Here’s a complaint I’ve actually heard from a few people. Sylvia wrote:
“I have trouble with the sound on some TV programs not related to any hearing problem. Just because sound effects are not as they should be on numerous programs/movies. I find some show audible, others barely. This is so disconcerting.” Sylvia wondered if some type of speakers might help the situation.
Having worked a couple of decades in television, I found this intriguing.
First, if only some shows sound off to you, it’s probably not an issue of bad speakers on your television set. If you only observe the problem when watching programs on one channel, there could actually be an issue with that channel or with how it is broadcast on your cable or satellite provider. Sometimes there are issues with the auto-leveling software that keeps sound from getting too loud on a channel. If there’s a very loud sound, the program will push the audio level down, sometimes too far down and you won’t be able to hear softer sounds like dialogue clearly for a minute or two.
Some television show are mixed with very loud sound effects or music that can make it difficult to hear the dialogue. Part of the issue is that many are edited in order to sound great in an environment with surround sound. When all that audio is compressed together on less sensitive speakers, it can sound muffled. The BBC drew thousands of complaints last year over a program where viewers said they just couldn’t hear the darn dialogue. I found messages in forums all over the Internet where people complained about muffled sound on particular programs across many cable and satellite providers.
I wanted to make sure I was on the right track, so I called on a friend who actually works with broadcast audio for a living to give me some advice. He told me that many TV sets have audio controls that will override effects on TV. Many sets have auto-levelers designed to keep peak audio from going too high. (that just means it stops things from getting too loud so the sound won’t be distorted.)
If your TV has audio settings like Concert Hall or Movies it sets a deep dynamic range for the volumes. If you happen to have the audio set for something like “sports,” dramatic shows could sound awful. Check the manual for your television set to see if there are specific settings.
It’s possible that purchasing a home theater system or a sound bar for your television can help with this. You’ll be able to hear a fuller dynamic range of sound. But that does mean adding another piece of technology to your life that you’ll need to become familiar with.
~ Cynthia
And yet after all the latest volume modulation, the commercials are still louder than the regular programming, and its been like that since the screen made up less than 50% of the TV console. What’s up with that?
This is one of my biggest peeves. Everyone needs to write to the FCC. At the end of 2012, I think it was, a law went into effect that commercials could no be louder than regular programming. I am here to tell you, THAT HASN”T WORKED. All the networks have ignored it. If the FCC receives thousands of complaints they may finally do something.
The advertisers surely got the message about the new law to lower the volume,
so have now circumvented that by adding drums and high pitch screaming to call you attention to their ads. Watch and see how many new ads come on now that have drums and screaming. Hate it.
The way shows are manufactured by the studios today create much of the problem. The dialogue gets muted into the background noise because the sound studio is creating the sound track for a more theatrical listening environment. We finally invested in a ZVOX sound bar choosing to dismantle our home theater system. The ZVOX has a feature that allows you to enhance the dialogue while partially suppressing some of the background noise allowing you to better distinguish the dialogue.
Another option I use to modulate sound is a “Night” setting which is on my receiver. It modulates the louder range to keep it more consistent, meant for not waking those sleeping, and works great during some of those loud movies anytime.
Many dramatic shows, the music is so loud you can’t hear the voices (and we don’t read lips). So to turn down the music would be great.
Sports such as Soccer where the crowd noise drowns out the commentators.
Singing competitions like American Idol……band sounds great, but are they singing?
Most singing these days is more “yelling and screeching”.
I hate when the studio’s increase the background music to the point you can’t hear the narrator. What I did was hired a young guy who joined 2 separate speaker wires to the center speaker outlet on my stereo and ran them to 2 speakers, one on each side of the sofa. Now, when I watch a documentary, I turn the tv sound off and the stereo on. The center channel was meant mostly for speech. Sometimes I leave the tv sound on, but turned down. Works just like someone is speaking beside me. Perfect!
That sounds like it could solve my problem of the background drowning out the dialog.
Found Sony Wireless headphones help a lot. Hook up to RCA jacks sound out of tv or cable box. This leaves speakers on for others watching. Cost under $100.
I gave up, turned down the sound to a reasonable level and turned closed captioning on.
I find the most problem I have is outdoor street scenes where they seem to jack up the background noise and you can’t hear the dialog.
I have a BOSE wave radio with a audio in jack. I use this on my computer for awesome sound. The TV sound solution is to use the TV audio out jack, to a boom box, karaoke box with a mic or audio in jack. Anything radio like will work with the in jack. Buying a quality sound bar with a internal amplifier would be better. To boost the sound, you need the external amplifier which is already in radio like devices.
Seriously people, any easy fix to this (albeit not cheap, but really easy) is to purchase some high end 24 bit Hi-Fi speakers. I made the jump to Hi-Fi late last year and I couldnt be happier. For the first few weeks all i did all day was just listen to music, it was like hearing all my favorite tracks for the first time.
NCIS is one of my favorite programs, the background music is so loud that you cannot hear the dialog. It usually happens just when the plot thickens and the person speaks in a barely audible voice. I have turned the volume up to max and still couldn’t hear the dialog. I have to use the set of TV ears and then sometimes I can sort of make it out. Other times, I just give up. I truly wish the producer (Mark Harmon) could receive this message.
I’ve also noticed this problem intermitently. Since I have the TV on while working on the computer, I turn on the SAP sound track. But some shows do not include a SAP track so you end up with silence. Switching back to the normal sound track fixes the problem.
After being frustrated with constantly adjusting volume levels up and down, and with no acceptable outcome, I decided to find a solution. I discovered ZVOX, base that actually has a voice enhancement feature that downplays background noise and enhances dialogue. I disconnected my entire home theater system and just use the ZVOX and have never been happier. I purchased the 600 series, but there are a variety of models to choose from. Check them out if you’ve finally hit the breaking point.
I have the same high frequency loss on one of my TV’s. It’s a Sony with a Sony sound bar and some drama programs are not able to be heard clearly. There is adjustments like: News, sports, etc., but these are not enough. Especially British accents and PBS. I also have a Bose system set up with another TV. In order to hear I sometimes need hearing-aids to pick up soft speaking.
Of course if there was something to cancel out talking heads on CNN or FOX, that would be worth a lot. Who thinks 4-5 people all talking at same time is a good idea. I turn them off when that happens.
Hey Cynthia, Great comments and responses to the original thread, now all we need is a ‘Smart TV’ app. like ‘Night setting which is on my receiver…’, do you suppose Amazon has one?
I have a high frequency hearing loss and this creates (or worsens) the problem of not being able to hear the dialog. I have tried may things, finally settling for a Bose Solo speaker. This works pretty well, but I turn on the Close Caption to catch a lot of the dialog. Since this eems to be a problem with a lot of others, maybe the producers of these programs and movies will get the message – your show looses a lot when people can’t hear the dialog!
Loud background music is a definite problem. I do use the Close Caption but, some channels have begun to include the words to the song on the screen along with the dialogue. It is pretty hard to keep that straight especially if you aren’t familiar with the words to the song. The close captioning is gone before you figure out which was the song and which was the dialoge.
Sadly, I suffer from this affliction as well. It seems to be getting worse. Almost any sporting event shown on TV thinks the crowd noise is what we want to hear at home, rather than the analysis or play-by-play. I have seen the ZVOX device mentioned a couple of times and am going to check it out. I hope it will solve the issue we’re experiencing.
Most the dramatic shows we watch have entirely too much music that drowns out the dialog.
I have a fairly new Sony TV; I too “suffer” from the low to high and high to low audio almost every time I am watching television. It seems that just when the best part of the “who dunnit” is explained, the audio turns itself to low and I cannot hear it. The commercials which are so numerous, are the only parts of the program have the best audio! Something has to be done; perhaps to complain to the FCC.
I have new-ish Sharp TV hooked up to a McIntish MX 130 AV receiver that sends surround to 4 Amps. Dolby on or off, surround amps on or off, there is a muddleing of some dialogue such at it is hard to understand. The worst and most reproducible is LucyLiu on Elementary. The speakers are hi end stereophile level.
This is notable on stand alone TVs and on brand new Samsung series 8.
I am told may be compression at network level.
Any fix?