Uneven Sound

[AndyC]

Here's something that has gotten to be a peeve of mine. When exactly did they start editing movies so that the sound effects are really loud and the dialogue really quiet? I watch a movie from the early 90s or older, the sound is usually nice and even. Anything newer, and we're constantly turning the volume up and down.

I can appreciate why they do this. It sounds great in the theatre. It even sounds good at home with the surround sound cranked up. But if you're trying to watch a movie while the baby is sleeping directly above, or if you just want to watch a movie without bothering other people, it's a pain in the ass. You can either strain to hear what's going on, or have sudden bursts of loud noise.

Anybody else annoyed by this? It would seem a worthwhile feature on DVDs to allow the viewer to select a more level sound volume. I can't imagine it would be difficult to do, even if it meant an extra audio track.

[Ash]

My Sony DVD Dream home theater system has a feature called "Night Mode".

With a single button press I can eliminate the excess loud noise like you described when an action sequence kicks in.
It balances the sounds better for watching movies at night.

And it can only be used when the input stream is Dolby Digital format.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Andy,

I hate that as well.  My wife and I usually watch movies after our daughter has gone to bed, being as we watch a lot of horror films and such; things not suitable for our daughter.  If we use the TV's regular speakers then you cannot hear anything that is being said but the action sequences are insanely loud.

We also have a Pioneer surround sound system which works a bit better.  There is an "auto" button on the remote which lets the system take care of the sound and balance it out.  This cannot be done when the DVD uses dolby digital since it overrides everything.

Some films are so bad that we actually keep the volume low and turn on the subtitles to find out exactly what is being said.

[Andrew]

Andy, do you have a center channel speaker?  On most systems, voices will come from the center channel.  I have been using a home theater system for years and have gotten used to it.  I wonder if this might be related to the issue you are hearing.

[AndyC]

Yeah, I usually have the centre channel turned up a bit, to try and compensate. Unfortunately, if I adjust things enough to fix the problem, it doesn't sound right.

I had wondered if more expensive receivers, like Ash's, would be able to level the volume. Maybe I'm just paying the price for saving a few bucks when I put in the 5.1.