Sound Levels in Films

[edd_jedi]

Does it drive anybody else mad that DVD/Blu-Rays assume everybody has a home cinema and does not have to consider their neighbours? Last night I watched "Interstellar" and although I really enjoyed the film, I spent the entire time adjusting the volume of my TV between 8 and 25! One second you would have whispering so quiet you can't hear it, and then BANG an explosion so loud the house shakes! I've found this is usually the case with modern films but never to this degree before, I mean how can a +/- level of 17 be acceptable?

Obviously in a cinema there are no sound restrictions so they can have it set permanently loud, but at home it's just bloody annoying. They should at least provide films with an alternate 'TV' sound track for people who want to be able to watch the film at a reasonable volume and still be able to hear what people are saying icard

 

[demolition]

This is what dynamic range control (which is basically continous automatic volume adjustment) is meant for. There are codes in the audio stream on DD and DTS which can be used to control the gain to reduce the dynamic range.
Many surround-processors offers a night-mode which reduces the dynamic range significantly as well as reducing the bass so the dialog is clearer without disturbing the neighbors. If you only use the TV as decoder, look in its audio settings if it has a similar feature. Many TV's have an option to choose between music and speech mode.

 

[edd_jedi]

Ah thanks, yes I don't have a dedicated sound system, just a small sub connected to the TV's optical out. I will have a look in the TV settings.

 

[sir_beaker]

I must admit, I've never really considered the neighbours when playing back a movie...

I guess I should wonder round and knock on their door to see if I am disturbing them

 

[johnim]

I agree. My neibours must be deaf tho I have a sony 7.2 av system and like to hear it. The masses moans but nevermind

 

[demolition]

I'd love to have your distance to the neighbors - mine's all about 3 meters away up, down, left and right.. The only way you could disturb yours is if you went to knock on their door.

I've never had complaints about noise, despite I do watch movies at a fair volume with some proper speakers. I also never hear my neighbors, but I have no idea if the building is just well isolated, or if they are all just sitting quietly in their chairs the whole time since I never asked them. I think the first, since I can sometimes hear the neighbors talking through the ventilation in the bathroom, but there is nothing to be heard outside the bathroom.

If it is very late, I normally use headphones though. My receiver has Dolby Headphone which creates full surround sound in headphones and it works pretty well. Can be recommended if you don't have decent speakers or simply don't want to disturb anyone when watching a movie.

 

[roy_bates]

i have a real problem with this as i suffer from tinnitus in one ear...

my wife always says "that damn set is on too load ,next door will hate you"

and i have to turn it down to appease debbie,the thing is i cant here the speech properly but the effects are fine?

 

[ratfink]

same here. just a normal telly, constantly adjusting so I can here speech but that makes sounds too loud.

also - anyone else notice films are quiet but ADVERTS ARE DAMN LOUD HEY BUY FROZEN PEAS CARS UNDERWEAR SCARLETT JOHANSEN - then you turn it down, film comes back on and you can't hear it again.

 

[demolition]

Most movies are made to be played in a cinema and to be realistic, explosions etc. are meant to be really loud, and surely much louder than speech. If you then turn down the volume so the explosions does not disturb the neighbors, then obviously you will not be able to hear anyone talking. This is similar to people complaining about their mobile phone screens being dim when they are outside having to fight against the brightness of the sun (which is pretty powerful from what I read).

Obviously an explosion in a movie is not a loud as being next to a real one, but it seems a little 'flat' if it could be misinterpreted as someone knocking on your door..

also - anyone else notice films are quiet but ADVERTS ARE DAMN LOUD HEY BUY FROZEN PEAS CARS UNDERWEAR SCARLETT JOHANSEN - then you turn it down, film comes back on and you can't hear it again.

Yeah, the people making those ads are not playing by the rules, but they don't care as long as people buy their crap.

 

[edd_jedi]

I'm sure some people might prefer explosions in films to shake the foundations of their house, but personally I prefer a steady volume where everything can be heard in comfort. The same for music - I'm not one of those people that thinks they're cool because they have music on in their car so loud they can't hear the road, part of appreciating any music/sound is for it to be at a tolerable level. I mean can anybody honestly say they've been to a concert and the sound was better than the album on headphones? Of course not. Louder does not equal better, unless you're 12 years old

 

[demolition]

Which is why there is a dynamic range control function built into the audio format, so people can change the dynamics if they don't have a proper setup for it.

There is a big difference between the audio being dynamic and it being loud. Good audio quality is very dynamic, like it is in real life. This means it can have loud peaks without generally being loud. Those people in cars with loud music doesn't generally care much about quality. They want quantity>quality.

Most modern music is not very dynamic to make it sound better at low volumes and in noisy environments. In those suboptimal conditions, it is fine with low dynamics, but if you have a proper setup, you also want the full dynamics or it will be very tiring to listen to. For this reason, I often prefer live recordings over studio albums since they are usually less compressed. Being at a live concert is usually not a nice sound experience though due to the high background noise, long distances to the speakers, and if indoors, bad acoustics. One exception could be Roger Waters, which supposedly can make a fantastic sound quality live. I say supposedly, since I've never been to any of his concerts, but know several who has.

 

[ElectroBlaster]

I feel your pain on this! I hate some of whats been done on films regarding audio/sound!

All I want to do is take the sound, mix it down to good old 2channel stereo and have everything at the same level! Drives me mad when you can hardly hear what somebody says only to have your brain almost blown out and go deaf when there is some explosion or dramatic scene!

I am not into all this surround thx stuff.

 

[Nobby_UK]

I generally listen through headphones + Subs On for the Mumble/Whispered sections

 

[woodycool]

I generally listen through headphones + Subs On for the Mumble/Whispered sections

What he said ^^^

I struggle with hearing the dialogue on films and TV programs, yet effects I hear fine, and I hear somebody speaking to me fine.
I watch most programs with subtitles turned on.

 

[MacrosTheBlack]

IMO some films are just really annoying for balanced sound effects vs dialogue. Interstellar definitely falls into this catagory. I saw it at a local cinema in IMax and honestly whilst the sound was intense (clothes flapping and body shaking from all the bass) the dialogue at points was so low and mumbled you couldn't make it out. Luckily with DVD or Bluray you can at least turn the subtitles on. Lots of people moaned about it at release and Mr Nolan says it was done intentionally, though god knows why! Personally I like to hear what the actors say in a film. Call me old fashioned like that.... Lol

 

[custardo]

I thought it was was me, but when I checked out some Interstellar reviews on IMBD, I found lots of complaints about the audio mix. I have to say though, the sound design of the spaceship is very well done. If only everybody would stop mumbling through it.

 

[Powerpie5000]

I always find the sound effects and music end up drowning out the voices on most films these days. I end up using the sound equalization/loudness options on my TV and PC setups which usually helps to balance out the audio volumes.

 

[DutchinUSA]

Wow, interesting, I was blaming it all on myself getting older

 

[spacerman]

I agree with you, in my case is worse, because the dubbing in my language adds an extra layer of whispers in the dialogue icard