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Audio Level variations

post #1 of 10
9/5/08 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 
I have a Insignia and a DigitalStream DTX9950. While in general I'm happier with the 9950, as it has a much better field of view on the remote and better audio output level; I have found it to have one major issue.

That's the variation in audio level from channel to channel & program to commercial -- with the 9950 it is far worse than the Insignia. This is with the composite output in both cases, not the RF.

I'm regularly jumping for the remote to throttle it back, or restore the level when the show resumes.

Has anyone else noticed this problem? Do you find one model better or worse than others?
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post #2 of 10
9/7/08 at 7:58pm
Thread Starter 
My point was one box is far worse than the other......
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post #3 of 10
9/7/08 at 10:11pm
I have noticed audio differences between boxes as well: I have three different inputs on my TV so I can flip across them all tuned to the same channel. The volume changes, but the stereo separation changes as well.

I have noticed the same audio variations between VCR's (analog) flipping between them on the same program. I have no idea why the sound should be so different.
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post #4 of 10
9/17/08 at 5:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkfs View Post

I have a Insignia and a DigitalStream DTX9950. While in general I'm happier with the 9950, as it has a much better field of view on the remote and better audio output level; I have found it to have one major issue.

That's the variation in audio level from channel to channel & program to commercial -- with the 9950 it is far worse than the Insignia. This is with the composite output in both cases, not the RF.

I'm regularly jumping for the remote to throttle it back, or restore the level when the show resumes.

Has anyone else noticed this problem? Do you find one model better or worse than others?

I have the exact same issues with my two Channel Master 7000s. The left & right audio outputs are used in both cases...didn't check the RF out.
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post #5 of 10
9/19/08 at 3:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bountyh View Post

I have noticed the same audio variations between VCR's (analog) flipping between them on the same program. I have no idea why the sound should be so different.

It's because of the Dolby Digital dialnorm settings of the digital stations; they're set differently between networks, for whatever reason.

The Digital Stream has more audio level variation because the default dynamic range compression is greater than the Insignia's; note the louder audio level -- that's a result of the compression. To explain without getting too technical: The compression increases the given volume of a given channel by a certain, fixed percentage. This percentage is apparently higher on the Digital Stream than the Insignia. Because the volume of each channel is amplified by a greater amount on the Digital Stream, the final differences in audio level are greater.
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post #6 of 10
9/19/08 at 7:27am
It appears we may have a new criteria to be testing for across all the boxes that are out there. Is there some way, to either physically or technically, judge this issue?
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post #7 of 10
9/20/08 at 7:45am
Thread Starter 
FWIW: It seems to be the secondary channels [for example: here, 7.3 which carries RTN] suffer from this audio variation far more than the primary ones.

So I suspect it's the lack of attention by the station. I'd never ever accuse a station with pulling that cheap late-night stunt of cranking up the audio during the commercials.....not me!

[My TV has Smart Sound so if I ran the audio through it, I suspect it would regulate it to a constant level. But I instead use external amplified speakers for far better quality...]
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post #8 of 10
9/20/08 at 8:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkfs View Post

FWIW: It seems to be the secondary channels [for example: here, 7.3 which carries RTN] suffer from this audio variation far more than the primary ones.

Regarding RTN which runs on a CBS sub-channel in my market . . .

In my talks to the CBS engineers, they have complained that the low volume is coming from RTN transmission. They have been trying to get RTN to up their volume but I haven't seen much dif yet. Maybe there are technical reasons why CBS can't up the volume on their end - dunno the details.
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post #9 of 10
9/20/08 at 8:39am
The more times you increase the level of low input levels, the more you increase the previous noise floor. This decreases the quality of the audio.
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post #10 of 10
9/20/08 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikemikeb View Post

It's because of the Dolby Digital dialnorm settings of the digital stations; they're set differently between networks, for whatever reason.

That doesn't answer my question: why is it I have two or three different VCR's all tuned to the SAME station and as I switch between those VCRs (selecting which one to watch with my TV) I hear very noticible differences in both volume and stereo image.

each VCR is connected to an identical input on my TV.
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