Please help me to find the audio flaw in this simple (very) setup in my living room.

[xboxist]

I have a 36" Wega tv.
Some $100 Magnavox DVD player (hooked up to the TV with Monster brand component cables).
Using the TV's factory speakers.

When I'm watching a dvd, the balance in the audio between spoken words and background noise/music is always (no exceptions) extremely out of whack. The result is that I am CONSTANTLY adjusting the tv's volume level. Someone will say something, and I can't even hear it. So then I turn it up. A second later, some music will bust in and completely destroy me. When there's music AND spoken dialogue (in the typical movie is often), I usually just have to turn on subtitles to know what they're saying.

- This never happens on cable, or when I play a video game.
- This always happens on every dvd I play.

So, I think this leaves me with the possible culprits:

- The component connector cables
- The actual DVD player
- The audio port on the tv that I'm plugging the component cable into

Can anyone speculate as to what problem *probably* is? I'm posting because I don't have extra tv's, or cables or dvd players to test with. Thanks much.

 

[Thegonagle]

Turn off any enhanced sound options, such as simulated surround, in the TV's audio menu.

 

[xboxist]

Good idea. Forgot to mention that I already checked such settings.

 

[nakedfrog]

If you have a Dynamic Range Compression option, try messing with that.

 

[richardycc]

change your dvd sound output to just stereo/2channels instead of surround sound, since your TV can only do stereo anyway.

 

[Lazy8s]

I had this problem so I called my DVD player manufacturer they said to check faulty cables and make sure everything (reciever etc.) was at factory defaults. They also said that this is in part by design for the DVD companies. When movies are in the theatre they blast the music to show off the sound system and the talk is quieter to give your ears a break and they don't change it b4 it goes to DVD so it might just be that and possibly combined with your having sensative ears or something. :-/

 

[Amused]

This is done by design by the audio engineers and movie directors. They think it adds impact to the movie. And sometimes it does. Sometimes, it's just annoying.

The way to overcome this is to compress the signal. Many recievers have compression or "night mode" settings. I had a cable box that had it as well.

In other words, there is no flaw in your system. That is how the sound is meant to be.

 

[43st]

It sounds like your DVD player is sending a multi-channel Dolby signal to a stereo pair. Look for a phantom mode on your DVD setup or a stereo mode. You need to make it stop sending the decoded Dolby to the speakers.

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: Amused
This is done by design by the audio engineers and movie directors. They think it adds impact to the movie. And sometimes it does. Sometimes, it's just annoying.

The way to overcome this is to compress the signal. Many recievers have compression or "night mode" settings. I had a cable box that had it as well.

In other words, there is no flaw in your system. That is how the sound is meant to be.

I agree.

 

[Viper GTS]

Definitely make sure your DVD player is putting out a 2.0 signal, if you have it set to output 5.1 & you only connect R & L you're going to get some very strange audio.

Other than that, look into dynamic range compression on anything that touches the audio signal.

It doesn't sound like a hardware problem at all, it's just a configuration problem.

Viper GTS

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Amused
This is done by design by the audio engineers and movie directors. They think it adds impact to the movie. And sometimes it does. Sometimes, it's just annoying.

The way to overcome this is to compress the signal. Many recievers have compression or "night mode" settings. I had a cable box that had it as well.

In other words, there is no flaw in your system. That is how the sound is meant to be.

I was thinking of that too. DVD movies, as a rule, are mixed differently from TV shows.

In fact, I use "night mode" all the time on my receiver. It may not be great for home-theater purists, but I need to respect my neighbors in my apartment building. Most of them sleep at night, but I often don't.

You might have have a dynamic range compression setting on your DVD player that you could try. I'm not familiar with your TV, but it might also have a similar setting. If it turns out that your TV and DVD player both have such a setting, try one, then the other, and see which gives the best results. I wouldn't use both settings at the same time though, because it might muck up the sound too much.

 

[Kelemvor]

Get a tuner.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Definitely make sure your DVD player is putting out a 2.0 signal, if you have it set to output 5.1 & you only connect R & L you're going to get some very strange audio.

Other than that, look into dynamic range compression on anything that touches the audio signal.

It doesn't sound like a hardware problem at all, it's just a configuration problem.

Viper GTS

Definitely true too.

 

[Squisher]

They also sell devices that you can add to your system that'll compress the dynamic range. I have no idea how well they work.

 

[xboxist]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll double check my tv/dvd audio settings and report back later.