so i'm finding it really annoying how the shows on HD channels are so quiet i have to turn it way up to hear, but then the commercials are blaring so loud i'm more comfortable muting them.

can anyone explain its like that? why can't they just get everything at the same volume? seems kinda simple to me....

8/9/2009 10:36:56 PM

commercials = people that write the checks that allow the shows to play. i hate it, but the ads rule tv.

8/9/2009 10:39:10 PM

i get that, but how is it supposed to help if they are so obnoxiously loud that people mute them and ignore them anyway?

8/9/2009 10:49:16 PM

In general, the only loud commercials are the shitty locally made ones. Any national commercials are normal sounding... take it up with your shitty local provider.

8/9/2009 10:52:41 PM

its actually all of them here

and i would take it up with them, but charter is run by a gang of primates... and not the smart ones....

the company can burn as far as i'm concerned then maybe this sort of things would be fixed. i mean seriously, a huge explosion is perfectly normal, but then the quizno's announcer is making the windows rattle...

8/9/2009 11:05:54 PM

this isn't new to HD tv. it has been this way for a long time.

8/9/2009 11:14:38 PM

might not be a new thing, but i just recently started noticing it. perhaps because i am watching more
tv in general since classes are over.

but then again, i don't care how long it has been like that because that information does not assist
anyone in making the problem go away. i was hoping that someone might have some insightful
information on why this only occurs on HD channels and if the cable companies are even attempting to
do anything about it.

8/11/2009 1:38:56 AM

legislation might require them to be quieter in the future:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124475706604107803.html

8/11/2009 8:14:43 AM

I have DirecTV at home and TWC at the lake.

I don't notice this near as much on DirecTV as i do on TWC. When i'm at the lake my finger is always on the volume button when the show goes to commercial break. its very annoying.

8/11/2009 8:17:35 AM

Quote :

"i was hoping that someone might have some insightful information on why this only occurs on HD channels and if the cable companies are even attempting to do anything about it."

1) It doesn't. This has been going on for years on SD channels.
2) No.

8/11/2009 8:23:55 AM

I've noticed it being much more extreme on HD channels.. although yes it has always happened to some extent.

8/11/2009 8:28:08 AM

^
agreed. on normal channels the volume is about equal if only slightly louder. On nearly all of my HD channels, the commercial volume seems like a good 30% jump over any tv show, movie, sports etc. Doesn't matter whether its local, national, or whatever.

8/11/2009 8:33:34 AM

my guess is that the HD content broadcast in Dolby digital 5.1 and the commercials do not.

because it is also the same case when you switch from an HD channel to an SD channel...the volume is all fucked up.

8/11/2009 9:05:33 AM

^ yeah i've noticed that, too. i turn my TV up to around 35 for HD channels when it stays around 20 for SD channels. perhaps it is just that the programs are quieter on HD...? interesting

Quote :

"I've noticed it being much more extreme on HD channels"

maybe we've just gotten used to the difference on SD channels. then again, i can remember turning down commercials when all i had was SD, too. it just wasn't as often or as extreme.



^6 very interesting about the legislation. when i read the California representative's name in my head, i couldn't resist saying "bless you" haha

8/11/2009 10:38:25 AM

^my reasoning is 5.1 dolby digital vs 2.1 which is why its quieter.

8/11/2009 10:56:13 AM

I haven't noticed any difference... but it at least does happen on any type of signal.

ad volumes are not currently regulated, though as someone mentioned earlier, some congressmen/women are trying to change that.

8/11/2009 11:53:11 AM