Television Commercial Volume

[RGVFAST]

Not sure if it's something i've never picked up on before or it's a new advertising scheme. Recently when i've been watching TV the adverts will come on and seem to be triple the volume of the show i was previously watching.

Some times it's so loud i have to come back from another room to turn it down it's that offensive, only to have the show come back on and be bearly audible since i turned the volume down for the advert.

Whats the go? deliberate by television stations to make viewers come back to the tv and hopefully see more adverts then they normally would? or just shit programming?

[hako]

Compression or loudness jumps have always been around in advertising, but yes I have noticed it getting worse recently.

Even noticeable when watching the news, whereas it always seemed to be more primetime that it happened.

Bullshit thing is this kind of stuff should be getting regulated, rather then getting worse.

[millzy_88]

Yeah i am noticing it is extremely bad on nine tonight!

[Phyber]

If only they would use compression on the programs themselves we could have an even playing field :/


But it ruins sound quality by making all sounds equal volume. That's my limited understanding anyway.

[BlueSIV]

Hey Ross, My sister used to say that the level of volume etc was not affected/put up for advertisements, more that they use a higher rate of continuous louder noises. I still thought she was full of crap though and they just made the adds louder. (she used to do the advertising for WIN).

[hako]

Hey Ross, My sister used to say that the level of volume etc was not affected/put up for advertisements, more that they use a higher rate of continuous louder noises. I still thought she was full of crap though and they just made the adds louder. (she used to do the advertising for WIN).

Yeah it's called compression as mentioned.

[Gleeso]

Have noticed this, and have also had some old bird telling me about it at work saying she's sent in letters and what not informing the stations of her distress. To be honest it doesnt bother me too much as I hardly watch TV, but I can see what a pain in the ass it would be if youre watching TV at night on a low volume so you dont disturb anyone else in the house and it comes on fuckn loud.

[Fukushima]

It is extremely hard to regulate... I remember reading about this once...

I tend to just use the mute button if I find myself watching commerical tv

edit: found it

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3845-smart-sound-meters-could-end-noisy-tv-ads.html

[Adr3naL1N]

yep this has been happening for years, gives me the fkn shits!

[Lump]

yeah, its fukd.
dont seem to have this issue on radio for some reason - not that ive noticed anyway.

[Nelos e46]

yeah, ive noticed that not just on TV though also evident on 882 6PR.

[Sully]

Gets your attention though doesn't it!
It's the same as the "loundess wars" that have been going on in the music industry for a while. Everyone wants the loudest record and it comes at the cost of sound quality. The difference is that in advertising, as long as you can hear the words then no fucks are given about sound quality.
It's irritating as shit but the problem is that if the first ad in the break is loud then the rest all have to follow suit otherwise they don't get noticed. All it's really doing is promoting the mute button.

[Adr3naL1N]

Gets your attention though doesn't it!
It's the same as the "loundess wars" that have been going on in the music industry for a while. Everyone wants the loudest record and it comes at the cost of sound quality. The difference is that in advertising, as long as you can hear the words then no fucks are given about sound quality.
It's irritating as shit but the problem is that if the first ad in the break is loud then the rest all have to follow suit otherwise they don't get noticed. All it's really doing is promoting the mute button.

actually i think its made it worse, these days i mute the ads when they come on as its much easier then pressing the volume down and back up again, So these days im not even knowing what the ads about coz im not even hearing them.

[s1mon]

Ads? My torrents never have ads.

[Smoked]

ill give you an example on the discovery channel there used to be this big bass sound on the discovery science advertisement, when youre watching the program and you have the sound up, every single time this ad comes on it booms through the whole fucking house. and it shits me having to turn it down every time seeing as though I dont have the best hearing (constant loud music) and i have the normal tv up slightly louder than normal.

[Phyber]

I was going to watch XMen Wolverine movie on TV the other night but gave it a miss for that reason. Too used to seeing things at the cinema or on XviD etc...ads shit me killing the mood of the movie.

And yeah I'd say the reason the ads on radio aren't noticeably louder is due to songs using the same compression to sound louder themselves...I think a lot of music producers do it these days? Remember hearing a group were lobbying to get some red hot chili peppers album re-released without the "wall of sound" effect on it.

Would be interesting to get a classical piece with soft violin or something and loud piano, then run compression over it and compare the two tracks. Should give a good demo of what compression is?

[RGVFAST]

Good Example of the loss of detail


<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UEFyNdB13vg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[V70R]

yep this has been happening for years, gives me the fkn shits!
same.
Those pesky Harvey Norman adverts are the worst

[_S9_]

its pretty simple;

if you're watching a movie in 5.1 Dolby and the ads come on (voice is from center channel only), you will notice your TV/Hifi switch to 2.0 stereo (voice from both front speakers only)

hence it sounds louder. but it actually isn't.

this has become more noticeable in digital TV the past few years the more content is broadcast in 5.1 vs 2.0 etc.


(oh yeah, they prolly add a few db loudness to the ads just to get our attention too)

[Mad_Aussie]

same.
Those pesky Harvey Norman adverts are the worst

I stopped shopping there solely due to those adverts.

[Passage GT]

yeah i've really noticed it lately, we don't have a surround sound system atm as our amp blew up a while ago and we haven't replaced it, atm tv is fine, even if i have to turn it up but for some reason almost all ads come on insane loud and makes the tv speakers distort, it's really annoying at night when people are trying to sleep etc
they shouldn't be allowed to do it.

[cem1790]

The volume ceiling of adverts and TV programs are the same, however TV shows aren't constantly at that volume ceiling. They leave a little headroom for explosions and sound effects etc whereas adverts don't do this (ads are just full blast all the way through). I believe its called dynamic audio or something...

[RGVFAST]

http://www.smh.com.au/world/oh-the-relief-tv-advertisers-told-to-find-volume-control-and-use-it-20121214-2bf8l.html


I hope the Australian gov get onto a similar thing. Sick of watching television because I have t grab the remote for the the volume every time a damn ad comes on.

[s1mon]

Eztv and TPB have alleviated all the issues I once had with TV commercials, I highly recommend them.

[Alt_F4]

Eztv and TPB have alleviated all the issues I once had with TV commercials, I highly recommend them.
LOL. Channel 9's broadcasts of certain shows look like thy're streaming from youtube via dialup!

[evo5aurus]

Eztv and TPB have alleviated all the issues I once had with TV commercials, I highly recommend them.

I highly recommend finding better torrent sources :p

[GTB Liberty]

It's the application of compression, then expansion to lower dynamic range of the audio signal whilst boosting its average signal level. In essence it means the soft sections/frequencies are louder and the average volume can be made louder without breaching broadcast signal parameters.

It certainly happens but is often applied in audio post processing of the advertisement and not directly related to the TV stations turning ads up. When the TV stations master limiter, designed to stop signal breaking broadcast parameters, applies the resulting dynamic range can be squashed into a very Dynamically limited loud signal.

In the end it's the opposite of good audio where the dynamic range is large and sounds can be very soft then very loud and everything is produce accurately. A full concert orchestra is an example of a large dynamic range or a well constructed film score.

[SircatmaN]

I ended my foxtel plan, bought a big hdd and a smart tv that I hooked to my home network and can't remember the last tv advert I saw. I probably shop at places I would refuse to shop at had I repeatedly been forced to watch their shitty ads.

Youtube adverts shit me to no end though. Loads 1 minute HD advert in 1 second yet continuously has to buffer same length HD video you actually want to watch, I swear I have downloaded entire torrents faster than some youtube videos load.

[Nugs]

Use Adblock plus and you get no more youtube adverts. They really shit me when I use someone else's computer without adblock.