Tom Adams Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I am getting so friggin' sick and tired of the H U G E swings in sound levels on DVD's. I don't mind great dynamic range (or else I'd have Bose and not Klipsch), but there are times when the dialog is sooooo soft that I have to bump the volume from like -20 to like -15 just to hear him say, "Your breasts are golden globes of geometric perfection." And then the dialog or music or whatever comes back in and HOLY MOLY.....your ears bleed. Good ged.....can they not bring up the whispering a smigeon??? And if I'm crunching popcorn or chips, my fingers are doing a tap dance on the remote's volume control!! GRRRRRRR......... [:@] I never seem to have this issue with adult movies, so why can't others do it??? I'm telling you guys right now - when they put me in charge, all recording engineers will be required to eat Doritos in the course of doing their job. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I would not recommend watching Walk the Line, then. HUGE audio shifts. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 You've got a good point,but I have found that the prepro/avr is part of the solution or problem.I've heard better or worse handling of dialog based on the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Interesting comment about Walk The Line. I bought it last weekend and did not notice any huge swings. Could this possibly be an equipment issue, or perhaps what SS mode you have your AVR set to? On my system I find just the right mix of quiet and loud with respect to parts of the movie that should be quiet or loud. Now commercials versus TV programs are another story. They have gotten so bad that I just mute every show the second it goes to commercial...crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 I would not recommend watching Walk the Line, then. HUGE audio shifts. Scott That's the one that put me over the edge. [:@] Wife & I kept saying things like, "Huh???? Whadda he say? Back it up so I can hear it again." GRRRRR..... [:@] Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 Interesting comment about Walk The Line. I bought it last weekend and did not notice any huge swings. Could this possibly be an equipment issue, or perhaps what SS mode you have your AVR set to? On my system I find just the right mix of quiet and loud with respect to parts of the movie that should be quiet or loud. Now commercials versus TV programs are another story. They have gotten so bad that I just mute every show the second it goes to commercial...crazy! I guess your equipment must not have the dynamic range mine has. [] [] [] Seriously though, I really don't think it has anything to do with the pre/pro. In fact, I played both DTS and DD versions and the whispering portions were just the same. Now, I can bump the level on the HII center, but then it's out of whack and too dominant with other parts of movies. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st. patrick Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 ......... [:@] I never seem to have this issue with adult movies, so why can't others do it??? Tom Yeah, but I did not know I was supposed to pay attention the the "dialogue" in the adult films . . . . . .. I thought adult films were primarily action films . . . . . have I been missing something???? Damn, now I will have to go back and watch them all over again . . . . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WS65711 Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 My receiver has something called "Midnight Mode" (I think that's what it's called) that works fairly well to tame (by compression) the problem that you're speaking of. I'm dying to get my system set back up again since we moved following Katrina. Everything is still in boxes . . .[:'(][:'(][:'(] Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Sort of makes one wonder about the differences in the DVD engineering and and the actual movie version. I doubt that any one in the movie theatre got that impression... Or is it our home gear? Since all of my DVD's don't have that same problem, it's got to be the engineering... DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Sort of makes one wonder about the differences in the DVD engineering and and the actual movie version. I doubt that any one in the movie theatre got that impression... Or is it our home gear? Since all of my DVD's don't have that same problem, it's got to be the engineering... DM Glad I'm not going deaf, thanks for bringing this subject up. I too have the same issues with movies, thought it was my equipments fault, but let's think about this; As DVD sales and rentals climb, is it possible that the quality of the product is slipping down? The same thing happened with Vinyl LP's, as sales went up, quality went down. The more they sold, the more imperfections, (warped disc, skips on the first play, etc.) they tried to slip through to the consumer. The higher the price, the worse they became. Dvd's that I got when they first started selling are fine, it's just the ones that are selling lately I have a problem with. Never have trouble with concert dvd's, only movies. Just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flannj Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 [ I never seem to have this issue with adult movies, so why can't others do it??? Reminds me of a joke, Guy shows up in a doctor's office complaining that his "unit" is turning orange. The doctor examines him and prescribes some medication that he is to take every day and tells him to come back in a week. The guy returns in a week and says that not only did the medication not work his "johnson" has turned even more orange. The doctor examines him again and sure enough, even more orange. Somewhat perplexed the doctor prescribes a different medication and tells him to come back again in a week. When he returns, same problem, the medication didn't work and his little buddy is even more orange. The doctor doesn't know what to make of this and decides to probe further and ask some lifestyle questions. Doc - "Are you stressed at work?" Patient - "No everything is fine" Doc - "Well, how do you spend your time when you leave work?" Patient - "Nothing special, stop at the grocery store, pick up some Cheeto's. Go to the video store, rent some porn." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Sort of makes one wonder about the differences in the DVD engineering and and the actual movie version. I doubt that any one in the movie theatre got that impression... Or is it our home gear? Since all of my DVD's don't have that same problem, it's got to be the engineering... DM I don't have much of a problem DVD sound engineering with my setup listed below. Once in a while the crowd noise on Concerts is a bit much. The sound in Theaters doesn't compare with watching a movie on DVD in my home.[H] I don't know if it's the THX processing (for movies and concerts) but only every once in a while do I have to adjust the Center channel a few dB's. LFE is a different story--Some things I just want "Thump" overkill. [][6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Tom: I don't know what you are using for your center channel. I have an RC-7 and I do not seem to notice the shifts as much. I rarely need to grab the volume knob to hear the dialog. Perhaps, you simply need to bias the center channel volume up a bit in relation to the rest of your speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted March 9, 2006 Moderators Share Posted March 9, 2006 I think you are right it's the Engineers because it's not on all movies. I hate that,your watching a movie without any loud effects and then 30 min or so into it something happens ,Everybody jumps and they look at me like i did something and blame me. All speakers set with SPL meter with the center bumped up a little and sometimes all sounds can be heard even the smallest back round sounds in the movies can be heard with ease, than they start to whisper and everyone looks around because no one could hear what they said. You like when there is some action and it is louder than a whisper or normal speech, that is normal but sometimes the gap from normal speech to a car crash or gunshot is twice as much or more as real life. Sometimes it's funny though to see people actually lift off the sofa, my wife will not watch any scary movie even if the sound is from the tv only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 Tom: I don't know what you are using for your center channel. I have an RC-7 and I do not seem to notice the shifts as much. I rarely need to grab the volume knob to hear the dialog. Perhaps, you simply need to bias the center channel volume up a bit in relation to the rest of your speakers? I'm not gonna say that I haven't made any errors in setup (never say never), however.....I've done 3 sound level setups (yes - with RS meter) and as anal as I am, I'm quite convinced all my speaker levels, settings, etc. are correct. As for my center channel.....WHAT??? You dare to question the ability of my Heresy II to deliver accurate dialog and center channel information?? Why I oughta...... [] [] [] Seriously though.....I have no problem with hearing dialog or right to left pans or whatever via my HII MOST OF THE TIME. So I know it ain't the speaker and I know it ain't the equipment. This issue with soft sounds happens only once in a while. But it happens more than it should IMHO. Oh - and my hearing is just fine. I just can't believe a recording engineer feels that everybody's living room, den, dedicated HT room, whatever is as dead quiet as the studio he uses to master the audio portion of the DVD. I'm sure that in his enviroment the soft sounds are clear as can be. But I'll say it again, most of us have listening/watching enviroments that have ambient noises that range from the hushed fan noise of a Pany AE900U projector to a plane flying over head. Throw in some Tostitos scoops munchin' and you're really hosed. [] Oh well......I guess if this is all I have to complain about I should be lucky. [8-)] Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 You are not alone I get the same thing time to time with certain DVD's, it's in mix! My center La Scala is hot rodded and I usually have no issues with dialogue but some DVD mixes are just plain pathetic. It is very annoying having to scramble for the remote when your pegged to the back wall due to the sound pressure. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Huh. We watched "walk the line" the other night and we had none of those problems. I have Forte1s and a warmed over Heresy 1 as center. Dialog is clean and clear and we had no trouble with any DVD. Though the mix for half time at the super bowl really was bad. NONE or Little came out of the center, there was a real HOLE in the sound with their mix! As to "adult" content movies, not a big issue in our home, there isn't much of them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 " I am getting so friggin' sick and tired of the H U G E swings in sound levels on DVD's. " Sorry, but I love them. Movies are some of the last current sources that really have dynamic range and aren't afraid to use them. Couple of things to try.... Turn on a 'Midnight' or whatever they call the DD compression mode in your processor. This will reduce the dynamic range of the soundtrack. Depending upon the equipment they may offer various levels of compression. And in a few (Lexicon's) they will even vary the compression depending upon your volume setting in the room. With the volume at full THX Ref. level no compression is applied. The more you turn down the volume the more the compression kicks in. Another feature if your processor has it would be 'Vocal Enhance.' This basically boosts just the vocal component of what is going to the center speaker to boost it in level above the rest of the material fed to the center speaker. It is not the same as just raising the center speakers calibration level a few dB as that effects everything and 'Vocal Enhance' will mostly just boost vocals. This will make the vocals more pronounced without resorting to compressing the overall dynamics. Much harder option.... lower the noise floor of the system/room. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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