Jump to content
aberdeen-music

dynamics


Guest Stripey

Recommended Posts

Guest Stripey

Do you find that a lot of film and tv audio tracks have excessive dynamic range? Some would say that it's important, but a lot of the time it just pisses me off, especially when I want to watch at lower volumes (i.e at night). Do you think that home hi-fi/tv gear should include simple compressors, in the way that they have simple one button preset EQ's?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always find that the problem with recorded music is getting enough range. If you listen to a CD of a full orchestra or one on the telly and then go to a live concert you'll hear the difference.

Making a simple one button compressor would be so limited and pointless it wouldn't be worth the inevitable expense.

All a compressor is anyway is a sophisticated volume slider.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You do get DVD player and I presume other products as well which put everything out at a constant volume. Hence buildings collapsing and whispering come out as the same volume. My hard-drive MP3 player also has this feature which is great for normalising tracks/listening at night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Stripey
I always find that the problem with recorded music is getting enough range. If you listen to a CD of a full orchestra or one on the telly and then go to a live concert you'll hear the difference.

Making a simple one button compressor would be so limited and pointless it wouldn't be worth the inevitable expense.

All a compressor is anyway is a sophisticated volume slider.

I'm talking about movies and tv programs. It's extremely annoying when voices are quiet so you have to turn it up, then theres an explosion or some other sound effect which is far too loud. I don't see why TV's can't have a button that would skip through 2 or 3 presets to flatten out the peaks, like the way some devices have EQ presets.

DAB radio's give users the choice to toggle compression, so I don't see why this couldnt apply to TV's aswell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Stripey
Bloody stupid idea if you ask me. After all a building falling down is alot louder than a person whispering in real life' date=' so why should they be the same in a film?[/quote']

What if you want to watch it at a lower volume, e.g late at night, and you can barely hear the voices because you have to turn it down so much because of the loud bits....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm talking about movies and tv programs. It's extremely annoying when voices are quiet so you have to turn it up' date=' then theres an explosion or some other sound effect which is far too loud. I don't see why TV's can't have a button that would skip through 2 or 3 presets to flatten out the peaks, like the way some devices have EQ presets.

DAB radio's give users the choice to toggle compression, so I don't see why this couldnt apply to TV's aswell.[/quote']

My DVD player does it using a software compression routine, so I suppose it could be used in TVs too, although the generally poor speakers in a TV would limit its effect somewhat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's a good idea. BBC seem to be the worst offender with TV programmes - a good 6-10db louder than other channels. Strangely though, my DVD player (which I admit is a an unknown brand, probably from the back of a lorry! :D) doesn't compress, in fact I've got to boost the volume a good 15-20 notches higher to hear whispers and low dialogue... then the explosions / music starts and my ears bleed. Or do I have selective deafness? :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm with monk rocker here, I totally love the dynamics of most films, and to be fair; you can't really watch most films on a low volume without losing some of the effect... but when i'm watching films at night i just put on the subtitles to make sure i understand everything that's being said. I think anything like the compressor that stripey mentioned would totally ruin the ambience and vibe of most films.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...