|
|
Posted by Mike T. on 01/26/06 14:17
> I have no problem with TV, or VHS, it's only DVDs that are way too
> quiet, as in the maximum volume on the TV is not loud enough. My TV is
> Toshiba (Feb 2002) 20" flat screen.
I'm surprised I didn't notice this before. DVDs have audio tracks with
extremely wide dynamic ranges. Consequently, the volume on your TV has to
be way up to hear voices, which are relatively quiet compared with other
parts of the soundtrack, usually. If the volume of your TV at maximum still
isn't enough to hear voices, then you probably have a TV that is not
properly sized for your viewing area. That is, you are sitting too far away
from the 20" flat screen.
There are a number of things you can try. The first one is to go into the
setup menu of whatever DVD you are watching (audio options or "languages")
and try to find a soundtrack that is NOT 5.1 channels, just stereo (2
channels). If you are listening to a non-multichannel audio track, the
dynamic range won't be as wide. I suspect this is part of your problem as
most DVDs default to Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, if you just hit "PLAY".
Also, we have an older Panasonic DVD player that has a couple of different
audio options that might help. First is dynamic range compression, to even
out the highs and lows while watching movies. That way, the loud parts are
not as loud and the soft parts (voices) are not as soft. Also in our
Panasonic DVD player is an option to emphasize voices. I forget what it's
called, off the top of my head. But basically, if you set that option, then
voices on the DVD soundtrack are amplified. I mention that as your own DVD
player might have these options (read the whole manual . . . ANY audio
adjustment might help).
Our A/V receiver ALSO has a couple of options that would help, but it sounds
like you are using the TV for sound, so the following might not apply.
First, it will automatically emphasize "center" channel, if you set the
right option. Much of the voice audio is coming from the center channel, so
having that channel emphasized will help hear voices. Also, any decent A/V
receiver should allow you to adjust volume of each channel independently.
So you could crank up the center channel by 2 - 5dB manually, if you were
using an A/V receiver.
If you don't have an A/V receiver, consider buying one. It would be cheaper
than upgrading your TV. Even the cheapest home theater in a box will give
you MUCH better sound than a 20" TV can. If you need more volume, a cheap
home theater in a box would be a good way to get it. I don't recommend RCA
necessarily, but the following from wal-mart will offer much better sound
than what you've got, and doesn't cost terribly much more than a decent DVD
player. If you do get a home theater system, make sure you buy the
right -digital- audio cord that will be compatible with both your a/v
receiver and your current dvd player. -Dave
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3880828&cat=105878&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A133251%3A77622%3A105878
Navigation:
[Reply to this message]
|