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From: eecae!urban@harvard.harvard.edu (Mark Urban-Lurain)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: Re: Why they are killing the dynamic range?
Message-ID: <5867@uwm.edu>
Date: 23 Aug 90 13:11:02 GMT
Sender: news@uwm.edu
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Approved: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu

In article <5862@uwm.edu> lshaw@walt.cc.utexas.edu (logan shaw) writes:
>
>How many people out there are annoyed more than words can describe that
>commercials on TV are noticeably louder than the TV shows?  (almost as if
>the TV shows are being limited to some level less than the level the
>commercials are being limited to).  Is this as annoying to other people
>as it is to me?  Is there anything we can _do_ about this?  (write 
>letters to the TV stations, etc)

Yes it is annoying, but no, they are not louder, just more compressed.
It is only partly the fault of the stations.  The commercials come to
them VERY compressed specifically to make their average level louder so
that they stand out (hard to do with 10 or more 10 second commercials in
a break).  If you have the ability to monitor the broadcast levels (with
a VCR or tape recorder with meters) watch.  Set your maximum level
during the "loudest" commercial.  Then, during the program, watch the
levels. There will be some peaks at the maximum level, but the average
modulation will have a wider dynamic range, and lower average level.  

What to do?  Sure, write letters to the stations (kill a tree).  You
might write to the specific advertisers and tell them you will NOT buy
their product as long as their commercials are annoying.  A TV with a
MUTE button on the remote control helps.  Record all programs on your
VCR then nuke the commercials with the FF button.  Just remember, the
program is filler to string between commercials.  Stations don't make
money on programs, only on the commercials.


--
Mark Urban-Lurain                        urban@cpswh.cps.msu.edu
Computer Science Dept.                   urbanluraimg@clvax1.cl.msu.edu
Michigan State University                (517) 353-0682   
A-714 Wells Hall, East Lansing, MI  48824