There is too much dynamic range in the audio of modern movies and TV...

[Carson Dyle]

Dynamic range is a VERY GOOD thing. In both movies and music. Sadly, it's almost non-existent in virtually all music released today.

 

[Jeff7]

Dynamic range is a VERY GOOD thing. In both movies and music. Sadly, it's almost non-existent in virtually all music released today.

Alternate solution then: Given that advanced semiconductor technology has made a few minor inroads and improvements over old vacuum tubes, implement dynamic range compression selection in devices. If you want to hear guns going off in your livingroom, have it that way.

I watch a movie for entertainment, not as a test of the maximum range of my eardrums. (And I hate loud sounds with a passion. It's really kind of fascinating just how visceral my emotional state gets when I'm exposed to loud noise.)

 

[purbeast0]

Alternate solution then: Given that advanced semiconductor technology has made a few minor inroads and improvements over old vacuum tubes, implement dynamic range compression selection in devices. If you want to hear guns going off in your livingroom, have it that way.

I watch a movie for entertainment, not as a test of the maximum range of my eardrums. (And I hate loud sounds with a passion. It's really kind of fascinating just how visceral my emotional state gets when I'm exposed to loud noise.)

i watch movies for pure entertainment too, but good sound can add a whole other dimension to the experience. you don't like the sound when watching a movie in a theater, the way the movie makers wanted it to be heard?

 

[massmedia]

at night the only solution is to either become an obsessive compulsive volume adjuster or use these babies

worth every penny.
they sound absolutely fantastic, have nice bass and you can walk around the house getting coffee, working on projects, go out on the front lawn and still listen to your podcast, music, or Movie when others would be annoyed.

even if only at the desk in front of the computer the lack of a wire is priceless... that annoying sound that the wire makes when it rubs on things and sends the sound into your ears all day long.

also extremely comfortable.

 

[massmedia]

i watch movies for pure entertainment too, but good sound can add a whole other dimension to the experience. you don't like the sound when watching a movie in a theater, the way the movie makers wanted it to be heard?

well what do you do when it's midnight and everyone's asleep and you want to watch an action flic?

 

[destrekor]

Alternate solution then: Given that advanced semiconductor technology has made a few minor inroads and improvements over old vacuum tubes, implement dynamic range compression selection in devices. If you want to hear guns going off in your livingroom, have it that way.

I watch a movie for entertainment, not as a test of the maximum range of my eardrums. (And I hate loud sounds with a passion. It's really kind of fascinating just how visceral my emotional state gets when I'm exposed to loud noise.)

Could be something to investigate, btw. A disdain for loud noises or over-sensitivity to the senses in general can be a symptom of many things, including any variety of ADHD (I hate lumping ADD into ADHD like the DSM says, as dammit, it seems wrong--ADHD should fall under ADD, less stigma against "but you're not hyperactive!"). Not in a general sense, but if such things invoke quantifiable changes in behavior or emotions, that may be something to look into.

 

[Jeff7]

i watch movies for pure entertainment too, but good sound can add a whole other dimension to the experience. you don't like the sound when watching a movie in a theater, the way the movie makers wanted it to be heard?

Remember that part I mentioned about loud noises? Yeah...
Good fucking christ the movie theaters are loud. I've been to a theater once in, oh I'd guess probably the past 5 years, maybe longer. I was visiting my sister and she insisted that I go along with her and her friends there.
Whenever the next time comes for that, I'll be sure to bring earplugs along, at least get ~30dB of sound reduction.

Could be something to investigate, btw. A disdain for loud noises or over-sensitivity to the senses in general can be a symptom of many things, including any variety of ADHD (I hate lumping ADD into ADHD like the DSM says, as dammit, it seems wrong--ADHD should fall under ADD, less stigma against "but you're not hyperactive!"). Not in a general sense, but if such things invoke quantifiable changes in behavior or emotions, that may be something to look into.

Or the upper limits of Aspergers for all I know. There's someone at work, fresh out of high school, who's almost certainly dead-center in that range. He's the sociable sort though. Everything is verbalized.
Let's just say that his mannerisms and type of thinking are far more familiar to me than they likely should be. It really feels like I'm staring back at myself during school, except that experience taught me that speaking around others in my own age group was often not in my best interest. Anything that did need to be said requires extensive filtering to ensure that it's said in a proper or acceptable or "normal" manner.


ADD/ADHD: I don't think that's a thing for me. I will focus on things well, at least when given the quiet opportunity to do so. If I can get really intent on something, I may suddenly snap out of it with a gasp for breath, like the part of my brain that deals with breathing also goes "Oh wow, this thing you're working on is really interesting!"
I generally prefer it that way in fact, to be able to focus on one thing for an extended period of time.

 

[Mixolydian]

you don't like the sound when watching a movie in a theater, the way the movie makers wanted it to be heard?

Hell no. Movie theaters are waaaaaaaay too loud.

Could be something to investigate, btw. A disdain for loud noises or over-sensitivity to the senses in general can be a symptom of many things, including any variety of ADHD (I hate lumping ADD into ADHD like the DSM says, as dammit, it seems wrong--ADHD should fall under ADD, less stigma against "but you're not hyperactive!"). Not in a general sense, but if such things invoke quantifiable changes in behavior or emotions, that may be something to look into.

Interesting. I do seem to be sensitive to volume but never gave it much thought before.

 

[Jeff7]

Hell no. Movie theaters are waaaaaaaay too loud.
...

"The audience is now deaf."

 

[purbeast0]

well what do you do when it's midnight and everyone's asleep and you want to watch an action flic?

well yeah there are always cases like that, i was speaking more in general.

Remember that part I mentioned about loud noises? Yeah...
Good fucking christ the movie theaters are loud. I've been to a theater once in, oh I'd guess probably the past 5 years, maybe longer. I was visiting my sister and she insisted that I go along with her and her friends there.
Whenever the next time comes for that, I'll be sure to bring earplugs along, at least get ~30dB of sound reduction.

ah gotcha. you must just have really sensitive ears. my sister is kind of like that. you would hate my basement heh. i hate when i'm watching an action scene and i can hear things in my peripheral that aren't in the movie. i want to hear nothing but the movie soundtrack all 360 degrees around me and be completely engulfed in it.

 

[alkemyst]

There are usually night-time modes on many A/V receivers that normalize the audio.

Why would anyone not want to hear how a movie would really sound?

Let's replace all gun shots with 'pew pew pew'.

 

[Ken g6]

Hell no. Movie theaters are waaaaaaaay too loud.

I AGREE! There's way too much dynamic range in movies. I bring earplugs to movie theaters. :sneaky:

TV generally seems better, though. Movies on DVD not so much.

 

[alkemyst]

I AGREE! There's way too much dynamic range in movies. I bring earplugs to movie theaters. :sneaky:

TV generally seems better, though. Movies on DVD not so much.

Many theaters over amplify to give a better impression of proper sound...much like so many people have far too much subwoofer output and think shaking the house = real surround sound.

In a proper environment, they do set a reference level. This reference level is usually much higher than one listens to at their own home.

Much like people find properly calibrated screens to dim and dark.

 

[fleshconsumed]

The dynamic range is not the problem, its bad sound mixing/recording that's the problem. But yeah, it's bad. I boosted the center channel through my receiver a little by 3dB and I still feel that it is not enough sometimes. All too often I either can't hear the dialogue or the explosions are way too loud to the point of rattling doors/windows. Another problem is sound mixing/recording guys pumping too much low/mid frequencies through center channel which makes it even more difficult to understand speech. Base can be a problem too, there is a scene in the "Cabin in the Woods" at the end that has obscenely high base track that lasts I want to say about a minute, I had to go over to my subwoofer and turn it down just for that movie because it's been rattling the closet door some 20 feet away. That is ridiculous. Really kills the movie enjoyment.

 

[zinfamous]

I agree, and it's been going on for a long time. I blame the influence of the young (and older) dumb people and their constant orgasm of all things LFE. "It SOUNDS SO REAL!"

no it doesn't, idiot. It just sounds loud. and stupid. and loud.

 

[zinfamous]

well yeah there are always cases like that, i was speaking more in general.



ah gotcha. you must just have really sensitive ears. my sister is kind of like that. you would hate my basement heh. i hate when i'm watching an action scene and i can hear things in my peripheral that aren't in the movie. i want to hear nothing but the movie soundtrack all 360 degrees around me and be completely engulfed in it.

eh...no. It's actually you that have destroyed your hearing with absurdly loud explosion noises over the years, most likely.

(also, it's a natural loss issue with age. :\)

 

[purbeast0]

eh...no. It's actually you that have destroyed your hearing with absurdly loud explosion noises over the years, most likely.

(also, it's a natural loss issue with age. :\)

no i can hear just fine, it's just that i enjoy it loud, whereas you don't enjoy it loud.

 

[purbeast0]

Many theaters over amplify to give a better impression of proper sound...much like so many people have far too much subwoofer output and think shaking the house = real surround sound.

In a proper environment, they do set a reference level. This reference level is usually much higher than one listens to at their own home.

Much like people find properly calibrated screens to dim and dark.

yeah no way i can watch a movie in my theater at reference level - it's simply too loud. i typically watch movies at -10, but can sometimes make it to -5 depending on how the soundtrack was mixed.

but then you have movies where i can't pass -12.5. the latest transformers was one of those, and that movie just had a bad mix imo. there was WWWAAYYYY to much bass in that movie. the very opening sceen was retarded with the bass, i instantly turned it down to like -17.5 until that openings cene was done, then put it to -15 i think for the rest of the movie, maybe going to -12.5.

 

[alkemyst]

Also most people grew up with only TV speakers. Home theaters were only recently for the average joe.

 

[jlee]

The dynamic range is not the problem, its bad sound mixing/recording that's the problem. But yeah, it's bad. I boosted the center channel through my receiver a little by 3dB and I still feel that it is not enough sometimes. All too often I either can't hear the dialogue or the explosions are way too loud to the point of rattling doors/windows. Another problem is sound mixing/recording guys pumping too much low/mid frequencies through center channel which makes it even more difficult to understand speech. Base can be a problem too, there is a scene in the "Cabin in the Woods" at the end that has obscenely high base track that lasts I want to say about a minute, I had to go over to my subwoofer and turn it down just for that movie because it's been rattling the closet door some 20 feet away. That is ridiculous. Really kills the movie enjoyment.

Is your home theater properly calibrated? I've never experienced that problem with mine.

 

[sdifox]

It just seems pointless. If I was watching a movie, then yes. But for watching the news/weather? Why?? Most newer TV's these days have pretty decent speakers. The only thing I'd ever use an A/V receiver for is movies, music, etc.

TVs do not have decent speakers.

 

[Sonikku]

They should let us toggle between 1%er mode and 99%er mode.

 

[jlee]

TVs do not have decent speakers.

lol, this, so much.

 

[destrekor]

The dynamic range is not the problem, its bad sound mixing/recording that's the problem. But yeah, it's bad. I boosted the center channel through my receiver a little by 3dB and I still feel that it is not enough sometimes. All too often I either can't hear the dialogue or the explosions are way too loud to the point of rattling doors/windows. Another problem is sound mixing/recording guys pumping too much low/mid frequencies through center channel which makes it even more difficult to understand speech. Base can be a problem too, there is a scene in the "Cabin in the Woods" at the end that has obscenely high base track that lasts I want to say about a minute, I had to go over to my subwoofer and turn it down just for that movie because it's been rattling the closet door some 20 feet away. That is ridiculous. Really kills the movie enjoyment.

Sounds like you have your subwoofer set too high in the first place.

Just because it goes to 11, doesn't mean it SHOULD be at 11.

My Paradigm I typically set to 4 of 11, iirc. You should be able to have the rest of the speakers quite loud before the house is rattling due to excessive subwoofer usage.

 

[imagoon]

This seems to happen more often with the quarter sized crap speakers that seem to be in any TV in that last 10 years combined with the 8 cent "DSP" which does a horrible job actually portraying a mixed 5.1 / 7.1 / DTS signal. I always use my receiver and don't typically have this issue then again I was bored and balanced mine with a white and pink noise generator.