Music too loud on TV

[Blondiega1]

Yes! Yes! Yes!
And can we PLEASE make commercials turn it down??
The show volume is fine then it goes to commercial and blows it up!

[cavie]

I solved this problem 3 years ago with "TrueDio Ears". Wireless earphones. The earphone is on level and TV at another. Great for drama shows. Never miss a thing.

[AaronColo]

This is actually hard to deal with. Most commercials arn't really louder they just sound louder. The Federal Communications Commission limits only the size of the biggest sound wave, the "peak level" of the sound. Under FCC rules, the peak of a commercial can be no higher than the programming it accompanies. The problem is that the commercial producers use copious amounts of compression to make all the audio in the commercial as close to the peak level as possible. This same approach is being used in music production as well which is why most modern music sounds "louder" when compared to music recorded 20 years ago. Excessive compression negatively effects sound quality.

[rvethereyet]

Originally Posted by leadman

I am hearing challenged so this may be part of the problem but I have noticed recently that what used to be "background music" is now loud enough to drown out the voices on tv.
My wife seems to agree with me. Seems like music in general whether in stores or on the tv has increased in volume. Just irritating and no idea on how to let the people who could change this no of this situation.

I have the same problem. Good thing you can rewind as many times as necissay til you understand what they said.

[hawkeye1995]

Originally Posted by leadman

I am hearing challenged so this may be part of the problem but I have noticed recently that what used to be "background music" is now loud enough to drown out the voices on tv.
My wife seems to agree with me. Seems like music in general whether in stores or on the tv has increased in volume. Just irritating and no idea on how to let the people who could change this no of this situation.

There is a sound bar made by ZVOX, Look up on internet. I have seen it used on Home Shopping Network. It looked like it did a good job of increasing voice control, and lowering background noise. It might be what your looking for. I think there are a few other brands out there also. I would read the reviews, and take a look on You Tube Videos. Good Luck.

[OregonJim]

Originally Posted by AaronColo

This is actually hard to deal with. Most commercials arn't really louder they just sound louder. The Federal Communications Commission limits only the size of the biggest sound wave, the "peak level" of the sound. Under FCC rules, the peak of a commercial can be no higher than the programming it accompanies. The problem is that the commercial producers use copious amounts of compression to make all the audio in the commercial as close to the peak level as possible. This same approach is being used in music production as well which is why most modern music sounds "louder" when compared to music recorded 20 years ago. Excessive compression negatively effects sound quality.

Yes, audio compression (not to be confused with digital compression) is the root cause of the problem, and has been for a few decades.

What's new (relatively speaking) is the fact that nearly ALL programming these days have a constantly droning soundtrack behind them - not just commercials. Compression causes the background music to have the same sonic energy as the narrative, making it difficult to separate the two. I have no idea why the geniuses in post production decided to do this, but I suspect it has something to do with a poorly done psychological study on the "effects of music". Maybe they think if we get used to music all the time, we won't notice the transition when a commercial comes on trying to sell something. Or maybe they're trying to make TV shows (and movies) sound more like video games. Whatever the reason, clearly they got it wrong.

[leadman]

We do have a Visio sound bar also but this does not solve the problem either. I watch mostly You Tube or Netflix now because of the problem.

[SarahW]

I'm surprised to see this thread; I thought it was just me. I was griping about this very thing a few days ago; it seems especially bad on shows on the Investigation Discovery (ID) channel. The music drowns out the dialogue and it's very annoying when I'm trying to hear whodunnit.

[hawkeye1995]

Originally Posted by leadman

We do have a Visio sound bar also but this does not solve the problem either. I watch mostly You Tube or Netflix now because of the problem.

This is a special sound bar, designed to tune out loud background noise and music. Due a google search and read up on what is can do. I seen the demo on Home Shopping Network. Seemed to work very well. I believe their is a money back offer if not satisfied. Just an option for you.


Most regular sound bar amplify the background noise and music. The ZVOX sound bar is designed to do just the opposite if so desired. It's worth a look. Here are some reviews of the ZVOX 2000 Voice Control and Hearing Aid Sound Bar from best buy customers. Hope this helps. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/zvox-av...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[bolhuijo]

Late to the show here, but you should look into a soundbar with 3-channel capability. e.g. will be labeled "3.1" and not "2.0" Here's why: The program audio mix tends to put dialog into the center channel and other sound into the left & right channels. When you listen on a normal 2-channel TV, all the sound is mixed together for the 2 speakers with the results that you describe. If you have a 3-channel soundbar you can choose to decrease the level of the outside channels and increase the level of the center channel.

It has made a huge difference for us. (you also need to make sure the soundbar is getting the digital audio input - use the digital audio (optical or coax) output from your TV)

[Ramets]

What?

[sam60]

Not TV but I have a great friend and our wives met in kindergarten. When we camp together, He pulls out his wireless rock shaped speakers and cranks it. If I can hear it next to his site it's too loud. Yes, I told him.

[deandec]

Originally Posted by rvethereyet

I have the same problem. Good thing you can rewind as many times as necissay til you understand what they said.

And with the capability to rewind the show comes the ability to skip the lousy commercials......