TV commercials - 2X loud

[John]

Is there anything out there that will kill those ads that are about twice as loud on TV?

The cable stations on DirectTV are the worst offenders.

OK, this is a stupid topic, but the commercials are driving me nuts.

[jackal]

that is very annoying

I know magnavox had a TV for a while that would automatically adjust them down for you
we had the televsion and loved it. I wanted to say we bought in late 90's

[Demi]

Yeah I hate those too. And in a lot of cases it's for those stupid cheap gimmick products. You think they'd be able to do something about it, last I read they claimed that they weren't any louder and the viewer was just imagining it.

[jackal]

The Billy Mays guy for Oxy Clean and a hundred other products
can raise the dead.

That Sham Wow guy needs to be slapped around as well.

[Cliff]

I've noticed it too ... but for me it's all commercials. I thought it was my cable provider doing it and not the actual commercials themselves because it seems to happen with all of them here.

[John]

I remember the TVs marketed with some way to control the volume level, in fact I think the TV I purchased for my mother has that - I remember setting it up when we delivered it. However her TV now has the same noise increase as mine so they must have figured a way to get around that feature.

I can handle a little increase but now it has reached a point where the volume nearly doubles (probably just a 25% increase really, just seems worse).

Years ago they said the increase was done because people often leave the room during commercials... so? Those people aren't interested, but that can't be allowed, ram those ads down their throats!

If the free network channels want to do it, fine. But we pay for the cable stations, still accept get the ads, and also pay to get our ears blown out with annoying guys shouting (on top of the higher volume)... I don't want to pay for that.

[VikingMachine]

I've honestly never noticed it before.

What i have noticed is that there is an extreme volume difference between a HD channel and a non HD channel. I will be watching a program in high def and turn to a "normal" station and it about blows my speakers off. For some reason the volume is much lower on a HD channel for me.

[MWNANCe]

I want to kill those guys too..but not as much as the guy who makes it so you can't skip the previews on DVDs!!!!!!

[S197]

That Sham Wow guy needs to be slapped around as well.

I haven't noticed the loud commercials too much anymore but I do notice that when I play DVD's, a lot of the times the music or background special effects noises are way louder than when someone speaks. Maybe its my DVD player but its really annoying.

[PurpleMustReign]

The Billy Mays guy for Oxy Clean and a hundred other products
can raise the dead.

Billy Mays must have the cleanest house in the world.

Seriously, I hate when the loud commercials come on. Years ago, they used to have local commercials (car dealers, liquor stores, etc.) that would just BLARE out of the speakers. It always scared me and pissed me off.

[Hunter Morrow]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17229281/
The full explanation of it...
Technically, commercials aren't allowed to be any louder than t.v. programs.
There is a max frequency that they can broadcast at.
But the commercial is broadcasting at that max.
A normal program is functioning as a normal program, its at dialogue level and such.
But the commercial is at bomb/car crash/screaming level.

[Krulik]

I know exactly what you're talking about.

And it scares the living #### out of me.

[wang_chi7]

I haven't noticed the loud commercials too much anymore but I do notice that when I play DVD's, a lot of the times the music or background special effects noises are way louder than when someone speaks. Maybe its my DVD player but its really annoying.

Thats odd. Do you have surround sound or just use the TV's volume?

If you have a receiver, the first thing I'd check is to see if there is a nighttime mode/loudness mode/or other kind of sound compression. What those do is make all sounds closer to the same level so it quiets louder things like an explosion or dialogue and amplifies a whisper or a door closing (so all sound is heard and nothing will wake others in the house if you are watching late at night.) That may sound like it would be the opposite effect of what you are getting but it makes everything the same level which makes it hard to pick up specific sounds. Otherwise make sure your center speaker is connected; if the wire came loose you will lose a lot of dialogue volume. Or check if you have a sound effect mode on (such as Sports, Disco, Rock Concert) that are available in most receivers that changes the sound; those will seriously mess with the audio enhancing some things and downplaying others. Just simply use Dolby Digital, DTS, or Pro Logic as those are the true mixes of the movie.

Also check the advanced settings of the DVD player making sure it doesn't have any of these similar effects turned on.

If its just volume on your TV and it only happens with DVDs it could be your player. What kind of DVD player do you have?

[S197]

Just TV volume, no surround sound. My DVD player is one of those cheap $40 units (I refuse to pay 400 bucks for a blu-ray). Those are all good suggestions, I'll try and fiddle with the setting and see if it helps.

Hopefully those blu-ray players will come down in price around Christmas and I won't have to worry about it anymore.