Commercials are too loud

[Jim Rimmer]

Is there a device available or a TV with one built in that will lower the volume when commercials come on? It seems like I get the volume adjusted OK for the program and then the screaming car salesmen come on (or others) and blast me out of the room before I can get my hands on the remote and mute it. A device that would detect commercials and lower the volume would be terrific!

[Greg Peterson]

And some commercials are louder than others. And the volume varies from channel to channel.

I'm getting tired of it. Advertising is pure evil, invasive, pervasive and all to persuasive.

I either change the channel during commercials or hit the mute.

[Greg Cuetara]

Jim,
I know the feeling. Especially when I am watching a movie and there is a battle scene it gets really loud....then so quiet I can't hear the people speaking. I think a few years back Magnavox used to make a tv with Smartsound which equalized the volume so it was all the same. Not sure if they still make it or not though but it is a good idea.
Greg

[glenn bradley]

Some processors (and most DVD players) offer a "nighttime" mode or some such compression feature. The idea is that the louder sequences are lowered and the lower sequences are louder allowing folks to watch TV at night without blowing their spouses out of the water during the action scenes.

[David Christopher]

Is there a device available or a TV with one built in that will lower the volume when commercials come on? It seems like I get the volume adjusted OK for the program and then the screaming car salesmen come on (or others) and blast me out of the room before I can get my hands on the remote and mute it. A device that would detect commercials and lower the volume would be terrific!

Jim, magnavox has been making TVs with smart sound for several years that does exactly what you are asking for

[Neal Clayton]

virtually any receiver/amplifier if you have separate speaker system will have a night mode too.

[David Christopher]

Jim, also found this

http://www.tvsoundregulator.com/?gclid=CMXZ6K_ukJ0CFR9N5QodVjHR7w

[Chris Damm]

I've found that with a DVR I record the shows I want to see and FF through the commercials. It also saves a lot of time, I can watch a football game in about 40 minutes!

[Brad Wood]

I've found that with a DVR I record the shows I want to see and FF through the commercials. It also saves a lot of time, I can watch a football game in about 40 minutes!

+1 +2 and +3

I probably watch more TV that I'd like to admit, but since getting a DVR, I watch it on my terms. We just set everything up that we like to watch, and sometimes will collect entire seasons before watching a single show. We typically watch two one our shows each night before going to bed, and it takes 80'ish minutes to do so

[Eric Larsen]

Is there a device available or a TV with one built in that will lower the volume when commercials come on? It seems like I get the volume adjusted OK for the program and then the screaming car salesmen come on (or others) and blast me out of the room before I can get my hands on the remote and mute it. A device that would detect commercials and lower the volume would be terrific!

I use my computer to watch everything except football games -- it's hard not to have the ending spoiled, living in Las Vegas and all. That way, I get to watch the shows that I want to watch in 2/3 the time. That's big chunk of extra free time, when you get down to it.

Withe the right software, a computer strips out the commercials automatically, and quite accurately. It's one of the really great things about Windows. Windows Media Center is one of those things that everyone should be using.

And since it's included with Windows (which I would buy anyway), it's basically free.

I guess that makes me one of the three dozen happy Vista users out there.

Google "Windows Media Center" and "DVRMSToolbox" to learn more.

[John Shuk]

My understanding is the it is illegal for commercials to be broadcast with higher volume than the regular content. Don't know if that only applies to over air broadcasters or not.
I use a DVR and try to watch as little TV in "real time" as possible.

[David G Baker]

John,
I worked in broadcasting for over 30 years and out of that 30 years I spent around 2 years putting commercials on the air. The people that made certain commercials followed the FCC regulations when it comes to sound but they found a way to compress the audio so it blares when played back and remains legal.
When I was into CB radio I built a circuit that did the same thing for my CB microphone, the circuit gave the audio that pumped up sound but was still legal.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi John.

Last year I bought this product (http://www.homecontrols.com/Automatic-TV-Sound-Regulator-CATVSR) to cure a problem on my wife's TV. It works very well on her Toshiba TV.

[Joe Pelonio]

My understanding is the it is illegal for commercials to be broadcast with higher volume than the regular content. Don't know if that only applies to over air broadcasters or not.
I use a DVR and try to watch as little TV in "real time" as possible.
Interesting timing, it was in today's paper! There is no such law currently but one has been proposed in Congress. The article also said that many of the newer (Plasma & LCD) TVs have built in programming to resolve the problem.

I tried to find the link to the article at our paper and others but for some reason all of them failed with error messages. :eek:

[Tom Veatch]

My understanding is the it is illegal for commercials to be broadcast with higher volume than the regular content. Don't know if that only applies to over air broadcasters or not.
I use a DVR and try to watch as little TV in "real time" as possible.

According to the writeup in today's paper, the commercials can be no louder than the loudest sound in the regular broadcast. So, I guess if you're watching some kind of action/adventure with gunshots, explosions, car crashes, etc., or even a slammed door, you'll need to reach for the ear protectors when it cuts to the commercial.

Edit: Here's what the FCC has to say about it.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/backgroundnoise.html

But loud commercials aren't a problem for me since watching TV is not in my list of activities - other than an occasional tape or dvd. Give me a book, instead. Even a poor book beats what seems to be available on broadcast TV. Really not sure what's available since I turned broadcast TV off for good when the "reality" shows, which have little or no relationship to reality, took over the airways.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Is there a device available

The Remote or failing that the shotgun

[David G Baker]

The coloring has worn off of my mute button on my TV remote and the buttons on my car radio are almost invisible. I try to never listen to commercials.

[Eric Franklin]

Dobly has developed Dobly Volume (http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby-volume.html) to deal with this problem. I think it's pretty new with few devices supporting it.

[Jim Rimmer]

Wow! Sounds like there's a lot of solutions out there. I may even have to move into the 21st century and get a DVR.

Thanks for the tips.

[Denny Rice]

Jim, magnavox has been making TVs with smart sound for several years that does exactly what you are asking for

I've had a Magnavox LCD TV for over two years now and didn't know what that option was! This is so cool, I guess I need to get the manual out and read how to set this thing up! Thanks for the post.

[David Freed]

I've had a Magnavox LCD TV for over two years now and didn't know what that option was! This is so cool, I guess I need to get the manual out and read how to set this thing up! Thanks for the post.

You know, they say "If all else fails, read the directions". Maybe I should try that myself sometime.

[Robert Parrish]

Not only are they loud but there are way too many of them! 20-30 minutes of commercial in a 2 hour movie! I am doing what others have done and use my dvr more and buying complete tv series on dvd.

[Chris Barnett]

When the FCC is on the side of business, we know it is all over. Business pays the congressmen and they makes the rules for us. I could agree with commercial levels no louder than half the average of the lowest detectable sound with the tv off :D. If pushed, half the average sound level; this would ensure we have plenty of cops and robbers, and war shows with gunfire and bombs to pump the average.
Really though, one of the problems is that they use sound frequency control to boost the midrange frequency, thus making the apparent level high. And then they fill with the most obnoxious music ever heard, to fill in any voids to make sure the maximum is attained at all times. We do this same thing (sound control, not music :o) in amateur radio when propogation is poor...and at other times, I'm sad to admit.
Listen just to the music sometime, if you can tune out the voice; I am convinced it is some kind of mind control! Makes one so anxious I could reach into the tv and strangle someone....I REALLY COULD ...NOW WHERE IS that BILLY M???? See ... told you so. And another thing.......

[Larry Edgerton]

I cured that problem. When they switched to digital my wife and I just decided that TV was counter productive and created no memorable moments in our lives and just turned it off.

I moved the TV into an old fireplace in our house and we have a disc of a fire we turn on for ambiance. ;)

[Aaron Koehl]

After 3 years with a DVR, I'm definitely seeing the side effects.

Anytime folks reference a commercial at a gathering, I never catch the reference anymore. Any time new movies come out in the theater? Sorry, didn't see the trailer.

I've been blissfully unaware of commercial advertisements.. I think I saw something about them playing advertisements during the FF phase of the DVR.. I'm glad I haven't seen that yet.

[John Shuk]

The $5.00 extra I spend to have a DVR makes the rest of my bill much more worthwhile.

[Russ Filtz]

The article also said that many of the newer (Plasma & LCD) TVs have built in programming to resolve the problem.


I have a relatively new LCD Sony, ~2-yrs, and the commercials still are annoyingly loud. Maybe there's a setting I haven't found!

[zach barnhart]

And some commercials are louder than others. And the volume varies from channel to channel.

I'm getting tired of it. Advertising is pure evil, invasive, pervasive and all to persuasive.

I either change the channel during commercials or hit the mute.

Man, I'm glad it's not just me. Advertising just infuriates me most of the time, to be honest. And the ongoing trend of having those rapid-fire legal disclaimers at the end of practically EVERY commercial is really the limit.

I love listening to old radio dramas while working, and I recently downloaded a ton of old CBS Mystery Theater episodes from 1974, with news breaks and commercials. It's really something, hearing how much more civilized advertising was back then. It was still insidious and manipulative of course, but in a much more pleasing way. Now they just seem quite content to yell their heads off at us and treat us like idiots.