Hey guys first time poster long time lurker here, I have never posted because I have always found a solution here, but I have a problem that has me stumped.
here is my equipment
TV- Samsung HLT4675S DLP
Receiver - Onkyo TXSR 606
5.1 Speakers - Energy Take Classic 5.1 system
Cable box - Comcast Motorola DCH6416
Blu Ray/ Game system - PS3
DVD player - Phillips DVP3926
Everything is HDMI to the receiver then a HDMI to the TV. So anything audio is coming through the receiver and the 5.1 system.

Here is my problem While watching TV the commercials are really loud compared to the tv show. so loud that every time I am watching TV I have to turn it down when the show breaks for the commercial. IT wasn't like this with my old system which was an old crappy Pioneer Home theater in a box system, I just don't know if there is a setting on the onkyo I am missing or if it is in the cable box.
Any help would be great I am tired of getting yelled at by my wife when I am trying to watch tv at night. It is the only time I have to watch tv is when the kid is in bed and we don't want to wake him.

Those commercials are deliberately broadcast at those high volumes and extremely annoying; unfortunately I don’t think there is anything that can be done on the consumer end about it.

I know there was a bill that would force federal regulators to ratchet down the volume of commercials but I don’t know what happened with that.

Technically speaking no sound source can boost the volume as much as it wants, as it will eventually clip, as every medium has its dynamic range limitations. As such, i would presume they're simply compressing the dynamic range of their commercials, so that at the same volume on your end, everything is as loud as the loudest dynamic sound the broadcasting supports.
There are ways around this, some systems are built into receivers and they're supposed to detect this and lower the volume. If your system has no such option i'd look into compressing dynamics on your end, so that the audio you're already hearing is at the max dynamic range... but if you're an audiophile this is probably not an option (would degrade the acoustics and give more ear fatigue). If interested checkout your receiver manual, most modern receivers have some form of dynamic compression.

thanks for the replies, and jarrod volume equalization option is what I am talking about, but I can't find how to turn it on, or set it up on the onkyo or maybe the cable box.
and while I love a great sounding system and audiophile I am not......at least to this board standards I am not! :-)

Doing a quick search through the manual for your receiver it does not look like it supports any type of auto volume, or dynamic range setting. The best i could find is the dolby late night mode, but you can only use that if you're feeding your receiver a dolby digital source.

Late night just boosts the center channel so you can lower the overall volume and still hear the dialog. Might help if the commercial has lots of music, but it'll still blare any pitchman's voice. And it affects regular viewing.

I had a TV that had a mode to keep all sound in one range, but it sounded horrible.

I say just be quick with the mute button. ;)