to keep the difference between the softest and loudest sounds a bit narrower than they do now (that's what's called dynamic range). Going from barely discernible whispers to the ear-splitting peals of thunder or booms and rumbles of high explosives and weapons fire in a matter of seconds is not winning you any fans in this household. The wide range of the background music doesn't help all that much either. While the music itself helps amplify the scenes on the screen, it too gets too damn loud at times, spoiling our enjoyment of what we're watching.
Get a clue. While the home theater systems those of us watching your programs are capable of a wide range of volume, it isn't necessary to exercise that wide dynamic range all the time.
Part of the problem is they are broadcasting in 5.1 digital dolby or some such- if you have a full digital connection the system kind of assumes you are sitting in the acoustic center of the room. Most people who don't have a designated home theater room (a room where all they do is watch movies and DVD's) don't do this.
I use the synthetic surround sound system on my Sony home theater- it just delivers stereo through both the front and back speakers while still using the subwoofer to fill the room. The problem is still there but it's much reduced in severity. Also, I note it's usually the cable-only channels (TCM, AMC, FX, SciFi, etc) that are the worst offenders.