Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for February 27, 2022

Frank… Fastest thumb in the west!

just sayin’, but there must be a button on the remote control for enablin’ the closed captions (assumin’ Frank and Nancy can read them from that far of a distance)

Not to worry, Frank and Nancy.

The commericals will always be LOUD and CLEAR. ;-)

This is a real problem with contemporary movies. The voices are recorded are a natural, even subdued level, while the FX was so loud they drown out what people are saying.

I only ever watch home video editions of any tv show or movie.

Wide dynamic range and realism. Gunshots and explosions are not low volume like human speech, so deal with it.Hey, you wanted the “Home theater experience”. You got it. All that’s missing is sticky floors and overpriced popcorn.

This is why you need a Tivo

Regret to say this, but get Shannon. Kids know the tech stuff.

Just get a soundbar with volume leveling.

I dislike channels that play music while the characters are talking.

That is my thought on this ridiculous situation.

TV is supposed to be relaxing, not taxing!

This is one of my pet peeves. That’s why I like getting DVD’s from the library or ordering my favorite shows from Amazon dot com without commercials and with subtitles so I don’t have to keep the volume loud.

I wonder what movie it is. Don’t sound really good.

♪ Pump up the volume, pump up the volume… ♪

This is nothing new, we had this problem back in the ’60’s when I was a kid, B&W telly with no remote……..

I have to admit, I HATE that all the sound effects and music are so loud while the dialog is never loud enough.

It’s not Hollywood’s fault, Frank.

The blame lies with those damned TV networks!!

I hate movies that do that.

My LG has a volume setting that normalizes no matter the content. I am glad it does!

TV Ears saved me.

This is why we always watch movies we haven’t seen with subtitles on. If we’ve seen em the dialog isn’t that critical.

I always mute the commercials.

Back in the Age of Broadcast TV, there was a signal that let the local stations know a commercial break was coming up. It was possible to use this signal as a trigger to mute the TV.

Two words: audio compresser

I read an article years ago that Hollywood is well aware of the volume difference between the show and the commercials but they denied it and aren’t ever going to fix it because it’s from commercials that they get their $$$. (copied from web): Smart Sound, introduced by Magnavox in 1992 on its television sets, is designed to reduce sudden extreme changes in volume, namely the sound of TV commercials relative to the sound of the TV shows they follow. Magnavox refers to Smart Sound as “automatic volume control” to describe the feature’s ability to monitor the sound level of TV shows and limit how much louder the subsequent commercials will play.

I thought there was supposed to be an FCC rule that regulated the volume level of ads? Not that the ad agencies couldn’t find a way around it.

You might need a new remote. Much cheaper than a lawsuit.

hey, that’s what my my sister does with the remote when they watch stuff on the TV.

The only way to watch it is to turn the sound off and listen to music. You can figure out the dialog yourself

“Have to do that with commercials – Volume down 3-6 points then back up when the program comes back on. I thought the FCC made boosting the volume on commercial illegal.

I have found this to be especially true with Netflix. Dialogue has to be cranked up and then any music in the show is blaring loud.

I’ve bowed to the inevitable. Turn it down and turn on closed-caption.

Sunday foible BJ (hope you’re okay dude, seen fewer of my favorite troll commentd and I try to keep up with our correspondents -:); my son just helped his parents cut the cord and we’re getting used to using a streaming based system to get our TV, which really keys us into the full experience possible with contemporary media, but it takes some getting used to, so I can definitely relate. Now if I could just get my damn sound bar I bought to work on the new system.

This is why I record everything and skip through the commercials. Also the Mute button gets a workout! ;-))

Make it a class action suit, and I’m with you…

Ugh. So true!

Here’s a fun commercial that isn’t too loud. Warning: it is a really weird political ad.I do not know or care about the candidate, it’s just entertaining but weird.https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+walker+for+colorado&cvid=e178c4388f5a4bf485e748eef592596e&aqs=edge..69i57j69i59j69i64.13772j0j1&pglt=43&PC=NMTS&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dyoutube%2bwalker%2bfor%2bcolorado%26cvid%3de178c4388f5a4bf485e748eef592596e%26aqs%3dedge..69i57j69i59j69i64.13772j0j1%26pglt%3d43%26FORM%3dANNTA1%26PC%3dNMTS&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=B26832F6107C7535F7D2B26832F6107C7535F7D2&FORM=WRVORC

I don’t watch TV, so this doesn’t affect me.

Closed captioning…wonderful invention

I have this problem with movies too. Quiet talking followed by BLARING SOUND FX then more quiet talking followed by BOOMING ORCHESTRAL SCORE.

Are they turning down the commercials or loud parts of the actual show? I just hit the mute button for all commercials and turn the volume back on the same way. I don’t recall watching any shows that I have to turn down during the show.

Everyone can relate to this. TV program volume is low but commercials are LOUD.

For the content I hope……

I think a TV station got sued for this once. The person suing claimed that due to the overly high volume for commercials they suffered hearing loss. I know the FCC has laws against it.

And this, folks, is just one more reason why you never, EVER watch network television “in the original airing.” Record it or stream it but however you do it, have a means of skipping the commercials. I haven’t watched one since getting my first VCR in 1987. However, the downside is this still won’t prevent you from getting “remote control thumb” because you’ll be thumbing to fast forward instead of to adjust volume.

This is exactly right. It’s bad enough when the commercials blast you, but so many movies have dialogue that is hard to hear and blasts you with sound effects.

I can’t read all the dialog is that true for all?

And my wife thinks I’m going deaf when she’s in the other room.

IIRC, in the 1970s, people were complaining that commercials on TV were too loud. TV stations denied they were turning up the volume. But, Congress passed a law prohibiting stations from increasing the volume during a commercial. It seemed to solve the problem at first. But, then some realized they could record the commercials with a higher volume in the first place.

Of course, you can always read a book…

Tip: if your tv sound has a “news” setting use that. Voices are emphasized. It is not hugely better, but somewhat better. Really hard ones to hear often have subtext availability. The problems with that are that the wording is approximate, and it sometimes covers important parts of the screen.

two words: closed captions.

Pump up the volume Frank.

Some actors almost mumble so you can barely hear them and the theme music does tend to blare. I use Google Home to cast shows to my TV. It actually turns the sound to half during the commercials for this reason. I love it!

Just turn the volume off and the captions on.

…wait, they still have commercials? I haven’t seen a commercial in years…

He could save a lot of trouble by just mashing the mute button during commercials.

This reminds me when I was in the Navy. Onboard ship, we were naturally working around the clock although the regular business day was in the expected daylight hours. Since it was a 24 hour operation, the ship’s TV station would air content at all hours. During the night, they would slowly crank down the volume, causing the viewers to increase volume. Of course, most people in the berthing compartment were sleeping, so the viewers kept the volume on the low side. Then, around 0600, some joker would crank the station’s volume to full — blasting everyone out of their bunks. Once is funny, when done regularly it should be a death penalty offense….

This is why I always have the volume down and subtitles turned on.

My husband is getting deaf and usually jacks the volume up to 75. When I’m watching TV by myself I generally have it at 30 to 40. Some channels are louder than others.

can’t blame you there. they even do it on dvd’s

I got a sound bar for my TV for this exact reason, modern flat TVs have CRAP speakers. I used to think it was show runners hiring incompetent sound mixers who made voices too quiet and soundtracks/effects too loud, but with the soundbar everything is clear and balanced (though commercials STILL blare at you, some are SO loud I made it a point not to use their products out of spite)

British documentaries where the music drowns out the narrative.

I absolutely hate that..

Your frustration sticks out like a sore thumb.

That’s what closed-captioning is for.

It’s not much better in movie houses.

What I hate is when they play music and speak at the same time. Have to turn on CC to know what is being said

All of these complaints are part of the reason I didn’t watch any TV for at least 30 years. I had exceptionally good hearing, too, so the sudden loudness unexpectedly off and on would be very painful for me. I also felt most TV was geared to tweens.

I’ll join the lawsuit!

This is not about the noise level of commercials, which are annoying enough. This is about the more recent trend of really loud music or sound effects embedded into the movie that overrides the dialogue. I’ve noticed this myself.

“Thumb Fun We’re Having!”

“No High Volume A-Loud”

“A Remote Possibility”

“Sound Inequality”

Lot’s of truth to that.

lol I feel seen. I feel like actors are mumbling more, then the incidental music blasts out of the speakers.

Watch the movie with closed captions and no sound.

ha, Red Notice. We just leave the closed caption on if there’s a volume difference.

Tomorrow. Tiffany in the shower Part 2.

Excessive dynamic range can be an issue. There are “compander” devices that can process audio to compress / expand audio level to maintain a more steady audio level. Some entertainment devices have a setting to enable this function to some degree.

So true, and especially during the last generation or so of film-making. The sound editing is pernicious, with hyped-up music blasting much of the time (especially for “action” sequences), while spoken dialogue is barely if at all intelligible at not much above a whisper. I sympathize fully with Nancy and Frank!

Sue the bastards!

tomorrow : Puddles meets his new owner.

I’ve noticed that some British productions seem to have tiny little sound effects come through very clearly, and ordinary chit-chat, and then when somebody says something important, it’s like they’re mumbling or whispering or something that makes it unintelligible.

My ears are gradually going, so I always have closed-captions turned on. Unfortunately, my eyes are also gradually going, so I have to sit fairly close to the the tv.

Movies are way too loud. Except for the dialog.

This is so true and needed to be said. Now do a comic on how the parents have to leave the sofa and get close to the screen to view the phone texts and written notes on a show. Then quickly they have to go back and sit down. Up and down. Or my wife and I take turns moving closer and reading it out loud.