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General discussion

Cable Television incoming volume control?

Apr 29, 2010 9:49PM PDT

I am getting old and hard of hearing. I have to really turn up the volume while watching my favorite shows to be able to hear the voices but, when commercials or music starts, they will double the incoming volume and blast away everyones ears, including mine. I also love to listen to the morning news while I work online (emails, etc) in another room and when these commercials come on, they become so loud that I can't even hear myself think!
Are there any products on the market that will let me control and stabilize my tv incoming volume to stop the stress of constantly adjusting my listening volume? I am despirate to find and buy some electronic device that will help me solve this serious issue! Help!

Discussion is locked

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Dolby does
May 1, 2010 11:24PM PDT

but i think there solution is a chip that manufactures can install in there tv sets. I don't know if there is a company just putting the chip in a box for an add on.

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No controls. Just a box.
May 1, 2010 11:30PM PDT
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TV Noise
Jul 26, 2010 2:38PM PDT

I don't have any hearing issues and I find that the commercials are still blaring as well. Annoying!!

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tv loudness
Nov 13, 2010 10:49PM PST

It's all part of the "loudness wars" (google for more info! ........ Which affect tv sound, amongst other things.

I'm not sure WHICH COUNTRY the original post comes from! However, if in USA, there are "tv loudness control" gadgets you can fairly easily get (if outside USA, you'll find them on Amazon USA!).

Other possibilities are, your tv might have a "volume limiter" built in, or, if on "home cinema" sound, set to "mono" and switch off the surround channel (which removes SOME of the unwanted distracting noise, that tends to make speech hard to hear!).

Inside USA there's gadgets like this (& others similar):

http://www.amazon.com/Terk-VR1-Automatic-TV-Controller/dp/B00008VWOJ

The actual problem is audio dynamic range, often very heavily compressed on adverts to mak them sound "punchy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression#Broadcasting

In the USA, this problem has recently been legislated on (federally):

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/super-loud-tv-commercials-one-step-closer-to-extinction.ars